Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are

(2020, Oxford)

come out. come out, whoever you are book img

While people used to conceal the fact that they were gay or lesbian to protect themselves from stigma and discrimination, it is now commonplace for people to “come out” and encourage others to do so as well. Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are systematically examines how coming out has moved beyond gay and lesbian rights groups and how different groups wrestle with the politics of coming out in their efforts to resist stigma and enact social change. It shows how different experiences and disparate risks of disclosure shape these groups’ collective strategies. Through scores of interviews with LGBTQ+ people, undocumented immigrant youth, fat acceptance activists, Mormon fundamentalist polygamists, and sexual harassment lawyers and activists in the era of the #MeToo movement, Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are explains why so many different groups gravitate toward the term coming out. By focusing on the personal and political resonance of coming out, it provides a novel way to understand how identity politics work in America today.

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Blurbs for Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are

“For individuals silenced by social stigma and shame, coming out is a bold and potentially dangerous act. But for contemporary social movements, coming out is necessary first step to claiming dignity, rights, and recognition. Saguy deftly traces the surprising power and perils of the coming out narrative in the fight for social justice.”

— Christine Williams, The University of Texas at Austin

“Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are brilliantly describes how the many ways of being different have given rise to a universal push for visibility and recognition. Not just gay activists, but the fat acceptance movement, Mormon polygamists, and many, many others now claim the right to reject stigma and come out of their various closets. While the comparisons across these cases are instructive, this book’s attention to similarities is what readers will find most surprising and intriguing.”

— Steven Epstein, Northwestern University, and author of Inclusion: The Politics of Difference in Medical Research

“The 1970s rallying cry to come out of the closet has proved to be an enduring metaphor for liberation, a transferable social movement principle, and an elastic concept both within and outside of LGBTQ life. In Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are Abigail Saguy and her colleagues tease out the multiple meanings, uses, and lessons of coming out across a variety of movements and identities. An astute, inventive sociological biography of a powerful symbol and strategy.”

— Joshua Gamson, University of San Francisco

“This fascinating book reveals how the term ‘coming out’ travels between social movements in recent decades to define how groups gain recognition-from LGBTQ people to people embracing their fatness, the undocumented, polygamists and those who turned to #MeToo to denounce harassers. Meticulously researched, it shows the power of narratives and tells an essential story about how cultural change happens in contemporary America. This surprising and engaging study should be required reading for anyone interested in destigmatization and social justice.”

— Michèle Lamont, Harvard University

Reviews

“This methodically researched book worthily broadens the idea of coming out, which Saguy rightly observes, is about sharing stories that provide language, concepts, and tactics for people who have been invisible or in hiding to become visible.”

— Bay Area Reporter

“Saguy explodes the meaning of coming out. It has ‘never been only about revealing a hidden identity,’ she cautions. ‘It is about proudly reclaiming this identity.”

— Public Books

“A fascinating and powerful analysis of how various groups are using “coming out” to gain personal power, allies and increased civil rights. Skillfully, Saguy allows members of each group she studies to tell their own fascinating stories.”

— Ms. Magazine

Related Op-Eds

Saguy, Abigail. 2020. “How lesbians help others come out as fat.” Thomas Reuters Foundation News. Feb 12.

Saguy, Abigail C. 2020. “The history of ‘coming out,’ from secret gay code to popular political protest.” The Conversation. Feb 10

Reprinted in Curve Magazine, TOWLEROAD, and GAYETY.

Radio & Podcast

The Randy Report. March 16, 2020. “Podcast: How Different Groups Use Coming Out to Push for Visibility & Recognition.”

Wort, Eighty-Nine-Nine FM, Community Radio, Madison, WI. February 24, 2020. 8 O’clock Buzz.

The Queer Network. Episode 27. “How the Coming Out of the Closet Story is Changing.” Podcast. Video.