For some students, holiday time is coming-out time, too
For many young people who move away for college, coming home for the holidays can bring with it a particular source of stress: coming out to their families as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. In some ways, it’s a logical time to have the conversation. After a semester away at school, young people may feel more open and confident about their sexuality. They want to share the news with their families in person, so they wait until a break from school, which tends to coincide with major holidays.
But in some regards, the holidays are a difficult time to come out. The tension that can accompany coming out to family is often compounded by the awkwardness inherent in holiday gatherings, fraught with annoying questions from grandparents about significant others and passive-aggressive snipes between relatives.
