Ithaca College

Is there a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, or asexual (LGBTQA+) person in your life? Or someone with another marginalized sexual orientation or gender identity? Do you work with LGBTQA+ students? Does your curriculum include topics about LGBTQA+ youth, adults, or families? National Coming Out Day is October 11. Many resources are available to you, both on and off campus, to assist you in supporting LGBTQA+ people during this time and throughout the year.

Please join us in recognizing National Coming Out Day. In celebration of this annual observance there will be a variety of speakers, events, and other learning opportunities throughout the month of October. The most current list of events is always available on the events page of the LGBT Center website.

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 LGBTQA+ people but our friends, families, and allies as well. There are a variety of excellent resources for loved ones of LGBTQA+ 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 (the country's largest organization for parents, families, friends, and allies united with people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer): www.pflag.org

•    COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere): www.colage.org

•    Straight Spouse Network (for husbands and wives of LGBTQ people): www.straightspouse.org

•    Families Like Mine: www.familieslikemine.com

LGBT 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 LGBT 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 LGBT 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.

If you are contemplating coming out as a LGBTQA+ person, resources are available by contacting the Center for LGBT Education, Outreach, and Services.  Online resources are also available, including:

•    Resource Guide to Coming Out for African Americans

•    Guía de Recursos Para Salir Del Clóset

•    Coming Out Issues for Asian Pacific Americans

•    Resource Guide to Coming Out

•    Coming Out as Bisexual

•    Coming Out as Transgender

•    How Do I Know If I’m Bisexual, Fluid, Pansexual, or Queer-Identified

•    Coming Out as a Supporter

•    Coming Out at Work

•    Coming Out as Transgender in the Workplace

•    Living Openly in Your Place of Worship

•    The Asexual Visibility and Education Network

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.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Luca Maurer at lmaurer@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-7394. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.