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Closeted and in the closet are metaphors for LGBTQ people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior. This metaphor is associated and sometimes combined with coming out, the act of revealing one's sexuality or gender to others, to create the phrase "coming out of the closet".
Some reasons why LGBTQ people stay closeted include discrimination, fear for one's safety, internalized homophobia or transphobia or living in a hostile environment.
D. Travers Scott claims that the phrase "coming out of the closet", along with its derivative meanings of "coming out" and "closeted", has its origins in two different metaphors. "Coming out" was first a phrase used in the early 20th century in reference to a young woman attending a debutante ball, such that she was "coming out" into society. In past times, the word "closet" meant "bedroom", so one's sexuality was not shown beyond there. Later in the 1960s, the metaphor of a "skeleton in the closet", which meant to hide a secret due to taboos or , was also used in reference to a gender identity or sexuality that one may not wish to disclose. As such, to reveal one's LGBTQ+ identity that was previously hidden or kept secret was to allow a skeleton to come out of the closet.
One linguistic study suggests that the transgender community may use different vocabulary to refer to the disclosure status of one's gender identity, such as "stealth" in place of "closeted".
In 1993, Michelangelo Signorile wrote Queer in America, in which he explored the harm caused both to a closeted person and to society in general by being closeted.re-released in 2003 by University of Wisconsin Press, The closet is difficult for any non-heterosexual, non-cisgender identified person to fully come "out" of, whether or not that person desires to do so. Scholar Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, author of the Epistemology of the Closet, discusses the difficulty with the closet:Alternatively, Mary Lou Rasmussen argues that there exists a 'coming out imperative', where the dominant LGBTQ+ narrative offers no moral alternative to coming out, relegating the closet to "a zone of shame and exclusion". This may suggest that in the modern day, there is pressure or an expectation for an LGBTQ+ person to come out of the closet. Rasmussen further notes that there are several factors that may dictate someone's choice to remain closeted, such as ethnic or religious background, or financial dependence on family or peers that may be jeopardized if that person chooses to come out.
Scholars also noted that people of different genders and sexual orientations often faced different experiences and stigmas, resulting in varied rates of being closeted among LGBTQ+ people of different identities. One 2015 study found that Bisexuality men were more often closeted than gay men, due to the possibility of negative reactions from heterosexual partners, in addition to homophobia.
A study by Lal Zimman noted that among transgender people, coming before and after taking up their corresponding gender role is separated into distinct categories of "declaration" and "disclosure". Before occupying a different gender role, the act of coming out of the closet is one where a person declares a different gender identity than what they are perceived as. After taking up the gender role, this person is disclosing that they had previously identified with and fulfilled a different one. Zimman found that declaration of one's gender identity happened more often than disclosure of a past gender role.
In late-20th-century America, the closet had become a central metaphor for grasping the history and social dynamics of gay life, along with the concept of coming out. The closet narrative set up an implicit dualism between being "in" or being "out." Those who were "in" are often stigmatized as living false unhappy lives.Seidman, Meeks and Traschen (1999) However, there are numerous social, economic, familial, and personal repercussions that may lead to someone remaining, whether consciously or unconsciously, "in" the closet. For example, the Lavender Scare led to the implementation of Executive Order 10450 in 1953, which banned all gays and lesbians from working in the US federal government, forcing employees who wished to retain their jobs to remain closeted. Sometimes, people have remained in the closet because they themselves have had difficulty understanding or accepting their sexuality. The decision to come out or remain in the closet is considered a deeply-personal one, and outing remains controversial in today's culture.
In the 21st century, the related concept of a "glass closet" emerged in LGBT discourse. The term describes public figures, such as entertainers or politicians, who are out of the closet in their personal lives and do not engage in the tactics (such as entering a lavender marriage or publicly dating a person of the opposite sex) that were historically used by members of the LGBTQ+ community to hide their gender or sexuality, but have not formally disclosed their sexual orientation to the public. Lavender marriages had occurred throughout Hollywood to advance and maintain one's career and since the early 20th century. Examples of celebrities who were in the glass closet include Colton Haynes and Ricky Martin. Closeting is seen not only in celebrities but also in the media that is produced. Popular television shows use metaphors to show closeting that differ based on how they relate to society at a given time.
Recent attention to bullying of LGBTQ youth and teens in the United States also gives an indication that many youth and teens remain closeted throughout their educational years and beyond for fear of disapproval from parents, friends, teachers and community members. To remain in the closet offers an individual a layer of protection against ridicule and bullying ; however, to remain in the closet typically takes a toll on the mental health of the individual, especially in the adolescent years as reflected in suicide rates among LGBTQ youths. Being closeted can also have different effects on the mental health on men and women. In a study done by John E. Pachankis from Yale University and Susan D. Cochran and Vickie Mays from the University of California, it was found that women who were closeted were twice as likely to report depressive episodes than women who were out. Comparatively it was found that men who were in the closet were less likely to report a depressive episode than those out of the closet. Along with effects on the mental and physical health of those who remain in the closet, it also impacts the cost of health care and the public awareness of the LGBTQ community.
However, Seidman, Meeks and Traschen (1999) argue that "the closet" may be becoming an antiquated metaphor in the lives of modern-day Americans for two reasons.
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