"Coming out" is a risky expression

AFTER 40 years introducing South Australian children to the arts, the biennial Come Out Festival, will change its name from next year’s event — because of the modern connotations around the phrase.

The festival’s creative producer, Susannah Sweeney, said the original name was devised by adults more than 40 years ago — in 1974 — and referenced the “boys and girls come out to play” line in the enduring nursery rhyme.

But one consideration that prompted the move to rebadge the festival was the link that the phrase “come out” now has with the gay, lesbian and transgender community.

“Over 40 years, that term has taken on a much stronger resonance elsewhere and that is a consideration,” Ms Sweeney said.

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