Revivals Palm Springs introduces gender neutral clothing displays on National Coming Out Day
Friday, October 11 is National Coming Out Day, an annual LGBT awareness day observed to support anyone "coming out of the closet."
In Palm Springs, Revivals is marking the day by celebrating the community's rainbow of gender expression.
Specifically, the store unveiled new signage on its clothing racks that removes the "men's" and "women's" signs that are used to mark its clothing displays.
Steven Henke with DAP Health tells KESQ News Channel 3 that the change to gender diversity is intended to allow anyone to shop any section of the store's clothing fashion and find anything they love that expresses their authentic self-- all without the worry of a label or judgment.
"This is you know this is going to be a very small change for our everyday shopper," Henke said adding, "but for the gender diverse community who does sometimes feel like they're not welcome at retailers whether it be locally or nationally we just hope that this does is it really shows them that we affirm them we affirm their existence and we welcome them at revivals."
The popular thrift store has four locations around the Coachella Valley in Palm Springs Cathedral City Palm Desert and Indio Palm Desert and is known for its unique blend of thrift and new merchandise.
The stores also feature new furniture and art and are staffed by volunteers with 100% of the proceeds benefitting DAP Health initiatives.
On National Coming Out Day, there are people that will be sharing stories on social media about how they came out as an LGBTQ person. Advocates say it's a day of visibility to inspire others to tell their stories and to affirm the people who have not yet to come out and let them know they're not alone.
