Opinion: We Don’t Need To Come Out, We Need To Come In

We live in a very progressive world, especially compared to 10 years ago or so. More and more states are legalizing gay marriage, and more often people are feeling comfortable to come out. In fact, this morning, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook came out in Business Insider. This got me thinking that, as progressive as we are, there still is a lack of progression in the world. I do NOT believe coming out should even be a thing, unless you mean you’re coming outside to meet someone. What do I mean? Coming out implies that being gay is still DIFFERENT than being straight. We never see a straight person announcing “I’m straight,” and in the same vein, I don’t think we, as gays, should have to announce we are gay. A truly progressive world would just accept that people are people. It shouldn’t matter if they like men, women, or both. We should base our opinions of others on how they represent themselves to us, not on their sexual orientation.

Sure, Tim Cook announcing he is gay this morning is great, especially with the brave words he wrote; however, it still speaks volumes about the world we live in that he even had to do this. One of my friends contacted me this morning to tell me he got an iPhone notification from CNN about this very story pertaining to Tim Cook. Is someone announcing they’re gay really breaking news? Aren’t there more important things the world should be focused on?

My overall point is that, in time, I am hopeful that the idea of coming out will no longer be a necessary one. Rather than coming out, I hope that we can come in- into the world as equals, not having to announce who we are, but simply being accepted for being humans.

What do you think? Let me know.