Metaphors we come out by. How structural metaphors construct coming-out in internet advice texts.

This paper uses Critical Metaphor Analysis to explore the main source domains of cognitive metaphors in on-line coming out advice for LGB individuals. It highlights how the ontological metaphor to come out (of the closet) is re-metaphorised by a number of structural metaphors, especially COMING OUT IS MOVEMENT. Noting that Queer theorists have critiqued coming out both as a concept and as an imperative, the paper argues that the coming-out advice examined here perpetuates this discourse through the use of COMING OUT IS MOVEMENT (ESP A JOURNEY) and COMING OUT IS CONFLICT and suggests that other structural metaphors could be more useful to the readers of coming-out advice.