Ithaca College

Is there a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) person in your life? Do you work with LGBT students? Does your curriculum include topics about LGBT youth, adults, or families?

National Coming Out Day is October 11!

In recognition of National Coming Out Day, Michelle Courtney Berry is the featured speaker on campus on Thursday, October 8.

Interested in creating an affirming environment for LGBT members of the Ithaca College community in the classroom? Try the tip sheets "Easy Ways to Be Inclusive of LGBT Themes inthe Classroom" - a series of resources promoting LGBT inclusion on campus.

Timely tips for supporting those who are out, or those who may come out to you for the first time this week, are featured in the article by the LGBT Center program director "Ten Tips for Parents of a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender Child." 

Coming out affects not just LGBT people but our friends, families, and allies as well. There are a variety of excellent resources for loved ones of LGBT people who are coming out. If you are in the process of coming out to your family, there are a host of organizations appropriate for particular needs:

• PFLAG (Parents, Friends, and Family of Lesbians and Gays): www.pflag.org
• COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere): www.colage.org
• Straight Spouse Network (for husbands and wives of LGBT people): www.straightspouse.org
• Families Like Mine: www.familieslikemine.com

GLBT History Month is also celebrated throughout October; in honor of this event, Equality Forum has produced 31 video shorts that highlight and celebrate some of the leaders that have made GLBT history. There will be a new short introduced every day for the entire month of October -- each day's new video will be available at the GLBT History Month Featured Videos website.

This series will highlight famous figures and will also introduce some that may not be as well known to the public. People that will be highlighted include Alvin Ailey Jr., John Amaechi, Rachel Maddow, and Suze Orman.

If you are contemplating coming out as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender person, resources are available by contacting the Center for LGBT Education, Outreach, and Services.

Online resources are also available:

• Coming Out in Communities of Color: African Americans
• Guía de Recursos Para Salir Del Clóset
• Resource Guide to Coming Out
• Coming Out as Bisexual
• Coming Out as Transgender
• Coming Out as a Straight Ally
• A Straight Guide to GLBT Americans
• Living Openly in Your Place of Worship

The annual observance of National Coming Out Day was conceived of shortly after the second march on Washington for gay and lesbian equality on October 11, 1987.