Outing

Outing is the practice of deliberately making public another person's concealed or barely-concealed sexual identity or orientation, without that person's consent. The people outed are most often public figures such as politicians or celebrities.

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The term, derived from the expression "coming out" (revealing one's sexual or gender orientation to others), was coined by Time. Taylor Branch used the term "outage" in 1982, Michelangelo Signorile prefers the term "reporting", and Gabriel Rotello suggests "equalizing", explaining that

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:"what we have called 'outing' is a primarily journalistic movement to treat homosexuality as equal to heterosexuality in the media...In 1990, many of us in the gay media announced that henceforth we would simply treat homosexuality and heterosexuality as equals. We were not going to wait for the perfect, utopian future to arrive before equalizing the two: We were going to do it now. That's what outing really is: equalizing homosexuality and heterosexuality in the media." (Signorile 1993, p.77-78)

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The term can also be used in a more general sense as meaning to make public a fact about a person which the person wants kept secret. For instance, one may "out" someone as a communist (political), or a jew (racial).

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Sexual identity: :This article refers to sexual identity as used by sexologists, rather than to sexual orientation, sexual behaviour, gender identity, gender role or sex...

Orientation: Orientation can refer to different things....

Politician: A politician is an individual involved in politics to the extent of holding or running for public office....

Outing related Images and Photos (experimental)

Spring Outing

Family Outing

Country Outing