Wofford LGBTQ+ share coming out stories

On Sunday, Oct. 11, Wofford joined the rest of the nation in celebrating National Coming Out Day (NCOD). The holiday, first celebrated in 1988, was originally intended to show people they already knew—and loved—a person in the LGBTQ+ community, and to battle the culture of silence that previously allowed homophobia to dominate. As the world has become more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community the purpose of NCOD has taken on a more celebratory tone.

Coming out has traditionally been a burden placed only on members of the LGBTQ+ community, and it is often a scary one. It is therefore important to make the experience as safe and accepting as possible.

Fighting hate and homophobia starts with supporting those closest to you and celebrating them for who they are. Hopefully one day people will not have to come out in order to be accepted as who they are, but for now the best thing to do is ensure the ones we love have the opportunity to share their authentic selves in a safe and in- clusive environment.

Wofford’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion launched their ‘Thrive With Pride’ initiative this year to celebrate our LGBTQ+ Terriers and their experiences of coming out to family and friends. One fellow terrier who shared their coming out story was fortunate to be met only with love. Their story is shared here.

Although I felt my family and friends would be very supportive, coming out as gay was indescribably difficult for me. Some of my relatives joke that two things run in our family: alcoholism and homosexuality. They’re not wrong, but I have always hated the idea of having to come out, because it seems to place undue emphasis on that one aspect of my person. Even now, though it’s no longer something I hide, I constantly wonder if knowledge of my sexuality will change how people see me. I told my mother first. “You know I still love you,” was one of the things she said. A few days later I told my father. His immediate response was, “How are you going to tell your mother?” I told him she already knew. His eyes widened and he gasped, of- fended that I had told her before I had him. “It’s ok,” I said, “you know I still love you.”
— Anonymous