Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(gay) declaring or acknowledging one’s homosexuality.

1971		Jay & Young Out of the Closets 56: I visited my father in New York in the year of my coming out [Simes:DLSS].
1971		Camp Ink (Sydney) May 14/3: [no text] [Simes:DLSS].
1988		N. Bartlett Who Was That Man? 241: The narrator of Imre undergoes a classic coming out [Simes:DLSS].
1989		M.R. Zubro Simple Suburban Murder 49: [H]e was a severe closet case and I didn’t know whether I wanted to be involved in his coming out [Simes:DLSS].
1999		J.M. Saslow Pictures & Passions 97: When one of his horses won a race, Bazzi defiantly insisted the heralds announce him by his derogatory nickname [sc. il Sodoma]—arguably the first ‘coming out’ in Western history [Simes:DLSS].
2000		D. Lennon Rudeboy Train 110: [T]his was what I needed to complete my coming out: a handsome, butch, sexy groupie who clearly wanted to do me on the spot [Simes:DLSS].
2003		Baker & Stanley Hello Sailor! 221: For the officers and engineers who were closeted in the Merchant Navy, their ‘coming out’ on land was more gradual once they left.