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National Coming Out Day

A look back at some of our content

by
Adam Chandler
October 11, 2012
Israel's Gay Pride Parade(NPR)
Israel's Gay Pride Parade(NPR)

Today is National Coming Out Day, a civil awareness day, which was founded on the anniversary of a march that brought half a million people to Washington, D.C. in support of lesbian and gay rights. In the 25 years since, there has been a National Coming Out Day every year. A small blurb about the history of the tradition explains:

Recognizing that the LGBT community often reacted defensively to anti-gay actions, they came up with the idea of a national day to celebrate coming out and chose the anniversary of that second march on Washington to mark it.

We’d like to direct you to some of the great content in our archives, which chronicle the convergence between gay life and Jewish life across political, cultural, and religious boundaries.

First, a Vox Tablet podcast with our own Wayne Hoffman, whose novel Sweet Like Sugar won the prestigious Stonewall Book Award. In it, he talks about the book, which elegantly addresses the complicating forces of faith, identity, and secrecy.

Earlier this summer, Eli Sanders profiled an activist named Faygele Ben Miriam, who led the fight for same sex marriage in Washington State. It’s an unbelievable story.

We also have a podcast about DevOUT, a documentary focusing on Jews who are gay and also raising families in Orthodox Jewish communities. Host Sara Ivry sits with one of the filmmakers.

Lastly, James Kirchick, our newest columnist, wrote smartly for us last year about the charge of pinkwashing, in which critics of Israel cynically blame the state for promoting its progressive gay-rights record in order to conceal abuses against Palestinians. It’s an important read.

Enjoy!

Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.