Information AboutCloseted |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT THE CLOSET | |
| sexual orientation and identity | |
| sexual orientation and society | |
| metaphors | |
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The expression "being in the closet" has been used to describe keeping secret one's Sexual Behavior or Orientation , most commonly Homosexuality or Bisexuality , but also including Transgender and Transsexual people. Being in the closet is more than being discreet or Private , it is a "life-shaping pattern of homosexual concealment" where Gay , Lesbian , Bisexual , or Transgender "individuals hide their homosexuality in the most important areas of life, with family, friends, and at work. Individuals may marry or avoid certain jobs in order to avoid suspicion and exposure. It is the power of the closet to shape the core of an individual's life that has made homosexuality into a signficant personal, social, and political drama in twentieth-century America" (Seidman 2003, p.25). "Heterosexual domination may have a long history, but the closet does not" with the closet dating from 1950s post-war America, when the deliberateness and aggressiveness of heterosexual enforcement increased. "Gay people in the prewar years {Link without Title} ...did not speak of coming out of what we call the gay closet but rather of coming out ''into'' what they called homosexual society or the gay world, a world neither so small, nor so isolated, nor... so hidden as closet implies" (Chauncey 1994, emphasis added). In fact, "using the term 'closet' to refer to" previous times such as "the 1920s and 1930s might be anachronistic" (Kennedy 1996). (ibid, p.25 and 214) In 1993 , Michelangelo Signorile wrote '' Queer In America '' (re-released in 2003 by University of Wisconsin Press, ISBN 0299193748) in which he explored in depth the harm caused both to the closeted individual and to Society in general by being in the closet. Signorile promoted the practice of Outing : publicizing, intentionally or unintentionally, the sexual orientation or gender identity of another person who would prefer to keep this information secret. Often "outing" is used solely to damage the outed person's reputation, and has thus been controversial. Some activists argue "outing" is appropriate and legitimate in some cases—for instance, if the individual is actively working against gay rights. RELATED TERMINOLOGY
OTHER USES The term closet has been extended to indicate any identity or affiliation that a person keeps secret for fear of persecution or exclusion (e.g., a closeted Communist , Nerd / Geek , Atheist , Satanist , etc.). One relatively obscure extension of this metaphor is the "broom closet", a term which was first coined by the TV show '' Charmed '', referring to people who hide the fact that they are Wicca ns. Brights are also urged to "come out," and Richard Dawkins refers to "closet brights." SEE ALSO
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