The Importance of Being OUT [Director's Commentary]

Sean and I met at the first ALLiES meeting of 2007, and ever since then he's had a Love-Hate relationship with the group; he believes in being discreet about his sexuality and devote most his efforts to other advocacy groups like the NAACP. He and I have had at least one epic public argument over issues like openness, pride, and a responsibility to the community. One year later, we were able to put aside our differences for this interview, and much to my surprise, his views have changed, I found myself agreeing with some of his responses, and we've kept in touch regularly via FaceBook.


Although I would never call it "a sexual decision," I agree that it is important for people to come out of the Closet, not just for themselves but also for the sake of the community. I think that honesty is always the best policy, and Coming Out lifts a huge burden off one's shoulders--no longer having to hide their desires or switch pronouns in conversation.



And as Sean pointed out, being Out does limit your job opportunities, especially if the company and/or its investors are conservative. The sad truth is that in many states, it's still perfectly legal to fire someone because of their sexual orientation. In fact, two years ago ALLiES participated in a letter writing campaign to get the Employment Non-Discrimination Act through Congress.