The closet doesn’t define you
The metaphor of “coming out of the closet” derives itself from the idiom “skeleton in the closet.” A “skeleton” refers to a negative secret that one wants to hide from others. Due to the stigmatization that came — and still comes — with not being straight or cis-gendered, one’s LGBTQ+ identity would be seen as a “skeleton.” And since people are generally assumed to be heterosexual and cisgender, someone would have to explicitly disclose otherwise to the people around them. To many LGBTQ+ members, coming out is a way of celebrating their sexuality or gender identity and reclaiming what was formerly a negative identity marker into a more positive one.
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