Coming out
![LGBT flag](/Images/godic/202501/15/Gay_flag.svg2937.png")
![19th-century gay rights advocate Karl Heinrich Ulrichs introduced the idea of coming out as a means of emancipation.](/Images/godic/202501/15/Karl_Heinrich_Ulrichs2937.jpg")
Coming out of the closet, or simply coming out, is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, and asexual (LGBTQ+) people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation (or lack thereof) and/or gender identity. The term coming out can also be used in various non-LGBT applications (e.g. atheists).