coming out

1. An awakening as to who you really are in terms of sexual orientation and attraction, which usually doesn't fit mainstream heterosexism. Coming out means figuring out that you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, etc., and it happens in stages across a certain period of time. One aspect is coming out to yourself, a process that ends at some point. 2. Deciding to tell certain people in your life that you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, etc. This is a never ending process, because every time you move, change jobs, or make new friends you have to decide whether to share your sexual orientation or not. It's not always a good idea, because there is still prejudice and discrimination in workplaces. 3. Activists make public declarations about their sexual orientations as lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, pansexuals, etc., not to solidify their identities or to determine if their friends are truly friends, but to reduce the invisibility of these marginalized identities by advocating for acceptance and affirmation in mainstream society.