Coming Out Day

National Coming Out Day is observed every October 11 to celebrate LGBTQ+ visibility and to support anyone ready to share their identity. It was founded in 1988 by activists Robert Eichberg and Jean O'Leary, who chose the date to mark the first anniversary of the 1987 Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. The day grew from the belief that the personal is political and that living openly is itself a basic and powerful form of activism. Now marked in the United States and internationally, it has become one of the most recognized annual LGBTQ+ observances, paired with resources for coming out safely and on your own terms.