“We come out of the closet not once, but many, many times”: Coming out, trust and degrees of openness in Russian non-heterosexuals’ biographies
Type de matériel :
99
The article explores the disclosure strategies of Russian non-heterosexuals and their degrees of openness, drawing on biographical interviews and written autobiographies. The article distinguishes between the concepts of coming-out and openness and traces the relationship between them. Non-heterosexuals can choose to whom and when come out. However, coming out can result in abuse, threats, the breakdown of relationships, or the interlocutor ignoring the disclosure. Situations when coming out is ignored produce ambivalent situations: for example, some non-heterosexuals come out but their sexuality is not necessarily out in the open; some non-heterosexuals do not come out, but they are sure that people around them know, and their sexuality is an open secret. The article supplements existing literature about disclosure strategies of Russian non-heterosexuals and develops the idea of flexibility in the boundaries between openness and closeness.
Réseaux sociaux