Closets

A few of my roommates and I were sitting downstairs in silence, when suddenly one ran in from upstairs and happily explained to us how she realized that my bed is directly over the downstairs closet. This was met with much laughter and friendly poking fun at Bridey for being a lesbian. Closet jokes are always a fun past time in my apartment. My friend Brandon always says that closets are scary because it's dark and there are skeletons in there.

I've never been quite sure where the phrase "in the closet" came from, so I did some investigating. It originally came from the phrase having "a skeleton in the closet" which is thought to have come from the fairy tale of Blue Beard, where he leaves for few days and his wife discovers a secret closet full of his dead past wives and he makes it a point to add her to it...(http://www.contemania.com/english/Anglais_Barbe_bleue.htm)

Now it means "A secret source of shame, potentially ruinous if exposed, which a person or family makes effort to conceal". From this less creepy source is where the connection with the meaning of a gay person "coming out" came from. They are not ashamed any more, is what I take it to mean. Well what ever it means I'll leave you all with this...