Menstuff® has compiled information about coming out.
National Coming Out Day October
11
Come On Out, The Water's
Fine
It Gets Better
8:10National Coming Out Day October 11
NCOD was founded in 1988 by Robert Eichberg, a psychologist from New Mexico and Jean O'Leary, an openly-gay political leader from Los Angeles, on behalf of the personal growth workshop The Experience and National Gay Rights Advocates.[3][4] The date of October 11 was chosen because it was the anniversary of the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.[5]
The first headquarters was located in the West Hollywood, California offices of the National Gay Rights Advocates. 18 states participated in the first NCOD, which was covered in the national media. In its second year, the headquarters moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico and participation grew to 21 states. After a media push in 1990, NCOD was observed in all 50 states and seven other countries. Participation continued to grow and in 1990 NCOD merged their efforts with the Human Rights Campaign Fund.[1]
ObservanceEvents are held annually to celebrate coming out and to
raise awareness of the LGBT community and LGBT rights movement.
Participants are encouraged to wear pride symbols, such as the pink
triangle (gays), Bisexual pride flag (bisexuals) & the black
triangle (lesbians), the Greek letter lambda, and rainbows in jewelry
and on clothing. 
References
1. a b "History of National Coming Out Day".
Human Rights Campaign. www.hrc.org/issues/3338.htm
Retrieved 2008-10-17. "Every Oct. 10, thousands of gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender people and allies celebrate National Coming
Out Day."
2. Gillan, Adrian (2008-10-06). "Closet Case?".
Lifestyle. United Kingdom: GaydarNation / QSoft Consulting Ltd.
Archived from the original on 2009-10-11. www.webcitation.org/5kSHrwhNs
Retrieved 2009-10-11. "As UK National Coming Out Day looms (12
October), GaydarNation’s Adrian Gillan considers those who - for
all kinds of reason and by varying degree - choose not to be open
about their sexuality."
3. "Robert Eichberg, 50, Gay Rights Leader". New
York Times. August 15, 1995. www.nytimes.com/1995/08/15/obituaries/robert-eichberg-50-gay-rights-leader.html
4. "Robert Eichberg, Gay Advocate". The Seattle
Times. August 14, 1995. community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19950814&slug=2136369
5. "History of National Coming Out Day: 1987: In the
Beginning, There Was a March". Coming Out. Human Rights Campaign.
www.hrc.org/issues/3350.htm
Retrieved March 25, 2011.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Coming_Out_Day
The site, part of the Human Rights Campaign's enormous Web presence,
is an impeccable source for accurate and supportive information.
If you haven't taken that first step out and are wondering what
it's like, you can read coming-out stories culled from Internet
message boards at www.bibble.org/gay/stories/comingout.html
Parents, of course, are often the hardest people to come out to. To help soften the blow, Scott Bidstrup set up a special site titled My Child is Gay - Now What Do I Do? at www.bidstrup.com/parents/htm
In contrast, the sparse page at www.angelfire.com/co/lesmom
holds just a single essay. But this powerful commentary, written by
an anonymous mom dealing with her daughter's coming-out, is the kind
of Web page you'll want to print and share with anyone who is
thinking of coming out.
On the other wide of the coin, A Coming Out Guide for Gay
Dads, located at www.domani.net/richard/gaydads.html
offers tips on coming out to your kids.
For advice on coming out as transgendered log on to www.geocities.com/westhollywood/stonewall/1446/out-tg.htm
Take a journey with David, an Australian teen, as he comes out to
the people in his life, all recorded in his online diary at www.geocities.com/millsyboyau
For a humorous take on National Coming Out Day, check out the
parody page at www.buffnet.net/~grinch/generalstupidity/getbackinthecloset.html
Source: Eric Mueller, queeries@advocate.com
or www.advocate.com
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