"Coming Out" as a Literary Theme
"Coming Out" as a literary theme explores the journey of individuals, particularly those who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB), as they confront societal pressures and expectations regarding their sexual orientation. This theme encapsulates the personal struggle of accepting one's identity while navigating a world that often views non-heterosexual orientations as deviant or shameful. The act of "coming out" serves as a metaphor for revealing one's true self, transitioning from living in secrecy—often referred to as being "in the closet"—to openly acknowledging one's sexuality.
Historically, the concept of coming out emerged in literature alongside the rise of gay and lesbian narratives, particularly in the late 20th century. Classic texts like Gore Vidal’s "The City and the Pillar" and Jeanette Winterson's "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit" depict this theme as central to character development and plot progression. In contemporary literature, especially young adult novels, coming out continues to be a prevalent motif, reflecting changes in societal acceptance and the timing of when individuals choose to disclose their identities. While this theme remains significant, some critics argue that literature needs to evolve beyond solely focusing on the act of coming out to encompass a broader range of LGB experiences and identities.
"Coming Out" as a Literary Theme
Introduction
As people begin to realize that they are lesbian, gay, or bisexual, they must deal with societal beliefs that this sexual preference is shameful, sinful, or pathological. From fear, often but not always justified, that revelation of their sexuality will lead to ostracism, many people. Keeping such a secret is often called living in the closet; to proclaim one’s homosexuality is to come out of the closet. In the cultural mainstream generally, history, religion, educational institutions, and cultural values and mores all maintain that people are naturally heterosexual and that to have any other sexual orientation is a failing. As a result, lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people have powerful reasons not to acknowledge their identities. As the individual person begins to accept their identity, however, the coming out process becomes more compelling. In this sense, the metaphor of “coming out” is quite accurate, since coming out is a process of taking what is within (unspoken sexual identity) and bringing it out to the attention of others. Coming out can be difficult and dangerous, so many people live in the closet, acting as if they are attracted to members of the opposite sex. The distressing feelings of alienation that result from trying to be someone that one is not can motivate one to come out.
History
Literature shows that coming out is a new concept and word usage. The original usage of the term was associated with the debutante ball, usually given in the spring. The ball was a social event held to announce to society that each of the families involved had a daughter who was eligible as a potential wife. When the custom of such balls was established, a girl of sixteen or so was not considered too young to be engaged. In the later twentieth century, the custom continued, although the debutantes were considered eligible for dating and social autonomy rather than marriage.
Themes of coming out in the LGB sense appear in some early gay novels, such as Gore Vidal's The City and the Pillar (1948), but did not become common until gay and lesbian novels began to appear in numbers in the late 1960s and after. After the later 1960’s there was a large increase in writing and publishing of gay and lesbian literature, as well as the emergence of bisexual literature. Coming out (or failing to do so) is perhaps the most universal theme of gay, lesbian, and bisexual literature, appearing in such classics as Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985) by Jeanette Winterson and A Boy's Own Story (1982) by Edmund White. Although a work may not recount directly such an event as telling one’s family that one is gay (although many works do relate such stories), it is the rare work in this field that does not deal with the issue of characters’ recognizing and finally either acknowledging or denying their sexuality. As societal acceptance of LGB individuals has increased in the twenty-first century, however, many people have expressed frustration with the continued ubiquity of this theme in works featuring or focusing on LGB characters, arguing that LGB individuals' lives and the issues they face do not revolve entirely around the initial revelation of their sexuality and that there is not enough fiction dealing with these other aspects of queer identity. Part of the reason for the shift in how coming out is viewed is that, with this greater societal acceptance and with information about LGB identities becoming more widely available, more and more people come out in their teenaged years or early twenties rather than as older adults. For this reason, coming-out narratives in young-adult literature about LGB characters are still popular; coming out may also form part of a larger coming-of-age narrative for an LGB character. Noteworthy YA novels that focus significantly on coming out include The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2012) by Emily M. Danforth, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (2015) by Becky Albertalli, Ramona Blue (2017) by Julie Murphy, and We Are Totally Normal (2020) by Rahul Kanakia.
Bibliography
Caffey, John. The Coming-out Party. New York: Pinnacle Books, 1982.
Gantz, Joe. Whose Child Cries: Children of Gay Parents Talk About Their Lives. Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.: Jalmar Press, 1983.
Herdt, Gilbert H. Children of Horizons: How Gay and Lesbian Teens Are Leading a New Way out of the Closet. Boston: Beacon Press, 1993.
Jay, Karla, and Allen Young, eds. Out of the Closets: Voices of Gay Liberation. New York: Pyramid Books, 1972.
Katz, Jonathan. Coming-Out: A Documentary Play About Gay Life and Liberation. New York: Arno Press, 1975.
"LGBTQ Studies: Coming-Out Books." Northeastern University Library, subjectguides.lib.neu.edu/LGBT/coming‗out. Accessed 30 July 2019.
Nolder, Gay A. The View from the Closet: Essays on Gay Life and Liberation. Boston: Union Park Press, 1978.
Pharr, Suzanne. Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism. Little Rock, Ark.: Chardon Press, 1988.
Rodi, Robert. Closet Case: A Novel. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1993.
Stepaniuk, Casey. "7 Must-Read Coming Out YA Novels: A Newbie's Guide." BookRiot, 7 Mar. 2018, bookriot.com/2018/03/07/coming-out-ya-novels/. Accessed 30 July 2019.
Sutton, Roger. Hearing Us Out: Voices from the Gay and Lesbian Community. Boston: Little, Brown, 1994.