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What is "Outing?"

By Ellen Friedrichs, About.com

Question: What is "Outing?"
Answer:

Outing is telling people that someone else is gay without that person's permission.

Sometimes, this is done maliciously to hurt someone. Sometimes, it is done by a person who thinks they are being helpful. For example, a person with a gay friend might think the friend's life would be better if he or she was openly gay.

But whatever the motivation, it is never okay to out someone. Everyone has to come out at their own pace, and revealing a person's sexual orientation when they aren't ready to have this revealed can be very damaging.

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