In a new interview, Queer Eye's
culture guy Karamo Brown said that he avoids using the term “coming
out.”
Netflix premiered its “reimagined”
Queer Eye in February and in March announced that the Fab Five
– Brown plus Bobby Berk, Tan France, Antoni Porowski and Jonathan
Van Ness – would return for a second season.
Speaking with Now This, Brown explained
that using the term “coming out” places the LGBT person in a
vulnerable position. He prefers the term “inviting them in.”
“For me, 'coming out' gives the power
to the other person to accept or deny you,” Brown
said. “When you're 'inviting them in,' you have the power.”
“My grandmother said this and I loved
the way she put it: Imagine if somebody came to your house and
knocked on your door and you said, ‘Hey, come into my fabulous
home. It represents me.' And they were like, ‘I don’t like it.'
You’re not gonna cry. You’re gonna close your door and feel
comforted, because you’re in your house.”
“And that was the same way about me.
When I was letting people into my life, if they didn’t want to come
into my life, I knew that was OK because I still had my home. I felt
safe about myself.”
“If they do not want to come into
your life immediately, that has nothing to do with you – they are
on their own journey. Do not tolerate disrespect, because you
deserve only the best,” he added.