Coming out or Inviting people in?

‘Coming out tends to be a really narrow way of looking at sexuality and thinking about coming into your sexuality. It tends to be a very dominant Western perspective. Inviting people in into your life reframes thinking. It is about feeling good about who you are, what you do and how you identify and how you want to be actually letting people into your world. Coming home—which is about finding a place where you can fit and a place where you feel you’ve come home—it’s about a place where you feel comfortable, safe and happy.’

– A participant in the GLHV, promoting Victorian’s LGBTI health and wellbeing, commented.

The Understanding Sexuality Project commissioned by the Victorian Government in 2014 is an incredible resource worth empowering yourself with. Understand why you may feel the pressure you feel or how to combat the challenges multiple marginalised communities face.

I know using the term ‘coming in’ or ‘coming home’ was more intuitive to my cultural understanding of myself and feeling like I had to be in a good, healthy space before I could invite my family ‘in’ to who I was as a gay woman helped me in my journey. I encourage you to use the phrases or terms or words that work for you, the ones you feel comfortable with.