ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the empirical research results of several studies which looked into the everyday life of gays and lesbians in Slovenia. The most comprehensive study to date in Slovenia showed that 53 percent of lesbians and gays surveyed had reported at least one incident of violence due to their sexual orientation. The chapter explores how gays and lesbians organise their everyday lives in the public space, defined by heteronormative images. The heteronormative panopticon is actually one of the most dangerous forms of violence, as it establishes numerous subtle, invisible and latent mechanisms of control. The chapter suggests that the concept of the 'transparent closet', originally used in discussions on 'coming out' in family contexts, could also be applied to the public sphere. The transparent closet draws attention to the relational nature of coming out as an act. It seems that similar mechanisms, informed by heteronormativity and sexual shame, function in both spheres, public and private, with similar effects.
