Today is Coming Out Day, an awareness day to support anyone ‘coming out of the closet’. The day was first celebrated in 1988; the founders believed that ‘queerphobia’ thrives in an atmosphere of silence and ignorance and that once people know that they have loved ones who are queer, they are far less likely to maintain queerphobic or oppressive views.
We interviewed Tomas Goorhuis of Erasmus Pride, the LGBTQIA+ student association of EUR, about the importance of this day.
Hi Tomas, could you tell us a bit more about Erasmus Pride and what kind of activities you organise?
'We are an association for the queer students at Erasmus University Rotterdam. We organise social events where our members can feel safe. You can think of events like drinks and parties. We also organise gatherings such as a book club and various other cultural activities.'
How do you feel things stand in terms of acceptance of the queer community?
'In general, I would say that the queer community in Rotterdam is often accepted, but this is not always the case. Queer people do still get scolded or harassed. In conversations with people who don't know you are queer, sometimes statements come up that can be quite hurtful. These kinds of interactions don't just apply to Rotterdam; you can draw this wider for the whole of the Netherlands. Internationally, in many countries it is not uncommon for people to be unable to come out to their loved ones and their peers (in some countries being queer is illegal), and thus stay in the closet for a long time.'
Why are days like Coming Out Day important?
'Precisely because there are so many people who don't feel safe to be themselves, this day should be there. It can support people in the difficult process that coming out can be. It's not always easy and it can be painful. Queer people need the support this day gives.'
We at IDEA Center hope everyone feels free to be themselves. Not only today, but every day. Everyone can love who they want to love, feel how they want to feel and be proud of who they are.
Check out the amazing interview with Tomas Goorhuis and Chris Klarenbeek of Erasmus Pride in the magazine Gers (in Dutch) as well.