Buzz
This week, NBA center Jason Collins openly shared his sexuality in a Sports Illustrated cover story. In doing so, he 'came out of the closet.' This term, which describes the act of revealing one's sexual identity, may seem intuitive. The metaphor of being 'in the closet' implies hiding from the outside world, while coming out suggests the desire to no longer remain concealed. Although the closet has long symbolized secrecy, its connection to homosexuality is a more recent development.
In George Chauncey's comprehensive examination of modern gay culture, Gay New York, he explains that the metaphor of the closet wasn't used by the gay community until the 1960s. Prior to that, the term doesn't appear in the records of the gay rights movement, nor in the personal writings—such as diaries, novels, or letters—of gay men and lesbians.
The phrase 'coming out,' however, has been a part of the gay community for much longer, though its original meaning differed. A 'gay man's coming out' initially referred to his formal introduction into the grand drag balls of prewar gay society. These extravagant events were modeled after the debutante and masquerade balls of mainstream culture and were regularly held in cities such as New York, Chicago, New Orleans, and Baltimore. In this context, 'coming out' was not about revealing one's hidden sexuality, but about entering a community of peers. This concept was borrowed from the debutante tradition, where young women 'came out' when they were formally introduced to society.
The gay debutante balls were public events frequently covered by newspapers, so 'coming out' within gay society often meant publicly revealing one's sexual identity to the broader society as well. However, the phrase didn't necessarily imply that those who hadn't 'come out' were actively concealing their orientation. There were other metaphors to express hiding or revealing one's homosexuality. Gay individuals might 'wear a mask' or 'take off the mask.' A man might 'wear his hair up' or 'let his hair down,' or 'drop hairpins'—signals that would only be understood by other gay men.
The exact moment when the closet metaphor was adopted by the gay community remains unclear, but it is believed to have been introduced because many men who kept their sexuality hidden viewed it as a 'skeleton in the closet.' It may also have originated from outsiders who saw it that way. The phrase 'coming out of the closet' likely emerged as a blend of two metaphors: a debutante boldly stepping into society and a hidden secret finally being revealed. Today, the community that one 'comes out' to is the wider society, and the once-shocking secret is no longer as startling. 'Coming out' remains a powerful phrase, but it doesn't always require the notion of a literal closet.
