History
THE RAINBOW DOOR
Created by the Queer Youth Task Force
Inspired by a Rainbow Door and Frame that existed during the 1990’s at UC Santa Cruz for Coming Out Day and LGBT Events, the Queer Youth Task Force recreated the concept in 2012 to support local middle and high school campuses who were looking for celebratory ways to commemorate National Coming Out Day.
Home Depot answered the call for a donated Self-standing Door & Frame and the Pajaro Valley High School Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) took the lead in painting the Door. The students painted the inside of the door black to symbolize the darkness inside a closet and painted the front of the door as a rainbow to symbolize the freedom of Coming Out.
The Rainbow Door is primarily utilized by Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA’s) from Watsonville to Scott’s Valley around October 11, National Coming Out Day, as well as during the Spring for Rainbow Week, Tolerance Week and/or Diversity Week.
The Pajaro Valley High School GSA pioneered the model for Coming Out Day in 2012 by inviting District and Campus officials, star athletes and student leaders to Come Out as Straight Allies thus creating safe space for students and teachers to come out Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or as Straight Allies. Additionally, they invited their campus cheerleaders to line-up cheering once a person walks through the door. Students give each person walking out the door rainbow candy and sprinkle glitter over them to add to the celebratory festivities. The Door is generally placed in a high visibility location on campus during lunch and is accompanied with music and a micro-phone.
Each Middle and High School creates their own brand of festivities with the Rainbow Door.
The symbolism of a festive Coming Out Day on a campus has helped create a safer campus for Queer & Straight-Allied youth by reversing the bullying and anti-gay climate that persisted when students came out at school.
The Rainbow Door has helped create a culture of safety and security on campuses throughout Santa Cruz County.
We are here today to celebrate National Coming Out Day, which happens every October 11. National Coming Out Day is a day for people to come out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, or LGBTQ+, since there are many different identities within the LGBTQ communitiy. National Coming Out Day was established in 1988 following the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Robert Eichberg, one of the activists who started the event, explained, “Most people think they don’t know anyone gay or lesbian, and in fact everyone does.” Coming out can be scary, and it can also be empowering and help break down stereotypes. Today, we are holding this Rainbow Door Event to hold space for people to come out as LGBT and as allies. Allies are people who show up and support LGBTQ people even though they are not LGBTQ themselves. So we invite people to introduce themselves and pass through the Rainbow Door and come out, and we especially encourage allies to come out and show their support.
Media Archive
PV High celebrates National Coming Out Day
Curriculum
National Coming Out Day: Rainbow Door Curriculum
What: The Rainbow Door event, put on for National Coming Out Day, is an opportunity for LGBTQ+ students to come out and for other students and teachers to come out as allies in support. The event entails participants walk through a rainbow door, or another similar platform, as they are coming out as LGBTQ+ or an ally.
Aim: Utilize a Rainbow Door, or another similar platform, on National Coming Out Day as a campus tool to help boost visibility of LGBTQ students and promote an accepting school environment
Purpose: Visibility of LGBTQ students and explicit acceptance within the school climate helps foster safer schools for LGBTQ students; having an open and proud GBT event can boost LGBTQ students’ sense of self
Introduction:
Harassment, bullying, assault, and anti-LGBTQ remarks are some factors that contribute to hostile school environments for LGBTQ students. In fact, GLSEN’s 2017 National School Climate Survey found that “59.5% of LGBTQ students felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, 44.6% because of their gender expression, and 35.0% because of their gender.” These feelings of being unsafe can lead to missing school and school dropout, higher levels of depression, and lower GPAs. [Kosciw, J. G., Greytak, E. A., Zongrone, A.
D., Clark, C. M., & Truong, N. L. (2018). The 2017 National School Climate Survey: The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth in our nation’s schools. New York: GLSEN.]
The same report however indicated factors such as Gender and Seuxality Alliances or similar groups, inclusive curriculum, and identifiable LGBTQ-supportive staff members helped combat hostile school environments. In other words, showing visible and explicit support of LGBTQ people is one of the ways to make schools safer and more accepting. On the other hand, denial and/or invisibility of LGBTQ identities further marginalize LGBTQ students [Alison Cerezo & Jeannette Bergfeld (2013) Meaningful LGBTQ Inclusion in Schools: The Importance of Diversity Representation and Counterspaces, Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 7:4, 355-371, DOI: 10.1080/15538605.2013.839341].
Utilizing a Rainbow Door event for National Coming Out Day is one way to make the LGBTQ+ community more visible and illustrate explicit support of LGBTQ students.
Short history of the event:
The Rainbow Door in Santa Cruz County started at UC Santa Cruz, and the Queer Youth Task Force (QYTF) shared the concept of the event with others. The idea was that people come out as LGBTQ+ or an ally and then walk through a free-standing rainbow door. Pajaro Valley High School’s QSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) advisor Erica Murphy especially loved the idea and wanted to replicate the event at her school. Since then, the event at PVHS has taken off and grown.
Before the Rainbow Door, the QSA had held a small Coming Out Day event with about 5 students. Despite that, the small event ended up being extremely positive for the students who participated, and for students who came out as allies. When the QYTF brought the idea of a door to Murphy, Murphy and the students ran with it.
For about 12 years now, PVHS has put on the Rainbow Door event for National Coming Out Day. The club is now made up over 35 students who participate in the event. The principal, other teachers, ASB, and the cheerleading team also come out to the event and participate, making the Rainbow Door event “part of school culture” as Murphy puts it.
To request the Rainbow Door or to receive helpful tips for a successful Rainbow Door Coming Out Day event at your campus or community organization, please contact the Safe Schools Project at info@safeschoolsproject.org
