New day, new gay! As I always say.
When we were young, the coming out video lived on YouTube. They were almost always as lengthy as the infamous Bye, Sister video and filled with an equal amount of tears. Some of us saw them coming, others were revelations that rippled through the YouTube community and left us thinking about our own identities when we hadn't yet fully realised our sexualities. There were emotional ones and theatrical ones (Eugene Lee Yang, anyone?), some were matter-of-fact, like Troye Sivan's two-part video in 2013.
Since then, the way that celebrities come out has been a mixed bag, but now, in the age of TikTok – a platform that is highly popularised by queer people – the coming out video amongst celebrities seems to have taken a refreshingly nonchalant turn.
@emrata #stitch with @shaymitchell ♬ original sound - Emrata
@shaymitchell #duet with @keepitspooky #Stitch ♬ original sound - Kayla :)
The first I saw was Shay Mitchell's video, who stitched a video calling on all bisexuals who owned a green couch which Mitchell does, along with Emily Ratajkowski, who stitched the same video. Mitchell's felt especially apt, considering her role as the iconic lesbian in Pretty Little Liars, Emily Fields, a pivotal moment on television at the time. Madonna, has also decided to jump on the trend in her own, Madonna way, naturally. In a video where she flings a pair of hot pink knickers towards a bin with the caption "if I miss, I'm gay". She does in fact miss, and shrugs her shoulders when they land on the floor next to the wastebasket. Oh well! I guess that settles that.
@madonna♬ original sound - nudy georges
As we all attempt to progress towards a moment in time where finding out someone's sexuality is akin to finding out someone's hair colour or last name, it feels like a relief that a new age of casual coming-out is potentially upon us. Of course, it's important to note that there are still a wealth of LGTBQI+ folks who do not have the same luxury and ease of coming out this way, and for many, coming out can still be a scary, painful, and huge moment in their lives. For others, it is not yet an option, and for some, it simply isn't important to them.
Either way, the thought that soft-launching your sexuality even exists is an exciting prospect for the progression of our world, and we look forward to what it might mean on a larger scale for LBGTQI+ youth.