To: NOW Chapters and Community Activists
From: Patricia Ireland, Kim Gandy, Karen Johnson & Elizabeth Toledo
Subject: Come Out Against Homophobia in October
Date: September 22, 1997
National Coming Out Day is October 11th, and we are encouraging NOW activists across the country to come out against homophobia by organizing actions in support of lesbian rights around that date. While the decision to disclose one's sexual orientation is very personal, we all know that coming out often has a powerful political impact as well. We are asking activists of every orientation to decry discrimination based on sexual orientation.
NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY BACKGROUND
After the October 11, 1987 March On Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, which included a display of the Names Project's AIDS Quilt in its entirety, National Coming Out Day was founded to help perpetuate all of the organizing and progress on lesbian and gay rights issues beyond the march. Celebrated on October 11th every year, people throughout the nation commemorate the day by coming out to colleagues, family members, friends, neighbors and business and school contacts. For many, National Coming Out Day combines the celebration of the lesbian and gay community with the denunciation of homophobia and heterosexism.
Since the penalties for coming out of the closet can include being rejected by one's family, losing a job or custody of a child or eviction from a home, many lesbians and gay men conceal their sexual orientation out of fear of reprisal. The goal -- and in large part the effect -- of National Coming Out Day has been to create the visibility and support people need when coming out. We take comfort and find strength and safety in numbers.
We urge you to organize a Come Out Against Homophobia action because lesbian rights is an important feminist issue. Lesbian-baiting continues to be a potent, effective tool to divide women against each other. From military bases to corporate boardrooms, from classrooms to assembly lines, the lesbian label is used to discriminate against women. How many times have we seen a woman's sexual harassment complaints dismissed, discredited or discouraged by the act or threat of outing her as a lesbian? From basketball courts to state and federal courts, how many women have been eliminated from competition when they were labeled as lesbians? All of us -- regardless of our own sexual orientation -- have experienced the pain of being pushed back into our "places" with a homophobic slur.
We are asking NOW chapter and state activists in towns and cities across the nation to speak out against homophobia this October. Last February, scores of Valentine's Day actions were organized in support of same-sex marriages. We are counting on you to generate the same enthusiasm and visibility for lesbian and gay issues around National Coming Out Day. We have included the following materials to assist you in your organizing efforts:
We want to remind you that October 11th is Yom Kippur -- one of Judaism's high holy days. Please do not schedule any of your chapter or state actions on Yom Kippur. (Remember that Yom Kippur begins at sunset on Friday, October 10th and concludes at sunset on Saturday, October 11th.)
We realize that October is a hectic month for feminist activists. Many chapters and states have scheduled Take Back the Night and other events to commemorate Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Still others are organizing counter-demonstrations to protest the Promise Keepers. Of course, October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We certainly appreciate how busy you already are. We know and understand that every chapter and state cannot do every action.
If you already have an event planned in October, please consider including a lesbian rights component to it. Any Take Back the Night action could -- and should -- include speaking out against hate crimes against lesbians. Given their homophobic rhetoric, a picket or news conference countering the Promise Keepers should include a discussion of ending discrimination based on sexual orientation. If you are participating in a Breast Cancer awareness event, be sure to talk about the high incidence of the disease among lesbians as compared to the low level of research on and awareness of lesbian health issues. Whatever your chapter or state is doing in October, please be sure to include some sort of Come Out Against Homophobia action.
If your chapter or state does plan an October action, please let us know. We want to be sure to include your event in any national news release or other promotion of NOW's Come Out Against Homophobia campaign. Please contact Barbara Hays at extension 710 in the Action Center and tell her about your plans. Also feel free to call Barbara if you have any questions about or need assistance with this action campaign.
Thank you for all of the work you do for NOW. We look forward to working with you on this issue during the month of October and beyond.
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