How to Show People You’re Someone They Can Come Out To

The next post in our National Coming Out Day series is how you can show the people around you that you’re someone they can come out to.

This doesn’t mean that you’ll always say or do the right thing; it means you love and support 2SLGBTQIA+ folks.

1. Be mindful of what you’re engaging with on social media and who you’re following. If some people or pages you follow share harmful things or misinformation about 2SLGBTQIA+ folks, it may cause someone to hesitate coming out to you.

2. Use gender-inclusive language all the time, even if you don’t think anyone around you is trans or gender-diverse.

3. Tell your family or friends that their homophobic or transphobic jokes are inappropriate and hurtful.

4. If someone says something harmful, try using phrases like “can you explain what you mean by that?” or “what makes you say that?” to continue the conversation.

5. When 2SLGBTQIA+ topics are in the news, speak positively and supportively about them to your friends and family. If you’re not sure about something you’ve read, check out politically engaged organizations like Egale or Momentum.

6. Watch movies or TV shows with positive 2SLGBTQIA+ representation and bring them up in conversation or post about them on social media.