ASU celebrated National Coming Out Day on Tuesday by welcoming a former reality TV show star who shared his experience of being “out” on national television.
Mike Manning, a cast member of the 23rd season of MTV’s “The Real World,” spoke in the Tempe campus’ Memorial Union about being bisexual while living in a completely new city with complete strangers.
Manning said his time on the show, which was set in Washington, D.C., was a large factor in becoming confident in his sexual identity.
“When I started the show, I was a pseudo-closeted boy from Colorado,” Manning said. “Now, I’m a gay rights activist.”
Manning now works for the Human Rights Campaign, an organization based in the nation’s capital that lobbies the government for LGBTQA rights.
National Coming Out Day is designed to recognize the difficulties that accompany the act of “coming out,” or coming to terms with and disclosing sexual identity.
Coming Out Day is observed in the U.S. on Oct. 11. However, some places, such as the United Kingdom, recognize the holiday on Oct. 12.
The first National Coming Out Day was observed in 1988 to commemorate the first LGBT — the additions of “Q” and “A” came in more recent years — march on Washington, D.C., that occurred a year earlier, according to the Human Rights Campaign website.
The event was hosted by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Transgender, Queer and Questioning, and Allied Services at ASU as part of their OUTspoken series designed to create dialogues about LGBTQA experiences. The dialogues take place every other Tuesday on the Tempe campus in the Graduate Resource Center.
The holiday plays an important role in getting students to speak out about their sexual identities, said ASU LBGTQA specialist Lisa Pittari.
Pittari stressed the importance of speaking out about sexual identity, despite the risks involved.
“Our voices are our power,” Pittari said. “Your silence will not protect you.”
Manning agreed, stating that something as simple as wearing a T-shirt can raise awareness to the problem the community faces, and awareness is an important factor in making a change.
“Every piece of visibility helps out,” Manning said.
Though “coming out” might be commonly thought of as just accepting one’s own sexual identity, biology junior Matthew Camba noted an initial hesitance to “come out” as an ally — a straight person who is sympathetic to the struggles of the LGBTQA community.
“Other people may judge me as someone who may be gay,” Camba said.
In spite of this, Camba said it was more important to be an ally instead of being part of the problem, adding that he will be more open about his support in the future.
“[Human Rights Campaign] gave me one of their stickers, and I’m going to put it on my car,” Camba said. “There may be some people who don’t like that, but who cares?”
Manning said that having straight allies was crucial for the community.
“You don’t have to be gay to realize that this is wrong,” Manning said. “We need straight allies.”
Reach the reporter at michael.reppenhagen@asu.edu
