National Coming Out Day and the Armenian Soul

National Coming Out Day and the Armenian Soul

Honoring Courage, Truth, and Identity as Part of Armenia’s Evolving National Story

By Vic Gerami

For Armenians everywhere, National Coming Out Day is more than an LGBTQ+ milestone. It is a call for honesty, courage, and the kind of self-liberation that our ancestors embodied for centuries. To come out in an Armenian family, community, or society that still struggles with visibility and acceptance is not merely a personal act. It is a declaration that love, truth, and authenticity are also Armenian values.

Armenia has survived empires, genocide, and exile because of resilience, not conformity. Yet even today, too many Armenians are forced to live in silence about who they are, fearful of rejection, violence, or being erased from the very history they help create. Homophobia in our culture has a hidden cost. It isolates our youth, fractures families, and weakens a nation that prides itself on unity.

As I wrote in The Hidden Cost of Homophobia in the Armenian Community, when we suppress our queer sons, daughters, siblings, and friends, we lose artists, scientists, writers, and leaders who could have made our homeland stronger and more beautiful. Oppression does not protect Armenian culture. It shrinks it.

A Legacy of Great Queer Armenians

To those who think queerness is un-Armenian, history says otherwise. Many of our greatest creators, rulers, and visionaries defied gender and sexuality norms long before modern labels existed.

King Pap of Armenia (370–374) was rumored to have relationships with both men and women, defying the rigid expectations of his time.

Catholicos Grigoris I (Grigor Aghtamartsi) of Aghtamar, one of the highest-ranking religious figures in Armenian history, was said to be open about his love for men, even within the church.

Yeghishe Charents, the great poet and revolutionary, whose verses shaped Armenian literature, was bisexual.

Sergei Parajanov, the visionary filmmaker behind The Color of Pomegranates, was openly bisexual and paid dearly for it, imprisoned for years under the Soviet regime for being himself.

Michael Aram, the celebrated sculptor; Francis Kurkdjian, the world-renowned perfumer; and James Adomian, the acclaimed American comedian and actor, all proudly embody both their Armenian and queer identities today.

These figures are not outliers. They are proof that queer Armenians have always been part of the national story. What has changed is not their existence, but our willingness to see them.

Courage Is Armenian

Even in the world’s most liberal societies such as the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland, equality did not come simply by asking politely. Every inch of progress was hard-won. There was resistance, there were protests, and sometimes there was blood. But visibility, persistence, and solidarity turned fear into freedom.

Armenia now aspires to join the European Union, an institution built on democracy, inclusion, and human rights. That vision cannot coexist with the persecution of LGBTQ+ Armenians. To join the family of European nations, Armenia must prove that equality is not just written in law but lived in practice, that queer Armenians are not second-class citizens but vital contributors to the nation’s future.

Coming Out, When and How You Can

Not everyone can come out safely, and we must acknowledge that reality. For some, revealing who they are can mean losing family, housing, or security. Yet even when fear is justified, silence cannot last forever. Visibility, in whatever form one can manage, whether through a conversation, a friendship, or a creative act, is a revolutionary gesture in itself.

We can be afraid, but we can also be brave. Every Armenian who comes out, or supports someone who does, helps dismantle generations of shame that never belonged to us in the first place. Love has always been part of the Armenian story, and now it is time to make sure it includes all of us.