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Scroll To Top![Browse these 13 reasons why you need to kick down the closet door and take your first fabulous step into a new world.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 1000 750'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![1. Keeping something so important a secret is bad for you.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 1000 750'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![2. Coming out empowers those who can\u2019t.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 1000 750'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![3. In a world filled with antigay leaders pushing for antigay policies, coming out is a political act.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 1000 750'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![4. Dating gets way easier.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 1000 750'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![5. Hooking up gets way easier too.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 1000 750'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![6. Coming out respects the hard work done by LGBT activists who came before you.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 1000 750'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![7. Coming out gives you the most honest picture of life.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 1000 750'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![8. Coming out may the hardest thing you ever do in your life. It\u2019s important to measure yourself at least once.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 1000 750'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![9. Coming out is the first step to appreciating your cultural inheritance.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 1000 750'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![10. Coming out will reveal your allies.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 1000 750'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![11. When you come out, fellow LGBTQ people become less terrifying.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 1000 750'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![12. Coming out means you get to have \u201cyour story\u201d \u2014 and some of them are hilarious.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 1000 750'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![13. Finally, if you cannot come out, we need you to stay strong.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 1000 750'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
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Browse these 13 reasons why you need to kick down the closet door and take your first fabulous step into a new world.
If you’re in the United States or Europe in October of 2016, it’s time, girl. Coming out was not an option for LGBT people of a certain age in the past, but that time has long since passed. There are 70-year-olds who have been living their authentic selves for the last 50 years. You can too, and it’s a disservice to those in other parts of the world, where coming out is dangerous, not to. Even in this country, there are still pockets of radical faith in which our own are oppressed and silenced. You must come out. Doing so empowers them — and it’s good for you, too. I promise.
ALEXANDER CHEVES is a columnist for The Advocate. Follow his blog, The Beastly Ex-Boyfriend, and his Twitter @BadAlexCheves.