Billy Axelrod is a senior majoring in English and a Monday columnist for The Daily Collegian. You may come out as lesbian or gay, bisexual or straight. Outness is how far out someone is, in other words, to how many people and which people. Some people are selectively out, meaning they are out to some people and not to others.
People can be out to only themselves, a few friends or only to other gay people.
Straight people generally need not come out, as everyone assumes all people are straight anyway. Unlike women or people of color, it is not always obvious when a person is queer. Queer people come in all different shapes and sizes in all walks of life, and you cannot be sure of the orientation of another unless it is made known. Invisible minorities like lesbian, gay and bisexual people need to go out of their way to become visible. The most direct way to achieve visibility is by coming out.