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In/Out: Crossing Boundaries
We come out in our sexuality
We come into the LGBT community
We cross boundaries of sexuality and gender
We cross boundaries when we link with new communities and make international
connections
Coming out is coming in - into a community that can provide support
where it is lacking elsewhere, or where disclosure to family and friends
may prove difficult or dangerous
Our move to be out may mean moving away - to the city, to another
place, another country [ 1] To find each other, we move in, out and across - we traverse, we
migrate, connect across boundaries, foster an international community
Welcoming in when left out...
Where left out of the dominant society, LGBT people cross boundaries of
class, gender, age, disability, religion, nation, race and ethnicity,
to include and support each other - integration through diversity.
In diversity - in a world of diverse sexualities, coming OUT should
mean
coming IN...inclusion not exclusion
In Japanese, sexuality is often indicated by the word 'colour'.
[ 2] In a multi-coloured world of diverse sexualities,
LGBT people have adopted a flag that is rainbow-coloured to suggest our
inclusive community. OurStory Scotland
... collects the stories of LGBT people in Scotland. Many stories
reflect a lifetime of moving in and out and crossing boundaries:
- moving in and out of communities, nationally and internationally
- moving into and out of heterosexual relationships, including marriage and children
- moving into a politicised community or retiring into a smaller circle of supportive friends
- moving across rural-urban boundaries and seeking the distinct support that each provides
- moving into and out of Scotland - for some, Scotland represents
an illiberal homophobic land from which you escape to Amsterdam, New York
or San Francisco; for others, Scotland has acted as a liberal and supportive
place, where cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh may offer you both the
anonymity and the community that encourage an acceptance of your sexuality.
1. Another Country is the title of a
James Baldwin novel that openly addresses same-gender desire. Baldwin
never concealed his sexuality, and did not want to put limits on love:
he said that he was open to love, no matter what form or gender it might
take.
2. For example, Forbidden Colours, the title of a novel
by Yukio Mishima.
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