| 1 | %% Trope was declared Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease via crowner by the Real Life Maintenance thread: %%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=3jtoz3d1 |
| 2 | %%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13350380440A15238800 |
| 3 | |
| 4 | %% Quality upgrade per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1495849259047074400 |
| 5 | %% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 6 | %% |
| 7 | |
| 8 | [[quoteright:231:[[Webcomic/Rain2010 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/coming_out_story.jpg]]]] |
| 9 | [[caption-width-right:231:[[EpicFail And the other two are]] [[CastFullOfGay transgender and genderfluid.]]]] |
| 10 | |
| 11 | ->''There's a new me coming out'' |
| 12 | ->''And I just have to live'' |
| 13 | ->''And I wanna give'' |
| 14 | ->''I'm completely positive.'' |
| 15 | ->''I think this time around'' |
| 16 | ->''I am gonna do it'' |
| 17 | ->''Like you never knew it'' |
| 18 | ->''Oh I'll make it through.'' |
| 19 | ->''The time has come for me'' |
| 20 | ->''To break out of this shell'' |
| 21 | ->''I have to shout'' |
| 22 | ->''That I am coming out!'' |
| 23 | -->-- Music/DianaRoss, "I'm Coming Out" |
| 24 | |
| 25 | The LGBT+ Coming-Out Story: the moment a ClosetGay or Bi or Trans etc. character comes out to everyone around them. This includes a character's journey to embracing their identity and who they really are. |
| 26 | Happens at least once for almost every LGBT character ever, but most often seen with lesbian or gay characters, due to the NoBisexuals trope and trans characters still being rare as well (as are UsefulNotes/{{asexual}}, pansexual, etc. characters). |
| 27 | |
| 28 | Although there are only so many variations you can do with it, you can be assured that any LGBT cast member of a show will relate to it at one point, or someone in their life will wholeheartedly support them, while at least another will turn out to be homophobic and will hate them. When parents are involved, they will either furiously throw their own child out of the home for this revelation, or reveal that they suspected all along, but were content to wait for their child to feel comfortable enough to admit it. Also usually includes a [[HomophobicHateCrime hate crime]] somewhere after the character comes out. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | It also might be a [[AmbiguouslyGay payoff for a character who has long been giving hints]], in which case [[TransparentCloset few are surprised]]. |
| 31 | Several teen and young-adult centric stories will incorporate this with a ComingOfAgeStory. If the characters are an [[CastFullOfGay ensemble of LGBT+ characters]], usually this plot is assigned to TheTwink or the LipstickLesbian. If not, then this will almost always be a GayAesop. |
| 32 | |
| 33 | Related to LateComingOut, which is for people who come out well into adulthood, and ComingOfAgeQueerRomance, which is for people coming out when they're entering puberty. If a character comes out as a supernatural creature, see HaveYouTriedNotBeingAMonster. If a trans person has supernatural help coming out, see SupernaturallyValidatedTransPerson. This trope has a strong overlap with QueerEstablishingMoment in stories where it isn't the main focus of the work. For ways that characters can realize their identity, see ClosetKey or LGBTAwakening. For cases where another character reveals the gay character's sexuality without their consent, see ForcedOutOfTheCloset. |
| 34 | |
| 35 | ---- |
| 36 | !!Example Subpages: |
| 37 | [[index]] |
| 38 | * ComingOutStory/LiveActionTV |
| 39 | [[/index]] |
| 40 | !! Other Examples: |
| 41 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 42 | |
| 43 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 44 | * ''Manga/AsteroidInLove'': Part of Chapter 29, adopted as part of the ninth episode, deals with Moe's LoveConfession towards Misa, and how she struggles with it. She does not openly declare her sexuality, but the fact she did that is implied to be known to some of the cast, if off-screen. By Chapter 32, some 6 weeks after in in-universe time, it appears that even Moe's ChildhoodFriend [[GenkiGirl Mira]] is publicly saying Moe likes a girl within Moe's earshot, and yielded only ''positive'' responses. |
| 45 | * Marika from ''Manga/BokuraNoHentai'' is a trans girl who has been dressing up as a girl in secret for some time. After persuasion from her friend Satoshi and his family, along with fears of puberty, she comes out to her mom and begins living as a girl. |
| 46 | * ''Manga/IsLoveTheAnswer'' is about Chika, a girl realizing she's asexual, meeting others like her and coming to accept herself. |
| 47 | * ''Manga/KanojoNiNaritaiKimiToBoku'' is told from the POV of Akira's friend, however it is about Akira transitioning as a trans girl in her first year of high school. |
| 48 | * ''Manga/LoveMeForWhoIAm'': |
| 49 | ** A good chunk of [[spoiler:Kotone]]'s character arc is her coming to terms with her {{gayngst}} and coming out of the closet. When taken to gay rights festival by her UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} friends while still closeted, she ends up breaking down crying after seeing all the happy lesbian couples. |
| 50 | ** There are also a few other, less obvious, Coming Out Stories: Mogumo learning about their non-binary identity and how to be openly enby, Suzu being in a SecretRelationship with his boyfriend and learning to be more open, and Mei learning that it's okay to be seen a trans girl instead of a WholesomeCrossdresser. |
| 51 | * [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''Manga/LoveMyLife''. At the start of the story, Ichiko comes out to her father by introducing him to her girlfriend... only for ''him'' to reveal that [[FirstEpisodeTwist he's gay and Ichiko's mother was a lesbian, and that the two of them only got married because they wanted to have a family.]] Notably, none of the story's gay characters ever come out to society in general. |
| 52 | * ''Manga/SweetBlueFlowers'': |
| 53 | ** Fumi has her coming out toward her best friend Akira at their [[LocalHangout favorite hang-out spot]], when she tells her that she's dating a senior from her [[OneGenderSchool all-girl high school]]. Akira is a bit surprised at first, but soon decides to support her friend fully. Luckily, there are no homophobes in this series, and the emphasis is more on the relationship between Akira and Fumi in light of this development. |
| 54 | ** Played with as well; In what appears to be a more stereotypical form of the trope, Yasuko invites Fumi to meet her family, and states to them during dinner that they're dating. The response from Yasuko's sister, however, is for her to repeatedly ask whether Yasuko's really in love with Fumi, before delivering the WhamLine [[spoiler: "So you're bisexual, Yasuko."]] Fumi had no idea that Yasuko [[spoiler: wasn't a lesbian]], and it leads to Yasuko [[spoiler: breaking up with Fumi over her unrequited feelings for her old teacher, pointing out that Fumi has her own unrequited love to get over as well.]] Yasuko's family, it should be noted, were fine with it. |
| 55 | * ''Manga/WanderingSon'', made by the same mangaka who makes ''Sweet Blue Flowers'', has a UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} variant, mixed with a ComingOfAgeStory. Both Nitori and Takatsuki are not reluctant to tell people of their wishes to be seen as a girl and a boy, though Takatsuki is more worrisome. The beginning of the manga began with them two meeting in fifth grade, and soon after telling each other of their wishes. Both of them feel the need to start dressing as the opposite sex around that time, but their parents either don't notice or think it's a confusing phase. Takatsuki's anxiety [[spoiler:foreshadows her gender confusion as a teenager]]. In contrast, Nitori's arc ends with the implications that she'll transition now that she's off to college. |
| 56 | [[/folder]] |
| 57 | |
| 58 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 59 | * ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} (Katherine "Kate" Kane) came out as gay and was kicked out of West Point under the "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_ask,_don%27t_tell Dont Ask Don't Tell" policy.]] Her commanding officer had given her the chance to deny the whole thing and have it swept under the rug, [[WillNotTellALie but Kate refused to lie and compromise her personal honor]]. When she comes out to her father, he is awesome: |
| 60 | -->[Kate enters her father's garage]\ |
| 61 | '''Dad:''' Kate? This is a surprise. Shouldn't you be attending class? Are you on pass?\ |
| 62 | '''Kate:''' No, sir. I've been separated from the Army.\ |
| 63 | '''Dad:''' What? What happened?\ |
| 64 | '''Kate:''' Colonel Reyes informed me I was under investigation for violating Article 125. I couldn't say what he needed to hear.\ |
| 65 | '''Dad:''' Article 125... that is Homosexual Conduct.\ |
| 66 | '''Kate:''' Yes, sir.\ |
| 67 | '''Dad:''' Why couldn't you tell him what he needed to hear?\ |
| 68 | '''Kate:''' ''[raises her sunglasses, looks him straight in the eyes]'' I'd have been lying.\ |
| 69 | ''[BeatPanel of Dad carefully cleaning his hands, processing this]''\ |
| 70 | '''Dad:''' Then you kept your honor and your integrity. I'm proud of you. [[SoProudOfYou Your mother would have been too.]] |
| 71 | * ''ComicBook/BlueIsTheWarmestColor'': Much of the story is about Clémentine coming out to herself, and then also other people. Her friend Valentin is also gay and came out to her early on, which helps Clémentine do the same. |
| 72 | * In the [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom furry comic]] ''ComicBook/{{Circles}}'', Marty is eventually forced to come out to his parents and godmother when they inadvertently force the issue during at visit to his boarding house. As it turns out, his parents had a wager where the mother thought he was gay while the father was holding out for him being bisexual so grandchildren could still be possible from him. As for the godmother, she is so obtuse that she doesn't understand the confession in the first place. |
| 73 | * Pied Piper [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_16vaepAqX-c/THbSIcElCfI/AAAAAAAACBU/ussJ0h6jCz0/s1600/Zone003.jpg comes out]] to ComicBook/TheFlash, Wally West. Wally [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_16vaepAqX-c/THbSdw1lTgI/AAAAAAAACBc/zC_iFBGwFZI/s1600/Zone004.jpg claims]] he knew all along. |
| 74 | * Creator/AlisonBechdel's autobiographical ''ComicBook/{{Fun Home}}'' details her coming out as a lesbian, and while her mom writes a letter expressing disappointment (Alison herself noting "As disapproval goes, I suppose it was rather mild"), and she finds supportive people (her roommate responds "Oh cool! Can I tell my friends?") the main crux of it is how it spurred Alison to learn of her own father's closeted homosexuality. Her father, tragically, never has his coming-out. She also published her coming out story in comic form in 1993 in Gay Comics (Early Summer 1993, #19). You can [[http://www.oberlinlgbt.org/bechdel/bechdel-1.html read it here.]] |
| 75 | * ''ComicBook/GenderQueerAMemoir'' revolves around Maia coming of age and coming out as both [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} nonbinary]] and UsefulNotes/{{asexual|ity}}. |
| 76 | * Renee Montoya, in an award-winning arc of ''ComicBook/GothamCentral'', was involuntarily outed by Two-Face, [[StalkerWithACrush who had become obsessed with her since their encounter in]] ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand.'' He mailed pictures of her with her girlfriend to her family and to the Major Crimes Unit, the branch of the Gotham City Police Department where she worked. Captain Maggie Sawyer, Renee's shift commander at the MCU, was already out and attempted to help guide Renee through the initial tribulations, but Renee felt that [[TwoferTokenMinority their circumstances were not comparable]]. Ultimately, [[IhaveNoSon her parents disowned her]], but she was able to find a modicum of acceptance from the cops she worked with. It's later implied that her parents -- or her father at least -- upon cooling down a bit have deeply regretted this disownment, but Renee is by this point understandably unwilling to have anything to do with them even if they are willing to mend fences. |
| 77 | * The first volume of ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfKorraTurfWars'' has Korra and Asami telling various supporting characters about the relationship they started at the end of [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra the preceding TV series]]. Everyone they tell is accepting, but they are warned that [[HeteronormativeCrusader some people]] won't be. |
| 78 | * Just in case there was anyone who hadn't figured it out yet, Karolina Dean of the ComicBook/{{Runaways}} came out in the two-part "Star-Crossed" arc. Unfortunately, someone at Marvel apparently felt that having an open lesbian on the team might scare away readers, so she was suddenly engaged to a genderfluid alien royal and [[PutOnABus put on a spaceship]] for several issues. It was not one of Marvel's braver moments. |
| 79 | * Averted by ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'', where most gay characters are already out by the time they are introduced. While bi-curiosity abounds [[spoiler:(Ramona dated a girl for some time but eventually didn't really consider herself bisexual, Knives and Kim drunkenly made out but never mentioned it again)]], [[spoiler:Stephen Stills]] is the only one who comes out, and it's done off-screen around Volume 5 without fanfare. |
| 80 | * ''Manga/SteadyBeat'' is a well-done ComingOutStory; nobody comes out...yet, but the main character discovering that her sister is apparently a lesbian is the motivator for the plot. Her own reaction is more confused and upset than homophobic. |
| 81 | * Spoofed in ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers''. The character Wiccan is reluctantly trying to tell his parents he became a superhero, but they misunderstand and assume he's coming out with his boyfriend. They're supportive of his sexuality, but no word yet on his choice of profession since he didn't get a chance to say anything about it. Also Marvel planned on slowly hinting, then having a big reveal that Hulkling and Wiccan are gay and a couple, but readers figured it out long beforehand. Marvel then had it casually mentioned in one issue instead of making it a shocking reveal. |
| 82 | [[/folder]] |
| 83 | |
| 84 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 85 | * Something of a watershed moment in ''ComicStrip/ForBetterOrForWorse''. The storyline where Lawrence, one of Mike's friends, comes out as gay is pretty routine and by the numbers, but the fact remains that it occurred in a newspaper strip. It includes his foster father (briefly) throwing him out. The strip had been getting more serious in its arcing storylines for years, but this one drew furor like no other. While the character was still in high school, his being gay was often of note in every scene he was in from then on, such as the prom, but afterwards, he was just another family friend. |
| 86 | * The Israeli comic ''{{ComicStrip/Zbeng}}'' has [[StraightGay Ziv]] coming out in ''Zbeng 1''. [[EvilRedhead Jinji]] reacts very negatively and immediately runs to spread the news... only to find out, to his dismay, that the rest of the named characters don't share his opinion on the fact being a big deal. |
| 87 | [[/folder]] |
| 88 | |
| 89 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 90 | * ''Fanfic/AllMyHomiesHateAthalieSeverin'': After [[spoiler: Athalie's death]], Camille finally comes out as lesbian, and Silvia promises to "set [her] up" with some "cool lesbians" that she knows. |
| 91 | * ''FanFic/AngelOfTheBat'' blends this with, of all things, CuriosityCausesConversion: [[spoiler: Cassandra Cain gets into Catholicism as an outsider and gets most of her information from Stephanie Brown. Knowing Cassandra doesn't understand symbolism well and wanting to be supportive, Stephanie unintentionally {{Bowdlerise}}s the Bible in a few places, and homosexuality never comes up. Catholicism ends up making Cassandra far more comfortable in her own skin, and ends up awakening her to her queer side.]] By story's end, she is a practicing Catholic in a secret lesbian relationship. The writer admitted this may very well have been an EsotericHappyEnding. |
| 92 | * In "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13653421/1/Ash-s-Adventure-Girls-Hunter-Edition Ash's Adventure: Girls' Hunter Edition]]", Ash's childhood friend Yellow has long assumed that she's bisexual, but May helps Yellow realise that she's actually gay, something that Yellow hadn't even realised was a possibility before May explains the concept to her. |
| 93 | * ''Fanfic/ButYouWontHaveToDoItAlone'' is a ''Sailor Moon'' story that revolves [[EveryoneIsBi all of the Inner Senshi]] coming out to each other. |
| 94 | * In Chapter 2 of ''FanFic/DespairsLastResort'', Monokuma threatens to reveal everything about the characters love lives and fetishes as a motive. Shortly afterward, [[spoiler: Kazumi goes to her best friend and crush, Shizuka, to tell her that she's a lesbian. Shizuka, after reassurance that she won't be hit on, is accepting of her friend's sexuality.]] |
| 95 | * The ''Frozen'' oneshot ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12765830/1/Elsa-s-Revelation Elsa's Revelation]]'' is about Elsa coming out as UsefulNotes/{{aromantic}} asexual to her sister after her advisors keep on trying to persuade her to marry. |
| 96 | * Clumsy has something like this in the ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' story "My Unsmurfy Valentine." The object of his affections, Brainy, doesn't reciprocate, however. |
| 97 | * ''Fanfic/HardResetEakin'': Because of the GroundhogDayLoop that she is trapped in, Twilight Sparkle does [[WhileRomeBurns a few interesting things]] knowing that the timeline would be reset again, and one of them being heading home to her parents in order to reveal that she is gay. [[spoiler:[[EverybodyKnewAlready Turns out her parents knew this]] and actually accepted her for it, [[IWantGrandkids with her mother interested in some medical techniques that can be implemented to have two mares produce a child together]]. This interaction motivates Twilight into getting back on track to escaping the Time Loop.]] |
| 98 | * ''FanFic/HuntingTheUnicorn'': In this ''Series/{{Glee}}'' fanfic the Warblers are questioned by the FBI for leads on [[spoiler: on Blaine's recent kidnapping]]. Nick reveals that he came out as bi to his mother, only to have her think that going to a same-sex school "confused him." [[RefugeInAudacity He smokes a blunt to piss her off]] while [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere he packs up and leaves]], then gets drunk with a friend and kicks out her headlights. He also [[MushroomSamba tripped so hard]] that he didn't remember to tell his best friend Jeff he was bi for a ''year.'' |
| 99 | * Here's a ''Film/JamesBond'' fanfic on fanfiction.net called ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12734062/1/Q-Comes-Out-As-Asexual Q Comes Out As Asexual]]'', where Q comes out as asexual. |
| 100 | * ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6G2xfaC-l0 Kim Possible Recut (Kigo)]]'' is a tongue-in-cheek video that recuts ''Kim Possible'' so that it's about about a teenage superhero who realizes she's gay after [[DatingCatwoman falling for a female villain]]. |
| 101 | * Chapter 19 of ''Fanfic/OneGirlWithTenBrothers'' focuses on Luke working up the courage to tell his family he is bisexual and has had a boyfriend named Sam for the past six weeks. [[spoiler: Despite his fear of rejection and their brief initial moments of shock over it, they all quickly accept it and reaffirm their love for their son/brother no matter what]]. |
| 102 | * Ironically, while ''Fanfic/ThePowerOfSeven'' focuses on Harry Potter forming a harem of seven witches to save his life, one of the sub-plots of the fic is Ginny Weasley accepting that she's bisexual, as she comes to accept her genuine attraction to other women even as she remains in love with Harry, such as pleasuring Luna or realising that she had sexual fantasies about Fleur the preceding summer. |
| 103 | * ''Fanfic/TheQuestionsInMyHeart'' is about [[Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart Kyōtarō]], or rather "[[SobriquetSexSwitch Kyō]], [[AdaptationalGenderIdentity identifying as transmasculine nonbinary]] and coming out to their friends and family. |
| 104 | * ''Fanfic/SoTheTrauma'' is an {{alternate universe|Fic}} oneshot based off of ''Kim Possible: So The Drama'' that mixes this into the story. Kim realizes she's lesbian after falling for the NewTransferStudent Erica at [[LoveAtFirstSight first sight]]. The two begin dating, but Erica is actually a synthodrone created by Drakken and Shego to act as [[TheMole a way to get Kim's guard down]]. Her first girlfriend being a robot makes the betrayal hurt Kim even more than it did in canon. |
| 105 | * ''Fanfic/{{Warmth}}'' is both about Nyamo realizing her sexuality and her changing relationship with Yukari. |
| 106 | * In ''Fanfic/TheWoundsStillBleeding'', Kakashi spends nearly ten years in the closet to all but her {{Parental Substitute}}s before coming out as trans to her friends in her teens. |
| 107 | * ''Fanfic/YouBuiltThisHouse'' begins with Apple White meeting the Charming siblings as children and, unknown to her at the time, [[PuppyLove falling for Darling]]. It then leads into her as a teenager, trying to blend in and be how others expect her to be, all while struggling with her increasing attraction towards girls (especially her best friend Raven). She ends up ForcedOutOfTheCloset ''before'' she comes to terms with everything, though Apple eventually accepts her sexuality and her feelings towards Darling. |
| 108 | [[/folder]] |
| 109 | |
| 110 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 111 | * ''Film/OneHundredGirls'': Wendy tells Matt she's a lesbian near the end of the film, and he's instantly accepting. He sets her up with Arlene, whom he's discovered is a lesbian as well. |
| 112 | * ''Film/AcrossTheUniverse2007'': This is Prudence's arc. She struggles with her sexuality over the course of the film, first pining for another girl on her cheerleading team and then runs off to New York City, moving in with the main cast. She then pines for Sadie too, who's with Jo Jo, locking herself in the closet literally before the others get her to come out. Though she never explicitly says anything, Prudence is later with a girl named Rita. |
| 113 | * ''Film/ANewYorkChristmasWedding'': In the prime timeline, Jenni tried coming out then but failed as her attempted LoveConfession to Gabby never happened, and she got engaged to a man. She might have come out later though as David shows no sign of surprise after Jenni calls Gabby her first love later. In the final timeline she successfully confesses her love to Gabby as well, who [[TransparentCloset knew already]]. |
| 114 | * ''Film/BeautifulThing'', the story of two sixteen-year-old boys falling in love on a London council estate. There's an emotional scene in which the main character comes out to his mother. |
| 115 | * The protagonist in ''Film/{{Bent}}'' is a gay man who hides his homosexuality whilst in a concentration camp, and learns from his openly gay lover that he meets there that it's better to die as you are than live as a lie. |
| 116 | * ''Film/{{Blockers}}'': Sam spends much of the film suspecting that she's gay, but scared that her friends will reject her if she tells them. |
| 117 | * ''Film/BlueJean'': Jean comes out to her brother-in-law as a lesbian at a party, when she had been closeted a long time beforehand, before leaving abruptly. |
| 118 | * ''Film/CassanovaWasAWoman'': After she begins dating a woman, Cassanova tells family and friends of hers, who is a bit surprised but still accepting, except for her sister Miriam who's initially hostile, reciting many different negative bisexual stereotypes (though not in Cassanova's hearing). |
| 119 | * ''Film/{{Crush|2022}}'': |
| 120 | ** Paige came out pretty young as a lesbian to her mom, who's surprised but also very accepting of it. |
| 121 | ** AJ's was very low-key, though her sister Gabby made a big deal of coming out at her birthday party. |
| 122 | %%* Funnily enough, the 1989 East German film ''Film/ComingOut''. |
| 123 | * ''Film/TheCraftLegacy'': Timmy emotionally comes out to the girls as bisexual, having struggled with it for some time, and they all accept him sympathetically. |
| 124 | * ''Film/{{CRAZY}}'', a 2005 French-Canadian film about Zac, who is an ArmoredClosetGay due to growing up in the 1960's-1980's and has a conservative father and a devout Catholic mother who believes he is a miracle child after consulting a Tupperware-selling mystic. |
| 125 | * ''Film/Cursed2005'': A minor subplot has Bo come out to Jimmy as gay after growing attracted by him, believing Jimmy's gay too. |
| 126 | * ''Film/TheDanishGirl'': Lili realises she's a woman, having to struggle with transitioning and eventually undergoes gender-affirming surgery (among the first trans people who ever publicly did this). |
| 127 | * ''Film/DatingAmber'': Amber is first to come out as a lesbian, with her mom reacting far better than she'd expected. Though stressed over this, her gay [[TheBeard fake boyfriend]]/friend Eddie is inspired to as well before the end of the film, with his family accepting him as well. |
| 128 | * ''Film/DesertHearts'' begins with Vivian Bell, a repressed, middle-aged English professor in TheFifties, going to a Nevada dude ranch for a DivorceInReno. There, she meets Cay Rivvers, a free-spirited young casino employee-cum-{{sculpt|ors}}ress who is openly lesbian--and strongly attracted to her. Vivian has to come to terms with her own sexuality before she can admit that she's equally attracted to Cay. |
| 129 | * Subverted in ''Dream for an Insomniac.'' A character nervously plans to come out to his father, only to find out [[TransparentCloset he already knows]] and has no problem with it. |
| 130 | * ''Film/FirstGirlILoved'': This is the focus of the film, as Anna slowly comes out to her friend and herself. |
| 131 | * ''Film/FourthManOut'': The film is primarily about Adam coming out as gay to his three best friends and trying to find a boyfriend. However, arguably the more compelling plot is with his friend Chris, [[spoiler: who realizes he himself isn't entirely straight, and he was Adam's biggest supporter partly to work through his own feelings on the matter]]. |
| 132 | * ''Film/ForbiddenLoveTheUnashamedStoriesOfLesbianLives'': Most women interviewed discuss their coming out in the past. |
| 133 | * ''Film/GetReal'', another love story between teenaged boys, this time set in middle-class suburbia. The sixteen-year-old protagonist comes out by [[spoiler: making a speech in front of his entire school and his parents.]] |
| 134 | * ''The Gay Deceivers'' has its protagonists pretending to be gay in the Vietnam area to avoid being drafted. They're found out but still not inducted [[spoiler: because the recruiting officers are gay and don't want any more heterosexuals in the Army.]] |
| 135 | * The Heather Graham flick ''Film/GrayMatters'' had her come out as a lesbian to her therapist, while they were rock climbing. She also comes out to her brother (who, as it turns out, [[spoiler:already knew]]). |
| 136 | * ''Film/TheHalfOfIt'': Paul realizes Ellie is a lesbian and attracted to his love interest. He's initially slightly hostile, saying Ellie's going to Hell, but later on accepts things. Ellie never explicitly comes out, though she makes things plain to Aster by kissing her. Aster didn't mind, from her reaction. |
| 137 | * ''Film/HandsomeDevil'' is built around Conor, a star rugby player, coming out in an all-boys boarding school. |
| 138 | * Played with in ''Film/HeDiedWithAFalafelInHisHand''. Dirk spends a large segment of the movie coming to terms with his (rather obvious) homosexuality, which ends in him in tears declaring to his housemates that he's gay. When they accept this reasonably well, he then starts angrily berating them for ''not'' giving him a hard time about it. |
| 139 | * ''Film/HollySleptOver'': Audra at first claims her relationship with Holly was [[ExperimentedInCollege just a college experiment]]. Later she admits she'd been in love with Holly though, but doesn't use labels for her sexual orientation. |
| 140 | * ''Film/ICantThinkStraight'': Tala and Leyla both undergo them after coming to terms with their orientations. Leyla first tells her parents, and this later inspired Tala to do the same. Interestingly, in both cases it's their mothers which are most upset at the news. Leyla's father accepts this, and Tala's at least reacts more calmly. |
| 141 | * ''Film/TheIncrediblyTrueAdventureOfTwoGirlsInLove'': In a subplot, Evie tells her friends about her being with Randy. Two don't take this well and reject her, while the third is accepting though too meek to stand up for her. |
| 142 | * ''Film/INowPronounceYouChuckAndLarry'' has pretty much the same premise as ''Strange Bedfellows''. |
| 143 | * ''Juste une question d'amour'', another TV film, this time from France. Covers all the bases very nicely; widely viewed and widely liked. |
| 144 | * ''Film/KapoorAndSons'': Part of what eventually pushes the family together is that they eventually learn and accept that their favored son Rahul is gay. |
| 145 | * ''Film/KissingJessicaStein'': After a kiss with Helen, Jessica struggles to come out to her mother as bisexual (she does tell a friend, who finds it surprising but is excitedly approving). Fortunately, her mother knows and approves. |
| 146 | * ''Film/MargaritaWithAStraw'': Laila realizes she's bisexual after falling in love with Khanum, and says she is to her mother. Her mother is unhappy with this initially, but they reconcile. Khanum, on the other hand, related that her parents were violently hostile to her being a lesbian, with her now being estranged from them. |
| 147 | * ''Film/NaomiAndElysNoKissList'': Bruce 2 is dating Naomi but then gets attracted to her gay friend Ely. By the end, he has come out to his mom (though [[AmbiguouslyBi without a clear orientation]]) and tells Ely, after which the pair begin dating. |
| 148 | * ''Film/NinasHeavenlyDelights'': Nina finally makes it clear that she's a lesbian to her mom near the end of the film, after fearing she'd react badly. Her mom is accepting, and tells her to pursue Lisa, the woman she loves. |
| 149 | * ''{{Film/Pariah}}'': The film's plot is about Alike coming out to her family. A painfully realistic portrayal at that. |
| 150 | * ''Film/PlanB2021'': As a secondary plot, Lupe plans to tell Sunny she's queer (bi or pansexual, from what she says). However, Sunny realizes for herself on meeting Logan, who's Lupe's girlfriend (Sunny'd [[GenderBlenderName thought it was a guy's name]]). Lupe still hasn't told her dad by the end, but has been reassured he would never kick her out and he'd love her no matter what. |
| 151 | %%* Used with hilarious effect in ''Film/RockNRolla'' |
| 152 | * ''{{Film/Sappho}}'': Sappho tells Phil she likes women too and begins an affair with Helene. Near the end, she's also now embraced the term "lesbian" (though she seems to be bisexual-this wasn't used much when the film is set). |
| 153 | * ''Film/SavingFace'': Wil's mother [[ParentsWalkInAtTheWorstTime had caught her with a woman a few years ago]], but the two of them had never discussed it and her mother was in active denial and frequently attempts to set her up with men. Eventually, Wil directly comes out to her mother. Her mom isn't happy at first but later accepts this. |
| 154 | * ''Film/ShowMeLove'': For both girls. Agnes is well aware she's a lesbian, though she stays in the closet at first due to homophobia. Elin falls for Agnes, which appears to be her first time finding a girl attractive. [[spoiler:Both of them come out at the end triumphantly, declaring they're girlfriends.]] |
| 155 | * ''Film/Steam2007'': Elizabeth at first shows attraction to women but doesn't label herself or say anything. She gets into a relationship with Niala, an openly bisexual woman who's proud of her orientation. As a result, she realizes and acknowledges she's a lesbian. By the end Elizabeth defiantly comes out to her mom, shocking her. |
| 156 | * The Australian movie ''Film/{{Strange Bedfellows|2004}}'' used this trope in an interesting fashion - two (straight) men living in a small country town registered as a gay couple in order to claim tax benefits, but then had to convince a tax inspector that they really were a couple. Thus, they have to go through all the travails of a Coming Out Story in a (typically gossip-driven) small town, without actually being gay in the first place. |
| 157 | * ''Film/TheyThem2020'': Played with; Ash's classmates acknowledge that they identify as nonbinary, or at least trans, without Ash having to spell it out for them. However, Ash gets bullied to hell and back over it, and they're [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube forcibly outed while reciting a poem about their identity]]. The culmination of the story is when [[spoiler:Ash recites the poem in front of their whole class for real, letting them come out on their own terms this time, thus technically playing this trope straight.]] |
| 158 | * ''Film/ThreeGenerations'': Ray is already out but he's just starting to medically transition. The plot revolves around him trying to begin hormones and his family adjusting to the transition. |
| 159 | * ''Film/TrappedTheAlexCooperStory'': Alex comes out as gay to her parents quite early on. This results in them sending her to conversion therapy, which lasts until she escapes. |
| 160 | * ''Film/TheTruthAboutJane'': A big part of the story is Jane revealing she's gay to her family, and then dealing with the fallout. |
| 161 | * ''Film/{{Trevor|1994}}'' is about a 13-year-old boy who struggles with the realization that he is gay, especially after he's outed to the whole school. It ends with "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross on the soundtrack (CampGay Trevor is a Diana Ross fan). |
| 162 | * ''Film/TwoOfUs'', a 1986 English TV film: gay boy is already out except to his parents, who find his soft-porn magazines and are thoroughly upset. His friend/boyfriend comes out as bisexual. |
| 163 | * ''Film/VForVendetta'': Valeria details her own in a flashback. When she told her parents she was a lesbian, her mom cried and her dad disowned her. The last we see is them tossing a baby picture of her in the trash. |
| 164 | * ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'': |
| 165 | ** ''Film/X2XMenUnited'': Referenced when Mrs. Drake asks her son Bobby, "Have you tried... NOT being a mutant?" This has spawned [[HaveYouTriedNotBeingAMonster its own trope.]] |
| 166 | ** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'': Xavier accidentally outs [=McCoy=] as a mutant. |
| 167 | --->'''Charles:''' Why didn't you say? [[OhCrap ...Because you don't know.]] I am so, so terribly sorry.\ |
| 168 | '''Hank:''' [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything You didn't ask, so I didn't tell.]] |
| 169 | ** Gloriously handled in ''Film/Deadpool2''. When Negasonic introduces her girlfriend to Wade, though he makes a snarky comment which she initially thinks is bigoted, he quickly assured them he's simply happy for the two of them. Just like if any other of his circle of friends got engaged. Being a lesbian isn't ANYTHING to be unhappy with (but trying to be an angry and edgy teen, is an issue-that's what the remark was really about, as he clarifies). Of course, since Wade is canonically pansexual, it makes sense he wouldn't care. |
| 170 | [[/folder]] |
| 171 | |
| 172 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 173 | * Occurs in ''Literature/AbsolutelyPositivelyNotGay'' to the main character. He actually comes out multiple times in the book; once, he comes out to his best friend, is confused when she doesn't care, and then has a mini panic attack when she tells her parents. Her 6-year-old sibling comes into the room and asks, "Did he finally tell her he's gay?" He comes out to each parent separately. Both are fine with it but tell him not to come out to the other just yet, as they don't think the other person will be as supportive. |
| 174 | * In ''Literature/AnnieOnMyMind'', the main characters are forced out of the closet when they are discovered, and the rest of the novel is about them dealing with the impact of everyone else's homophobia. |
| 175 | * Averted in ''Literature/AutobiographyOfRed''. From his first teenage romance onward, the main character's sexuality is taken for granted by everyone (including himself). |
| 176 | * The first book of the ''Literature/TheSeafareChronicles'' series is a coming out story for Bear, who had thought himself straight and had been in a serious hetero relationship. The remaining books focus on the romantic relationship with Otter and the familial drama of Bear raising his little brother. |
| 177 | * ''Literature/TheBestAtIt'' features the 12-year-old Rahul coming to terms with his sexuality and learning how to be himself. |
| 178 | * There's at least one book with bisexual men's coming out stories, called ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Bi-Men-Coming-Every-Which/dp/1560236159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381873148&sr=1-1&keywords=bi+men+coming+out Bi Men: Coming Out Every Which Way]]''. |
| 179 | * There are some books of gay men's coming out stories, for example ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Like-Us-Writers-Stories/dp/0380788357/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382726840&sr=1-2&keywords=gay+men+coming+out Boys Like Us: Gay Writers Tell Their Coming Out Stories]]'' |
| 180 | * The M/M procedural series ''Literature/CutAndRun'' by Abigail Roux gives us one '''''hell''''' of a [[TheReveal reveal]] in book 7, ''Touch & Geaux'' where [[spoiler: FBI Special Agent Ty Grady outs both himself and his [[DoubleMeaning partner]] Zane Garrett by kissing him in front of their entire department, since Ty had just learned he was being recalled to active service in the Marine Corps.]] |
| 181 | %%* The 9th ''Literature/DalzielAndPascoe'' novel, ''Child's Play'', is basically this for Sgt. Wield. |
| 182 | * ''Literature/HaniAndIshusGuideToFakeDating'': |
| 183 | ** The story begins as Hani comes out as bisexual to her friends, who are less than enlightened about it, expressing skepticism of her bisexuality. She'd already come out to her parents, who are very accepting. |
| 184 | ** Ishu much later also comes out to her parents as liking girls (without using any term for it). |
| 185 | * In ''Literature/{{Hero}}'' by Creator/PerryMoore, Thom is forced to come out [[spoiler: to clear the villain Sssnake for a murder. He was getting intimate with Sssnake at the time that the murder occured.]] |
| 186 | * ''Literature/JustJuliet'': Lena comes out to her friends as being bisexual early on after she realizes her sexuality. Coming out to her parents though takes longer. All of them accept her, though her parents more reluctantly. |
| 187 | * ''Literature/TheLoveAndLiesOfRukhsanaAli'': Rukhsana comes out to several people as a lesbian in the story, mostly her loved ones, with varying reactions-her parents are hostile at first, with the rest accepting. |
| 188 | * Over the course of ''Literature/{{Loveless}}'', Georgia realizes she's aroace, comes out to her friends, and learns to be accepting of herself. |
| 189 | * ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'': |
| 190 | ** [[spoiler:In ''City of Glass'', Alec Lightwood comes out rather awesomely by kissing Magnus in the middle of the entire Clave, including his parents]]. |
| 191 | ** Parodied, when Luke gets Simon a pamphlet called 'How To Come Out to Your Parents' when he becomes [[spoiler:a vampire]] and tells him to adapt it to suit the situation. Neither Simon nor Clary is amused. |
| 192 | * The whole point of ''Literature/{{Parrotfish}}'' by Ellen Wittlinger, only the main character Grady is coming out as transgender. Lacks most of the cliches associated with Coming Out Stories, in that Grady was almost in a TransparentCloset, so it didn't surprise his family at all, and most people at school ignored him anyway. |
| 193 | * Redfern Jon Barrett's ''Literature/ProudPinkSky'' is set in the world's first gay state, and follows William and Gareth's journey there after their relationship is discovered. |
| 194 | * ''Literature/ReignOfTheSevenSpellblades'': An allegorical version in volume 2 when Pete reveals to the rest of the main cast (except Oliver, who already knew) that he's become a "reversi", i.e. a SexShifter. The series tends to use [[SexMagic sex- and gender-related magical traits]] as a proxy for queer issues, whereas [[NonHeteronormativeSociety mages tend to consider mundane queerness pretty unremarkable]]. |
| 195 | * ''Literature/RunningWithLions'' has main character Sebastian struggling with letting people know he's bisexual, but with getting close to his LoveInterest Emir, developing as an athlete and team leader, he starts to be more comfortable with it and telling others. |
| 196 | * Averted in ''Literature/TheSagaOfTuck'', where there is no ''single'' coming-out event for Tuck. The "coming out" events that do occur range from slapstick to nightmarish. |
| 197 | * ''Literature/SimonVsTheHomoSapiensAgenda'' is one for the title character Simon, as well as for his e-mail penpal Blue. |
| 198 | * In Creator/JodiPicoult's ''Literature/SingYouHome'', the main character Zoe starts dating her friend Vanessa after divorcing her husband of 10 years. The main plot of the book is them trying to start a family with the embryos Zoe and her husband froze after IVF treatments. However, the book has all the cliches of this storyline, such as one character supporting her (her mom) and one character being homophobic out of nowhere (justified, because her husband had just converted to Christianity). |
| 199 | * ''Literature/SorryBro'': After she gets [[ForcedOutOfTheCloset forcibly outed]] and weakly tries to deny her bisexuality, Nareh later admits she's really bisexual. Her cousin, mother and grandmother take it better than she expected (the latter two especially), accepting her. Nareh tells the whole world too through her post on Instagram. |
| 200 | * There are quite a few books of lesbian coming out stories, for example this one called ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Testimonies-Lesbian-Coming-Out-Stories--Updated-Revised/dp/1555835465/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282162105&sr=1-2 Testimonies: Lesbian Coming-Out Stories]]'' |
| 201 | * Given a twist in Holly Black's fantasy novel ''Literature/{{Tithe}}'', in which one of the characters literally came out to his oddball family and sci-fi geek mother by saying: [[SlashFic "Mom, you know the forbidden love Spock has for Kirk? Well, me too."]] Lampshaded after as Kaye says that is the strangest coming out story she's ever heard. |
| 202 | * ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': For a series focused heavily on [[GenderBender gender transformations]] and LGBT+ issues, there are surprisingly few of these - it is more often a case of someone coming out as a ''mutant'', instead, though the parallels are pretty blatant. Of those which have occurred, probably the most significant was Mega Girl coming out as a gender changeling to her boyfriend, Stronghold, at the insistence of the school's headmistress at that. It goes better than she ever hope it might, as he readily accepted her and would stand up for her against homophobic bullies not long afterwards. |
| 203 | * Here's a book called ''[[http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004JZWNI4/ref=asc_df_B004JZWNI42774021?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=dealt627305-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B004JZWNI4 A Woman Like That: Lesbian And Bisexual Writers Tell Their Coming Out Stories]]''. Pretty self-explanatory. |
| 204 | * ''Literature/SymphonyOfAwakenedGods'' has the main character come out as a transgender woman, and start presenting feminine full-time after years of suppressing it. |
| 205 | [[/folder]] |
| 206 | |
| 207 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 208 | * The {{Music/Erasure}} song "Hideaway" is clearly about a young man's coming out and the resulting family tension. |
| 209 | * "Hooped Earings" by Music/TheFrontBottoms describes the narrator supporting a female friend as she tells her mom something upsetting and then cuts her hair short. According to [[http://propertyofzack.com/post/9965543548/propertyofzack-track-by-track-the-front-bottoms this article]], the song is "about a friend of mine that asked me to be there with her when she came out to her mother." |
| 210 | * {{Music/Jill Sobule}}'s "I Kissed a Girl" is about a woman falling in love with her best friend. Complete with a cheeky music video where they dodge each other's husbands. |
| 211 | * "Podruga" by the Russian band Kis-Kis is about a girl falling in love with her best friend and the feelings that come with it. |
| 212 | [[/folder]] |
| 213 | |
| 214 | [[folder:Radio]] |
| 215 | * In the ''What Does The K Stand For?'' episode "First Love", Stephen K. Amos describes how as a teenager he kissed a girl called Fanni, was confused that he didn't feel anything, and then met her brother. ("Was it possible I was [[DoubleEntendre no longer interested in Fanni]]?") He then becomes convinced that his parents will reject him and he'll be thrown out of the house ("That was how it worked, wasn't it? I'd seen ''Series/PlayForToday''.") As it turned out, his mother just blanks it out, although he suspects she's always known. |
| 216 | -->'''Virginia Amos''': I am glad you are gay, Stephen. [[HaveAGayOldTime We are all gay]]. And there is nothing wrong with being happy! |
| 217 | -->'''Stephen''': And really, I can't put it better than that. |
| 218 | [[/folder]] |
| 219 | |
| 220 | [[folder:Roleplay]] |
| 221 | * In ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'', a significant part of Kev's backstory is when he came out to his parents. They were initially scandalised, thinking it ruined their image of an ideal Christian family, but they were eventually able to reconcile with him. |
| 222 | [[/folder]] |
| 223 | |
| 224 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 225 | * Played mostly straight, surprisingly, in ''Theatre/AvenueQ'', though without the homophobe/hate crime. |
| 226 | ** Indeed, one of the characters, Rod, lives in the most transparent of [[TransparentCloset transparent closets]]; his story is more about coming out to ''himself.'' |
| 227 | * In ''Theatre/TheChildrensHour,'' a play by Creator/LillianHellman that was later made into a movie, [[spoiler: Martha comes out as a lesbian to her roommate Karen, and then kills herself out of guilt, since their lives had been ruined due to a child claiming that they were both lesbians (and lovers).]] |
| 228 | * In the musical production called ''Theatre/FairyTales'', there is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xiol2N6Rq1Y one song]] about a man writing an emotional letter to his dad telling him that he is gay. |
| 229 | * ''ComicBook/FunHome'' is about RealLife comic book illustrator Allison Bechdel's sexual awakening as a lesbian, and her relationship with her gay dad, Bruce Bechdel. As the play is adapted from a comic memoir, Bruce tragically died from being hit by a truck after Allison came out to him (Allison believes that it was a suicide). |
| 230 | * The song "See Me" in bare: a pop opera has Peter trying to come out to his mother, and the next song has his mother struggling with it but ultimately accepting him in the end. |
| 231 | [[/folder]] |
| 232 | |
| 233 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 234 | * Midway through ''VideoGame/ChicoryAColorfulTale'', Macaroon comes to terms with being bisexual and admits it to Pizza and himself as the first step. |
| 235 | * One mission in ''VideoGame/FableII'' has you helping a farmer (the one who earlier put you on the mission to arrest a bandit leader to avenge his wife's death) find a wife for his son. One problem: the son doesn't want to get married... to a woman. The mission ends with you helping the son find a potential boyfriend in the city and the son coming out to the farmer. The farmer is perfectly accepting and actually says he should've seen it earlier. Not bad for [[FantasyCounterpartCulture fantasy Renaissance/Colonial England]]. |
| 236 | ** Depending on [[CharacterAlignment your chosen alignment]], you can be a jerk and set the son up with a woman in spite of his confession. |
| 237 | * ''VideoGame/GoneHome'' [[spoiler:actually revolves around this concept. The entire horror game plot is just a RedHerring, the story is really about the {{Player Character}}'s sister realizing that she is in love with her (female) best friend.]] |
| 238 | * In ''VideoGame/GrowingUp'', Charles' route involves him coming to terms with his homosexuality and how it's affecting his political career in the student council. [[spoiler:In high school, he comes out as gay to the PlayerCharacter when they catch him in crying in the bathroom after losing the elections. Then he comes over to their house to ask them for help in dealing with it because his sister caught him first and their father is homophobic. Thanks to the PC's support, Charles becomes brave enough to come out to his dad but still gets kicked out of the house, but he fights for LGBT+ rights in his good ending in the epilogue, looking to his sister for support (and also the PC if [[GayOption he marries him]] after years of on-again-off-again dating).]] |
| 239 | * ''VideoGame/GuiltyGearStrive'' features Bridget's Arcade Mode story, which focuses on her coming out as UsefulNotes/{{transgender}}. She starts unsure about her male identity, and Goldlewis and Ky encourage her to live for herself and let go of her fears. The Hard Route ends with Bridget finally asserting herself as a woman, while the Extreme Route ends with Ky encouraging her to always be true to herself, no matter what anyone else thinks. |
| 240 | * ''VideoGame/TheOrionConspiracy'' is one of the first, if not the first, games to break the gay taboo, and this game was released in 1995. Devlin is investigating the death of his son Danny. In the course of the investigation, he discovers that his son Danny was gay and was in a relationship (that involved love letters) with Kaufmann. Shortly after this, Kaufmann confronts Devlin. Kaufmann confirms that he and Danny are both gay. Both of them get into a shouting match about how Devlin drove away Danny and that Devlin is just some anti-gay bigot who is now thinking that Kaufmann murdered Danny over a lover's tiff. When left alone, Devlin is left feeling guilty over being a poor father for Danny, and that they had been so distant that he simply had no idea that Danny was gay. Devlin also feels that Danny could have told him about this, and that he would not have been angry with Danny for that. |
| 241 | [[/folder]] |
| 242 | |
| 243 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 244 | * ''VisualNovel/ComingOutOnTop'' revolves around Mark's attempt to find romance after coming out to his friends and family. This also applies to [[JerkJock Brad]] and [[NiceGuy Ian]] in their respective routes so long as the player makes the right choices. |
| 245 | * Getting Rald's good ending in ''VisualNovel/FullService'' has him fully come out as a gay man to his overbearing father and announce his intent to marry the male protagonist Tomoki. They then proceed to [[{{Elopement}} elope]] and have a private wedding afterwards. |
| 246 | * Asuma Tougou from ''Tokyo 24-Ku'' is a [[ClosetGay closeted gay man]] struggling to meet the expectations of his influential family who want him to marry a woman in order to further boost their social standing. During a critical point in his route, the player can convince him to either [[KickTheDog go along with what his family wants]] or [[BeYourself be true to himself]]. If the former option is chosen, Asuma will resign himself into an ArrangedMarriage with an UnwantedSpouse, [[EmotionSuppression emotionally shutting down]] in the process while using the protagonist as [[FriendsWithBenefits an outlet for sexual relief]]. But if the latter option is picked, he will instead [[SuddenPrincipledStand gain the courage to come out]] to his brothers with mixed results depending on the player's other decisions. The best result ends with him [[IAmWhatIAm being open with his sexuality]], gaining more freedom, and [[EarnYourHappyEnding even becoming the protagonist's boyfriend]]. |
| 247 | ** Asuma's side story follows up on his good ending route by having him work up the nerve to come out to his own father. To his pleasant surprise, his father accepts him and even approves of his romantic relationship with the protagonist. |
| 248 | * ''VisualNovel/WeKnowTheDevil'': Sort of. The main characters are fumbling towards coming out to themselves, and even each other. |
| 249 | [[/folder]] |
| 250 | |
| 251 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 252 | * Rae from ''Webcomic/AlwaysHuman'' comes out to her friend Sunati as asexual and aromantic. |
| 253 | * In ''Webcomic/AnsemRetort'', Marluxia, who has been stereotypically gay for the entire series finally comes out of the closet in 'season' 5. None of the other cast members are surprised and even the {{jerkass}} Zexion finds this reveal to be less interesting than watching Seinfeld reruns. |
| 254 | * ''Webcomic/AssignedMale'': |
| 255 | ** "[[https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/serious-trans-vibes/the-lie/viewer?title_no=206579&episode_no=3 The Lie]]" and its subsequent page "[[https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/serious-trans-vibes/the-gift/viewer?title_no=206579&episode_no=4 The Gift]]" is about Stephie coming out to her friends. |
| 256 | ** Ciel comes out to their dad in the last part of "[[https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/serious-trans-vibes/camp-fabulous-last-part/viewer?title_no=206579&episode_no=16 Camp Fabulous.]]" |
| 257 | * In the webcomic ''Webcomic/BoyMeetsBoy'', Mikhael is faced with the challenge of finding a good time to come out to a new group of friends. Finally, in the middle of a poker game, he awkwardly blurts out, "Hey, speaking of a straight... I'm not." His friends support him after the initial shock wears off. The shock itself has more to do with the incredibly awkward way he goes about it than anything else, and the story arc is more about Mikhael trying to overcome his social ineptitude. He actually panics not over the prospect of coming out in and of itself, but over the fact that he's made friends and doesn't know how to behave around them. |
| 258 | ** Near the beginning of the strip, Mikhael makes Harley come out to his mom over the phone. He grudgingly does so, only to have her reveal that she knew all along, much to his surprise, and had even found him a suitor. |
| 259 | * Szark comes out as gay in ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan''...after already being openly bisexual. His sexuality is immediately relegated to humorous and is mentioned on every possible occasion. |
| 260 | * ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' |
| 261 | ** There's a [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2005-08-16 particularly powerful strip,]] wordlessly depicting how Justin was outed. Of special note in that Justin lacks the "whatever you do I'll support you" guy. He only meets Elliot (ChronicHeroSyndrome) and Nanase (At the time, Elliot's girlfriend) ''after'' the whole saga. |
| 262 | ** Nanase gets her own, [[TransparentCloset even though almost everyone knew anyway]]. |
| 263 | * ''Webcomic/EnnuiGo'': The second part of the comic has [[spoiler:Andromeda, a minor character who was Vanitas' girlfriend throughout Part 1, coming out as a lesbian to him in "[[https://ennuigo.thecomicseries.com/comics/1530/ Closet]]", revealing that as the reason why she broke up with him before then.]] |
| 264 | * ''Webcomic/ExperienceBoost'': A small arc in the story is dedicated to [[spoiler: Zhusen coming out as transgender.]] She's received well by her guildmates and the many, ''many'' friends she's made in the story, but [[spoiler: Theron's]] reaction causes some friction between them. |
| 265 | * Played with in ''Webcomic/{{Girly}}''. One story appears to involve Otra telling her mother she is a lesbian, but it turns out she was just explaining she was a {{sidekick}}. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, she was involved in a massive FreakyFridayFlip with most of the rest of the cast at that point]]. |
| 266 | * ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'': TomboyAndGirlyGirl Kat and Paz deal with their feelings for each other after the first girl is MistakenForGay (her known crushes have been for guys); after settling her feelings Kat then has to deal with coming out to her best friend Antimony. When the couple is spotted by said friend in a compromising position the friend runs away sending Kat into a panic. Turns out [[spoiler: she wasn't afraid of Kat being gay (an offhand comment about dating a hot enough woman ''a year ago'' was enough for her to accept the possibility that Kat might not be hetero-normative), but that her best (and at times only) friend might leave her.]] Kat also comes out to an ancient spirit who warns her friend might not be as open-minded as he is; after coming out to Antimony, she worries their spirit pal might be too old-fashioned. The couple later go to a dance and no one seems to care. |
| 267 | * All four storylines thus far of ''Webcomic/KhaosKomix'' have involved the focal character realizing his or her homosexuality or bisexuality, followed by romantic tension with one or more same-sex love interests. |
| 268 | * A brief flashback interlude in ''Webcomic/{{Matchmaker}}'' shows when Mason and Kimmy come out to one another during 11th grade, him as gay and them as femmeby. It's ''almost'' a romantic moment, but with that IncompatibleOrientation, it just gets [[WhenItAllBegan Kimmy interested in hooking Mason up in the first place.]] Well, after they buy a game or two. |
| 269 | * Sara of ''Webcomic/PennyAndAggie'' undergoes a lengthy and heavily foreshadowed coming out process, sometimes played for comedy and at other times for drama. Lisa, noticing Sara's TransparentCloset (she's visibly frustrated by the rival title characters not acknowledging their supposed mutual attraction), touches her mock-seductively on the nose, freaking Sara out and leading her to settle the question by [[TestKiss kissing Marshall]]. When she [[NoSparks feels nothing]] as a result, she realizes she's gay. Subsequent storylines deal with her AmbiguouslyGay makeover, being slanderously outed to the entire school body as an alleged rapist, eventually finding acceptance (and, in one case, a girlfriend) amongst her friends, and coming out to her mother. |
| 270 | ** Penny, as well, has been ([[FourLinesAllWaiting very]]) slowly coming to terms with her own bisexuality ever since a comment by a projecting Sara hit too close to home. |
| 271 | ** As of late 2009, [[spoiler: Aggie]] is in the midst of her own coming out process, although whether she's gay or bisexual is not yet clear. |
| 272 | * In ''Webcomic/PepsiaPhobia'', the "A Good Egg" (the title refers to "egg" being slang for someone who has yet to realise that they're transgender) story arc has teenage co-protagonist Pepsia (formerly Gastro) realise that she's trans, and ends with her coming out to her mother and her best friend Sophia. Both are fully supportive (and the lesbian Sophia is instantly smitten when she sees Pepsia in girl's clothes). |
| 273 | * Subverted in {{Webcomic/PVP}}; Max Powers is a StraightGay who spends most of the comic in the closet, but [[TransparentCloset his friends had pretty much all guessed that he was gay anyway]]. When he calls a staff meeting to come out, the basic reaction is "That's it? You called a meeting for that?". No one treats him any differently and his sexuality is barely even mentioned afterwards. |
| 274 | * In ''{{Webcomic/Rain|2010}}'', every one of the main characters, with the exception of Gavin, has a coming-out scene - and often more than one. |
| 275 | * Lavali of ''Webcomic/SandraOnTheRocks'' comes out to her brother Alex after tearfully running into his arms for comfort because her girlfriend had just broken up with her. While her sexuality is news to the reader, the following two strips have Alex reveal that [[EverybodyKnewAlready he already knew she was gay and so did their parents]], since they had caught her in compromising positions with girls on multiple occasions. Up until that point she genuinely believed that the BlatantLies she used to "explain" the situation each time had successfully kept them all in the dark. |
| 276 | * ''Webcomic/RevealOut'': The protagonist is a closeted lesbian whose life is a mess. When she is sent back to her college years, one of the first things she does is announce that she is "MASSIVELY SUPER DUPER MEGA ULTRA SUPREMELY GAY!" |
| 277 | * ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'' features one strip where a woman discusses with a friend how to come out of the closet to her husband...[[{{Robosexual}} and admit she is a robot.]] [[http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1858#comic Her friend's suggestion is a bit unorthodox]]. |
| 278 | * Ethan of ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}'' didn't so much come out as found himself forcibly knocked out, when he found that being kissed by Mike aroused him more than being kissed by Robin. Up until right before the kisses (when Robin accused him of being gay), a few people had suspected he was gay but the possibility had never occurred to Ethan himself. |
| 279 | * In ''Webcomic/SimplySarah'', the coming outs happen early into the comic. Sarah tells her mother first and her mum is supportive. Janey is reluctant to tell her more homophobic mother, but she ends up ForcedOutOfTheCloset when she is caught kissing Sarah. She later comes out formally |
| 280 | * One major story element in ''Webcomic/{{Sunstone}}'' is that neither Ally nor Lisa considered themselves to be gay or bi before meeting each other, and have to come to terms with their mutual attraction along with their roles in the D/s part of their relationship. Ally eventually admits it to Alan ("I'm... gay." "Like a rainbow unicorn.") and a future strip teases at how Lisa will eventually introduce her girlfriend to her family. |
| 281 | * ''Webcomic/TrippingOverYou'' is a slice-of-life story about two boys and their relationship in a British boarding school. Milo has been outed rather early by [[LastHetRomance the last girl he dumped]] and is quite comfortable with being out meanwhile, and his family doesn't make much of a fuss about it; Liam on the other hand takes a long time to come out in small steps to his roommate, then to a few more of their school friends, and finally to his strict, conservative father Eli. |
| 282 | * Spoofed to the point of an OverusedRunningGag in ''Webcomic/UmlautHouse'': |
| 283 | ** Jake frets neurotically over whether to tell his boss, who ends up jumping him on the spot, then his parents, who hardly care. |
| 284 | ** Rick denied being gay as a teen because he didn't know what it meant; after having a bully explain it to him (at gunpoint!) he didn't even struggle with the idea. Then Rick came out and explained the concept to his father, who had the exact same reaction. |
| 285 | ** Amanda says she thinks her story is "the same as [Volair's]" and rattles off a stereotypical version of the ComingOutStory, to which Volair responds that he "[[ReallyGetsAround just likes getting 5% more nookie]]." |
| 286 | ** In a flashback, Volair is outed to his peers (and himself) by an erection in the shower. |
| 287 | * Hom from ''Webcomic/WelcomeToRoom305'' came out at the very start of the story but it gets tossed around a lot on whether or not it's the truth or he's playing a joke. Eventually, it comes out that he is quite gay but hasn't come out to [[spoiler:Sung Joong]]. |
| 288 | * Dawn, to Kelli, in ''Webcomic/WorldOfFizz'' reveals early on that [[http://fergoandenrique.comicgenesis.com/d/20070213.html she had a crush on Kelli since the first grade,]] and the two later enter into a relationship. |
| 289 | [[/folder]] |
| 290 | |
| 291 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 292 | * ''WebVideo/AlexanderAvila'': Alex often says that he finds the trope of a character having trouble coming out to be overdone and often feels disingenuous. Multiple videos have him bring up how he dislikes it and prefers stories where the characters are just gay and have other problems that come with being openly gay or just life in general. |
| 293 | * This is the plot of ''WebVideo/OutWithDad'', with the twist that it's a coming out story for two people - Rose and Vanessa. Neither is out to everyone, but their families both know. Rose gets the supportive reaction from her friend Kenny and her dad, while [[TheFundamentalist Vanessa's mom]] is... less supportive. [[spoiler:Near the end, Nathan tells Rose he's asexual as well, which is fine though she teases him by repeating one of his lines to her from her own coming out.]] |
| 294 | * Website/CollegeHumor did a skit called "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgHwF4CNiJA When Coming Out Goes Better Than You Thought]]", in which Grant admits to being sexually attracted to men... and nobody bats an eye. He gets progressively more descriptive as he wants ''somebody'' to react poorly to justify his having been closeted for so long - [[spoiler: and he gets his wish when he mentions that this attraction is due to him being ''bisexual'', not gay, [[NoBisexuals and a litany of "Pick a side!" comments are leveled at him]]]]. |
| 295 | * Done wordlessly with the Website/YouTube short video ''WebAnimation/InAHeartbeat'', which uses strong symbolism to show a boy's "first crush" on another boy in a sensitive way. |
| 296 | * ''WebVideo/{{Kontrola}}'': Majka at last tells her dad about loving Natalia, which he's accepting of, after her sister [[TransparentCloset already figured it out]]. |
| 297 | [[/folder]] |
| 298 | |
| 299 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 300 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' had an episode where [[spoiler:Mr. Ratburn]] is revealed to be gay and has a boyfriend who he ties the knot with. |
| 301 | * ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'' has one in season 3 to [[spoiler:Todd]], who comes out as asexual in the season finale. When meeting a high school sweetheart, he realizes that he doesn't have any interest in being with her sexually, with all through the season the question on what exactly is he interested in being raised. He later actually uses the word asexual to describe himself. |
| 302 | -->'''[[spoiler:Todd]]:''' I don't think I'm gay. But I don't think I'm straight either. |
| 303 | * ''WesternAnimation/CraigOfTheCreek'' has "Fire & Ice", which revolves around [[spoiler: Kelsey]] realizing her feelings for [[spoiler: Stacks]], even getting advice from J.P.'s sister, Laura, and her girlfriend, Kat. |
| 304 | * Waaaaaaaaaaaaay on the other end of the spectrum, you have ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'', which featured Xandir's attempts to come out to his parents. He tried to practice by having two of his castmates roleplay as his parents. His first trial run at coming out was met with a reaction of "Uh, DUHHHH!" from his pseudo-parents, which causes Xandir to chastise them for not taking the roleplaying exercise seriously enough. They take things a bit more seriously than he may have hoped, as his ''second'' trial run led to an insanely convoluted turn of events parodying an [[VerySpecialEpisode after-school special]], which killed half the cast ([[RunningGag So what else is new?]]) and made little to no sense. [[RunningGag Again, this isn't new]]. In the end, when he comes out to his real parents, what are their reactions? "Uh, DUHHHH!" Also: when he came out to his girlfriend over the phone, she angrily requested he never save her again, as she is bound and being lowered into a snake pit. Makes Princess Clara look downright tolerant. |
| 305 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatNorth'' plays with the trope in "Say It Again, Ham Adventure," as Ham's attempts at a "classic" coming-out story haven't run into the drama associated with such because he kept saying it casually and his family just kept accepting it. The Tobins play a visit to Beef's judgmental cousin Danica... who also turns out to be on the run for bank robbery, which results in the would-be coming out turning into a hostage situation. When's all said and done, Ham decides a casual, accepting non-event of a coming out was better. |
| 306 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': |
| 307 | ** Subverted by [[spoiler:Amity]]. Her falling in love with Luz hits all the usual beats: confusion, new feelings, etc., but because she comes from a NonHeteronormativeSociety, she struggles with falling in love for the first time, rather than falling in love with another girl. |
| 308 | ** On the other hand, Luz appears to have been fully secure in her sexuality prior to the events of the series, but doesn't officially come out until the season 3 episode "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS3E1ThanksToThem Thanks to Them]]" where she shows her mother a photo montage of her and her girlfriend [[spoiler:Amity]] being romantic and ending with a picture that reads "Hi! I'm Bi!". Camila, for her part, is immediately accepting of both girls and cheerfully pulls them into a hug. |
| 309 | * Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/QueerDuck'', in which the titular character randomly comes out to a bunch of strangers at work. Nobody was the least bit surprised, but he later relates all of the people at his job supporting him and acting emotionally to his friends. |
| 310 | * Patty came out to her sister Marge on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' as a lesbian in the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E10TheresSomethingAboutMarrying There's Something About Marrying]]". |
| 311 | * Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode [[Recap/SouthParkS13E5Fishsticks "Fishsticks"]], where due to a series of misunderstandings Music/KanyeWest comes out as gay... for fish. |
| 312 | * ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': Raj's arc in the 2023 reboot has him develop a mutual attraction to the CampGay Bowie. However, while he seems a little nervous about the whole thing, his best friend Wayne is the one who worries more about Raj coming out, as he's aware of Raj's crush but worries Raj doesn't trust him enough to tell him. [[spoiler:Raj eventually tells Wayne he's gay as they're falling off a cliff, and Wayne is completely supportive.]] |
| 313 | [[/folder]] |
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