You think coming out as a Brony is hard? Try being Pansexual with a homophobic father. I despise people who compare "Coming out" as a Brony to coming out as gay. -_-
I think it's similar, but not the same. Everyone is a little in the closet about something. ^^' I don't think they are trying to compare it to homosexuality at the most. "The closet" is just a term used to describe hiding a part of yourself. Sorta like how you explained it.