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Before that it had been a dull awareness, but a lack of exposure to the queer community meant it was pressed to the back of my mind. It was only in my final year of university that I plucked up the courage to date women. I didn't want to draw attention to who I liked, but I wanted the chance to be myself in a public space, without any more questions. When I told my friends I was bisexual, I remember pressing a tissue into the palm of my hand and by the time I'd rattled the words out, it was in shreds. Although I am very proud of my working-class roots, any sort of deviance away from what could be considered 'normal' felt like a threat to my social standing.
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Growing up in a Catholic school, living in the small city of Hull where very few people in my social circle were 'out' as gay, nevermind bisexual, it took me a while to realise it was okay to simply be attracted to both men and women. It's only in the last year that I've been 'out and proud' and it 's taken a long time for me to become comfortable with who I am. When one of my friends recently described me as 'the proudest bisexual she knew', I was a little taken aback. Jasmine Andersson, 25, LGBTQ journalist and activist, London, UK We spoke to several women in their twenties to find out what it's like to 'come out' to the most important people in your life. After all, sexuality is an incredibly private aspect of life. The 'coming out' experience is unique to everyone and it can happen several times throughout an LGBTQ person's life, whether it be at school, university, at work, or even in a bar.Īnd it's not entirely uncommon for people to be 'out' in certain areas of their lives, but not in others. To make matters worse, Stonewall has recently found that abuse against LGBT people has risen by 78 per cent in just four years in the UK.Ĭlearly, we still have a long way to go in building a society with respect, tolerance and love at its core. The Office for National Statistics in 2013 found that 93.5 per cent of people identify as 'heterosexual' or 'straight,' meaning that a mere few years ago, 'coming out' was still extremely rare and extremely brave.
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Bathroom genders are still binary, gay marriage is still up for debate (ahem, we're looking at you Australia) and Trump's trying to get transgender soldiers banned from the military in the USA. It's super scary, because the world is still sadly, but decidedly, a heteronormative place. publicly revealing your sexual orientation and/or gender identity as a lesbian, gay, bi or trans individual - can be an extremely daunting prospect.įor some, there's a fear of how people - especially friends and family - will respond 'Will they support me? Will they be disappointed?'