Sing it out! Die Rolle der Lieder von LGBTQ-Singer-Songwritern in ihrem Coming-out-Prozess

Music, more specifically songs, plays an important role in the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) community. In this article we describe three singer-songwriters (SSWs), their coming out narrative, and their development as SSWs, beginning from when they composed privately, through more public events such as performances and professional recordings of their songs. In each of these case examples we chose one song that the SSW composed and analyze its lyrics and music. Through this, we show how songwriting functions in diverse ways in regard to the coming out process and that it may function differently for different people and in different phases of the coming out process. We discuss how this information can be valuable for music therapists, especially those treating LGBTQ clients and those using songwriting techniques.