| National Coming Out Day | |
|---|---|
 Logo designed by Keith Haring for the Human Rights Campaign's advocacy of the day | |
| Observed by | LGBT community |
| Type | LGBT awareness day |
| Observances | Coming out |
| Date | October 11 |
| Next time | October 11, 2025 |
| Frequency | Annual |
| First time | October 11, 1988 (United States) |
| Related to | Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights |
National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an annual LGBT awareness day observed on October 11 to support anyone "coming out of the closet".[1] First celebrated in the United States in 1988, the initial idea was grounded in the feminist and gay liberation spirit of the personal being political, and the emphasis on the most basic form of activism being coming out to family, friends, and colleagues, and living life as an openly LGBTQIA+ person.[2] The founders believed that homophobia thrives in an atmosphere of silence and ignorance and that once people know that they have loved ones who are LGBTQIA+, they are far less likely to maintain homophobic or oppressive views.[3]
- ^ "History of Coming Out & Themes of NCOD". Human Rights Campaign. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
- ^ Hoffman, Amy (2007) An Army of Ex-Lovers: My life at the Gay Community News. University of Massachusetts Press. pp.xi-xiii. ISBN 978-1558496217
- ^ "Robert Eichberg, 50, Gay Rights Leader". The New York Times. August 15, 1995.