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BU LGBTQ groups host National Coming Out Day Celebration

Boston artist Mick Beth performs on Friday night at the National Coming Out Day event hosted at BU Central in the George Sherman Union. CHIKA OKOYE/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

National Coming Out Day gave way to celebration Friday night in Boston University Central where attendees gathered to enjoy food, performances from LGBTQ Boston-based vocalists and a drag show.

The event was hosted by the BU Center for Gender, Sexuality, and Activism and BU’s Queer Activist Collective. The mission of the Queer Activist Collective — also known as “Q” — is to use activism, volunteerism and education to promote inclusion and acceptance of the LGBTQ community, according to their website.

“We want to give people the chance to celebrate themselves, regardless of whether or not they are ‘out,’” the Q e-board wrote in an email. “Coming out means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.”

Q wrote that the goal of the Coming Out Day Celebration was to show the positive aspects of being a part of the LGBTQ community.

“The narrative around being LGBTQ+ is far too often centered on suffering, but with this event we want to counteract that by celebrating the LGBTQ+ experience,” Q wrote.

Sophie Richards, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, is a frequent attender of Q meetings who came to the National Coming Out Day Party on Friday.

“[Q is] just a really good place to meet people … There’s all kinds of friends I’ve made,” Richards said.

The night kicked off with LGBTQ music hits to celebrate October as LGBTQ History Month. Food was provided by BU CGSA.

The opening performance was given by Justin Arena, Boston-based singer, songwriter and acoustic soloist who is transgender and uses they/them pronouns.

Arena opened their set with positive energy, announcing to the crowd, “Give yourselves a round of applause for being so f—ing beautiful.”

Their set carried on with emotional songs about Arena’s journey through growing up and coming out as transgender, with lyrics such as, “I am young, I am queer, even if it takes a while I’ll be right here.”

Following Arena was Mick Beth, non-binary rapper and drag star from Atlanta, Georgia, featuring lyrics that highlighted their experience as a queer person, including, “Use my pronouns or die.”

The celebration concluded with a drag show by three Boston performers, Pristine Christine, Queen Atlas, and Georgia Flu.

Zhelin Liao, a junior in CAS, said he wanted to attend the event to be with and support other members of the LGBTQ community.

“I’m part of the LGBT community [and] I’m always very supportive,” Liao said. “I just want to be here, to show my support and meet people.”

Sebastian Wanumen, a graduate student in the College of Fine Arts, said he feels National Coming Out Day is important to increase visibility of the LGBTQ community and that it is a privilege to be able to celebrate openly.

“I think it’s important to commemorate these [kinds] of days and events,” Wanumen said. “We have the privilege of being able to come out. 30, 40, 50 years ago, or even nowadays in other countries, you wouldn’t have the same chances to come out, and your life would be completely different.”






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