glass closet

noun

: the state in which the sexual orientation or gender identity of an LGBTQ individual is known to many but not publicly acknowledged

Essentially, I didn't really have to come out … since I was living in a glass closet. I was born with a flamboyancy that could be seen far and wide.

—Mickey Keating

The actress seemed to layer ambiguity on top of sexuality and race in a way that channeled her own life in the glass closet.

—Stacy Lambe

Like many other gay people, I also lived in a glass closet. My parents and I simply agreed not to acknowledge that I was gay.

—Jonathan G. Silin

Word History

First Known Use

1974, in the meaning defined above