'Coming out,' however, has long been used in the gay community, but it first meant something different than it does now. Before then, it doesn't appear anywhere 'in the records of the gay movement or in the novels, diaries, or letters of gay men and lesbians.'
But though the closet has long been a metaphor for privacy or secrecy, its use with reference to homosexuality is relatively recent.Īccording to George Chauncey's comprehensive history of modern gay culture, Gay New York, the closet metaphor was not used by gay people until the 1960s. Being in the closet implies hiding from the outside world, and the act of coming out of it implies the will to stop hiding.
In other words, he 'came out of the closet.' This expression for revealing one's homosexuality may seem natural.
This week, NBA center Jason Collins announced he was gay in a cover story for Sports Illustrated.
