ISSUES
: Sexuality and Gender
Chapter 1: Understanding sexuality
10
Only 17% of LGBTI Brits know it’s
National Coming Out Day tomorrow*
By Shanti Rao
O
ctober 11 is National
Coming Out Day (NCOD) –
an annual, internationally
observed civil awareness day
celebrating
individuals
who
publicly identify as a sexual or
gender minority. One of the aims
is to raise awareness of the issues
surrounding coming out of the
closet as an LGBTI (Lesbian Gay
Bisexual Transgender Intersex)
individual.
However, a OnePoll survey of 1,000
Brits who identify as LGBTI showed
that just 17% of them knew that
NCOD is tomorrow. While another
15% at least knew NCOD exists,
that still leaves a whopping 68%
that had never even heard of it.
30%of the peoplewe asked thought
NCOD could help raise awareness
of the issues surrounding coming
out of the closet, while another
56% thought it might if it was
better publicised.
27% of people even thought NCOD
might help some people build
up courage to come out to their
friends and family, and similarly,
50% thought it could do if more
people knew about it.
Average age to
come out
For the men that took our survey,
the average age to realise they were
LGBTI was 15, and the average age
to come out was 19.
On average, women tended to
realise slightly later at age 16, but
come out a bit sooner at age 18.
Over time, people seem to be
realising they’re LGBTI at a younger
age. For respondents aged 55+,
the average age was 18. This age
steadily decreased right down to
the 18–24-year-old group, who
realised at age 13 on average.
The same linear trend emerged
when we looked at the average age
people came out of the closet, with
people aged 55+ doing so at 24,
and 18–24-year-olds at age 16.
Homosexual people
were more likely to be
‘out’ than
bisexual people
The majority of people that took
our survey identified as either
homosexual (42%) or bisexual (50%).
42% of people that identified
as homosexual feel able to be
completely open about their
sexuality. 14% said they’re open with
friends but not family, and just 3%
remain firmly in the closet, having
not told anyone.
It seems bisexual people are
less likely to come out than their
homosexual counterparts, with only
29% feeling able to be completely
open
about
their
sexuality.
Meanwhile, more of them are open
with friends but not family (22%),
and many more haven’t told anyone
at all (14%).
Why stay in the closet?
The most common reason given
for not being completely out of the
closet was the worry that other
people might treat them differently
once they found out (37%).
The second most common concern
was that some friends and/or family
members would disapprove (31%).
28% of people that said they’re not
fully open about their sexuality said
this was in part due to the fact they
were currently in a heterosexual
relationship.
23% said they worry that they may
be the victim of bullying if they come
out to everyone.
8% said they’re still in the closet
because their religion states that
being LGBTI is wrong.
6% were concerned that it might
affect their career prospects.
Why come out?
The most influential factor in
deciding to come out of the closet
for our panellists was feeling
confident in one’s own sexuality/
gender (35%), closely followed
by feeling it would help with one’s
personal growth (31%).
25% of people that had come out
said they didn’t feel able to be
themselves while still in the closet,
and 17% felt like they were lying to
friends and family by pretending to
be heterosexual.
Very few people had come out
because they felt pressured by
a friend or partner to do so (3%),
though many would argue this is
3% too many.
How to tell people
63% of people said they came out to
their friends and family face-to-face.
The
second
most
popular
communication method was by text
(28%), and third was on the phone
(24%).
30% of 18–24-year-olds said they
came out on social media.
How did it go?
50% of people we surveyed that had
come out to someone said some of
those they told were very accepting.
30% said some of the people they
came out to already knew they were
LGBTI anyway.
Sadly, 23% found they were
rejected by some of the people they
opened up to.
Despite some people having
negative experiences when coming
out, people said that they were
