outness

Meaning

Noun

• The collective of things that are distinct from the observer.
• The property of being distinct.
• The extent to which someone, particularly a lesbian, is open about her sexuality.

Related

Similar words

• otherness, externality, outwardness

Origin

• Possibly coined by George Berkeley for his 1709 Essay ''''
• Popularised by Lynne Pearlman in her 1989 thesis Theorizing Lesbian Oppression and the Politics of Outness in the Case of Waterman v. National Life Assurance