History of the phrases Closet and Coming Out

By David Fettke

The words and phrases used to describe a person who publicly or openly acknowledges their sexuality have only come into use in this context during the last 40 years or so. The terms closet and come out or coming out have been adopted by the gay and lesbian community in much the same way as the word gay was adopted in the last half of the 20th century. Ultimately, the meanings of these words and phrases have changed so that now the most common usage is in relation to a person announcing their sexuality to others.

The word closet was first used to mean secret or unsuspected as early as the 1600s, but not in relation to a person’s sexuality. Closeted also came into use around the same time and meant to keep something hidden or secret from others. Closet case, closet queen, or closet homosexual began to be used during the middle of the 20th century to mean that someone was hiding their homosexuality from others. Similar terms used around this time period were canned fruit, cedarchest sissy, and dry queen, which have now fallen into disuse.

The phrase coming out was used as early as the 1300s to describe a young woman coming of age and entering society for the first time. The coming out party or debutante ball has a long tradition and is a way to show society that a girl is ready for courting. Later, the phrase come out was also used in other contexts to mean to declare oneself or take a position, and was often used to describe a person’s religious conversion or taking a stance on a political issue.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first printed use of the term coming out of the closet to describe declaring one’s sexuality, was written by Sylvia Plath in the January 16, 1963 issue of London Magazine. It is also believed to be the first time that these two terms were combined into one phrase, and a new meaning was born. By the 1970s, coming out the of closet had come into common usage and come out or coming out was often used as a shortened version of this longer phrase, although coming out can also be a reference to the social custom of a debuntante coming out as mentioned above.

Come out, coming out, and coming out of the closet are terms that are now mostly used in reference to a person telling family members, friends, coworkers, or others that they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Our language and the meanings of words are constantly changing and evolving, just as our society changes and evolves. Perhaps at some point in the future the phrases coming out of the closet and coming out will no longer be a necessary part of our language as people become more accepting and comfortable with their own sexuality, and the sexuality of others.

Sources:

Dictionary of American Slang, 3rd ed., HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1997.

The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., vol. III, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1989.

The Queen’s Vernacular: A Gay Lexicon, by Bruce Rodgers, Straight Arrow Books, San Francisco, 1972.

Word’s Out: Gay Men’s English, by William L. Leap, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1996.