Outing means that a person makes their sexual orientation or gender identity known publicly or in their personal environment.
A distinction is made:
- Coming out: The person decides for themselves to tell others about their sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Be outed (external outing): Someone else makes this information public without consent - this can be hurtful and often constitutes an invasion of privacy.
Coming out is a very personal step and is different for every person - depending on their environment, life situation and security.
