It’s National Coming Out Day, so here are some thoughts on coming out! 1. Most people don’t come out just once. I come out every single day, sometimes repeatedly, just by introducing myself with my pronouns. The second I say “my name is Dylan and I use they/them pronouns,” I am outing myself. In order to be gendered correctly in spaces, I have to come out. 2. I’m at a place in my medical transition where people make assumptions about me based on my appearance. People frequently assume I’m a cis gay man, and sometimes when I share that I’m nonbinary, people assume that I was assigned male at birth. That means that I have to come out as transmasc on a regular basis if I want to let people know that their assumptions are wrong. Note: me coming out as transmasc is basically me informing people what set of genitals I have. I do NOT owe people this information, and honestly sometimes I prefer to let people make their incorrect assumptions so that I don’t have to share information that reveals what genitals I have. 3. In general, it is not safe to make assumptions about someone’s gender or sexuality or pronouns based on their appearance, and I highly recommend that we as a society stop doing so. If people don’t come out to you, it probably means that they don’t feel safe around you, and it’s on you to make yourself a safe person. 4. NO LGBTQ+ person owes you information about any part of their gender or sexual identity. If they can’t or don’t want to be out for any reason, that is their prerogative and it is absolutely NONE of anyone else’s business. 5. Being out everywhere in my life is a gigantic privilege, and not one that I take for granted. It has also taken me YEARS to get to a place where I feel safe being out at work and know how to advocate for myself in the workplace. Being able to be out safely anywhere at all is a privilege that many LGBTQ+ folks don’t have. 6. I’ve had to come out so many times as so many different things, and will probably continue to have to do so. Sexuality & gender are fluid! Happy National Coming Out Day to you all, no matter where you are in your process!