Lesbians That Paved the Way for Coming Out

Whenever we have a lesbian come out, who is in the entertainment and sports business, they open the door to allow others to follow. This made it easier for others to come out who were not in sports or the entertainment business. If it were an entertainer or sports hero who was popular, it would open the door for other sport and entertaining lesbians to also come out. However, there are many other lesbians in the sports and entertainment business who are still in the "closet". These are just a few of the lesbians who have paved the way for others to come out. These top lesbians from the sport and entertainment business are:

Billie Jean King: Billie was born November 22, 1943 in Long Beach California. Billy is a retired tennis player. During her career Billy won 12 grand slam singles titles, 16 grand slam women's double titles, she then went on to win 11 grand slam mixed double titles. Billie Jean King was known to be the greatest female tennis players and female athletes on history. Billie has been an outspoken advocate, speaking against sexism in sports and society. Billie is mostly known for the title match "Battle of The Sexes". This match occurred in 1973, where she went up against Bobby Riggs, the former Wimbledon men's champion. Bobby was ranked the "World's Number 1" tennis player in the years 1941, 1946, and 1947. During this match up between the battle of the sexes, Billie defeated Bobby. In 1981 Billie Jean King was "outed" by an ex-lover. Fearing for her career she called the relationship a "mistake." Even in admitting that she felt it was a mistake, she lost all of her sponsors. Finally, in 1998 Billie Jean King came out as a lesbian. She was one of the first women that paved the way for other lesbians in sports and entertainment to come out.

Martina Navratilova: Martina was born October 18, 1956 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Martina was known to be the world's number one woman tennis player. During her career Martina won 18 grand slam singles, 31 grand slam doubles, and 10 grand slam mixed doubles. Also in Martina's career she won the women's singles title at Wimbledon 9 times. Martina holds the record for the most singles and doubles tournament wins, holding 167 and 177 titles. Martina born in Czechoslovakia defected to the United States in 1975; she was only 18 years old. Martina became a U.S. citizen in 1981. When finally pushed to answer the never-ending question is she gay or not, Martina finally came out in 1980. She wasn't well received and didn't gain the sponsorship people expected. She pushed on with her career and became a big success and role model for others on coming out.

K.D. Lang: k.d. lang was born November 2, 1961 and was born as Kathryn Dawn Lang. k.d was born in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1985 k.d. earned a Canadian Juno Award for most promising female vocalist. k.d. lang has received 8 Juno Awards in Canada. In 1986 she signed a contract with an American record producer in Nashville, Tennessee. k.d. lang broke through on the country scene in 1987 with her first album entitled Angel With A Lariat. In 1988 and 1989 she released two more albums Shadowland and Absolute Torch and Twang. She made a name for herself in country music but it wasn't until 1992 that she became more recognized and broke free from the country genre. Her album Ingenue was released and she earned her first grammy award for Constant Craving. After releasing her album Ingenue, k.d. lang acknowledge her sexuality and came out of the closet. She lead the way for Melissa Etheridge and eventually Ellen.

These three women lead the way for other women to admit their sexuality. They paved the way, took the risks, and opened the door for future lesbians.