Unlike with cis gay people, there's two unrelated ways a trans person can be "in the closet": - You haven't told anyone that you're transitioning, and Eve the

Unlike with cis gay people, there's two unrelated ways a trans person can be "in the closet": - You haven't told anyone that you're transitioning, and Eve the attacker tells Alice and Bob. You weren't ready to tell Bob, and you never intended to tell Alice. Eve has outed you as trans to Alice and Bob. - The public part of your transition is complete, you can pass for cis, and you don't want people to know you're trans. Eve tells Alice and Bob that you're trans. You weren't ready to tell Bob, and you never intended to tell Alice. Eve has outed you as trans to Alice and Bob. The 2nd kind of closet is often called "going stealth". Some sources says it used to be called "woodworking", i.e. blending into the woodwork. Some people call the 1st kind "stealth", but I think "closet" is less ambiguous. > I can't hide my trans status from my parents or a school that I attended pre-transition. This is true. I came out at work recently, so almost all of my coworkers know that I'm trans. But there are a few new hires who might not know. It would be impolite for someone to tell a new hire about me, at least without asking me. So for children, the 1st case is probably what they're talking about. If a child is questioning their gender identity, it's not kind to out them to anyone. They will probably be bullied. It's the gender identity equivalent of gossiping about Alice having a one-night stand with Eve. Is it wrong to bully her about it? Of course. But as long as the bullies exist, it's also wrong to gossip about it and expose her to danger. Defense in depth means don't bully anyone, and also don't open them up to bullying.