Coming out of the credenza: An Italian celebrity unveils his 'new' gay self

In this article I offer a discourse analysis of Tiziano Ferro coming out in a regulatory Italian context. The critical texts for analysis come from the first page of the entertain- ment section of two Italian newspapers, Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica, where Ferro, an Italian pop star, came out of the closet in as public a way as possible. The pages contain a letter from the singer, other articles (editorial and comments), an interview and images. I present a discourse analysis of these newspaper pages, highlighting how the construction of this narration of coming out, with its ideology-laden and rhetorical discourse, combined visual aspects and written texts. In this way I deconstruct the narrative of coming out; I discuss the intertwining of the regulatory discourses so that homosexuality is made acceptable in the Italian social landscape, and the conse- quences of this coming out.