Happy Coming Out Day from NASW Missouri Chapter Executive Director Cassie Brown

Oct 11, 2022

gay couple holding hands coming out to an older parent couple
By Cassie Brown, MSW, LCSW

For all of you who are on the Rainbow Spectrum, all of you who have known the inside of a closet, all of you who have had to tell your story and your truth again (and again, and again, and again) because of the oppressive world in which we live and the assumptions that we all live in, Happy National Coming Out Day!

And if you’re IN THAT CLOSET, I respect you. I honor you. It’s okay to stay where you are. Now for right now. Until you feel safe enough. Until the world changes enough to support you and your truth. Until you are ready. You are not less for your choices. You are doing what you need to do for yourself.

Some of us are supported. Some of us are rejected. And some of us go back and forth every day, walking between the in and the out every moment. Some of us crave visibility with every ounce of our being. And some of us want nothing more than to be seen as just another human in this world, living, loving, and going about our lives.

Here’s to honoring those journeys, today and every day.

What is National Coming Out Day?

Oh! And if someone comes out to you, and you’re not sure what to do, here are some pro-tips from

Additionally:


Hi, folks. I’m Cassie Brown, executive director of the NASW Missouri Chapter. I’m queer and nonbinary. I primarily use she/her pronouns. I’m also a writer, clinician, tea aficionado, former speech, debate, and theatre kid, a singer, a sister, a daughter, a retired teacher, a poet, a painter, a huge board game geek, a Capricorn, a friend, and a community activist. I know what you’re thinking. Just when you think you know someone, you find out they’re a Capricorn.

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