Etheridge, lang, Stipe lend support to HRC project

"Being Out Rocks"--celebrating openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered musicians--is the theme for this year's National Coming Out Project, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation announced Friday. Melissa Etheridge, Ani DiFranco, the Indigo Girls, k.d. lang, Michael Stipe, and RuPaul are among the 19 openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered musicians who have lent their names to a poster heralding the 2002 theme. The poster's tag line reads, "You may feel like just a face in the crowd, but coming out as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender makes you a star!"

"Coming out to the world was one of the most freeing events in my life, and I'm proud to support HRC's National Coming Out Project and National Coming Out Day," said Grammy Award-winning artist Etheridge. "I hope that efforts such as this one will help teenagers feel that they can be themselves and not worry that their sexual orientation may be made an obstacle to their success."

Other artists who signed their names to HRC's "Being Out Rocks" poster are: the Butchies, Catie Curtis, Lea DeLaria, Jade Esteban Estrada, Janis Ian, Lisa Koch, Bob Mould, Chuck Panozzo, Pet Shop Boys, SONiA, Suede, Rufus Wainwright, and Cris Williamson. The poster, which will be distributed nationwide, can be downloaded by visiting the National Coming Out Project on HRC's Web site at www.hrc.org/ncop.