Boston College will celebrate National Coming Out Week with food and fashion, as well as events meant to tear down stereotypes and stigmas surrounding the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) community.
"National Coming Out Week is an opportunity to raise awareness about the coming out process and gay life in general," said Richard Hoffman, president of the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community of BC (LGBC) and A&S '08. "I think that both BC and America is still very much in the dark in terms of seeing and understanding the gay communities that exist all around them."
National Coming Out Week began in October 1987 when 600,000 people marched on Washington, D.C. for gay rights. It has been celebrated in hundreds of cities and college campuses since.
Tuesday marks Coming Out Day. The GLBT Leadership Council (GLC) will be sponsoring a Bisexual, Bicurious, Questioning Barbecue on the Dustbowl at 1 p.m. GLC will also be hosting an event called "Opening Boston's Closet" at 8 p.m. in the Chocolate Bar.
"We'll have a lineup of speakers share their coming out stories, have allies share stories of people coming out to them, as well as some performances from several groups here on campus," said John Hellman, president of GLC and A&S '07. The popular "Guess Who's Gay" panel will happen Wednesday in a location to be determined.
"It involves a panel of around 10 people, half of them straight, half of them 'other.' The people in the audience are allowed to ask them any questions not pertaining to sex or sexuality, and in the end they have to guess who in the panel is gay or 'other,'" said Hellman.
Allies, the gay/straight alliance at BC, is hosting a panel called "Allies Come Out" on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Cushing 001. The panel will consist of parents, children, brothers, and sisters of gay and lesbian individuals who will share their perspectives on the coming out experience. "We hope to share a positive message for those closeted gays or lesbians at Boston College who might fear their family's reaction," said Dan Pyster, president of Allies and A&S '06.
The last event of the week will be LGBC's "I Feel Pretty" fashion show. "This show has models of all sexual orientations modeling outfits that they chose because it makes them feel comfortable, sexy, confident, and pretty," said Hoffman. "We will have them talk a little bit about the processes they went through in coming to embrace who they are, inside and out."
GLBT issues have come to the forefront at BC in recent years. The creation of Allies three years ago, last year's "Rally for Equality," which drew more than 1,500 students, faculty, and administrators, and the compromise reached over the University's notice of nondiscrimination were all major steps forward for GLBT activists. Student leaders concerned with GLBT issues cite Coming Out Week as an important aspect of their movement.
"In terms of the University, National Coming Out Week is important because, as the first major event for the GLBT community this year, it sets the tone for the remainder of the year," said Pyster. "That is why the success of all the events that either Allies, LGBC, or the GLC have planned for next week is essential. From that we will be able to build momentum."
"[Coming out] is the first step in the recognition that GLBT individuals exist, and it is essential for the gay rights movement to succeed," said Hellman.
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