Curiously, I ask myself, ‘am I privileged as a straight woman because I have not had to fight, furiously for the basic human rights of marriage?’ Marriage is magical, marvellous, and memorable. But, gay marriage is special; the battle of blood sweat and tears had to happen to allow it to take place.
Disgraceful.
My uncle has been happily married with his husband for 8 years! However, things weren’t always that easy. They had to conquer to get to where they’re today. Here are some juicy details that my uncles' husband told me in a shocking interview where we spilled the tea…
"I've known I was gay from as far back as I can remember, even in year 1, I knew I wasn’t like the other boys. The first person I told was my girlfriend. Even though I knew I was gay, I always wanted to fit in and be normal."
Have you ever felt like you had to hide your true self to be what’s classed as 'normal' too? I think compared to back then, our generation now is so much more accepting of homosexuality.
Punishable by death!
Did you know that back in 1533, the Buggary Act was made by Henry VIII, where sex between men was punishable by death all the way up until 1861 in the UK?
This is heart-breaking and on top of this gay men also had to deal with HIV which luckily today the amazing It’s a Sin series by Russell T Davies, spreads lifechanging awareness on this issue. But, back then they didn’t have the knowledge that we do now.
As a result, so many innocent lives were taken by this deadly disease. I haven’t watched It’s a Sin yet as I am a cry baby so I will definitely weep while watching it. I am going to make myself watch it with lots of tissues and I would advise you to do the same.
Who is your role model?
'If you can’t love yourself how in the hell you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an amen up in here.' This famous line from the T.V show RuPaul's Drag Race changed my life! I cannot stress to you enough how much you should watch this series, it’s truly breath taking.
Strutting their stuff on the runway, vogueing, unbelievable true stories from the queens about the tough events in their lives that have made them grow into who they’re today, the iconic RuPaul and of course lots of shade and humour from the judges are just some of the incredible things you can witness!
As my uncle’s husband says, "Being LGBTQIA+ just wasn’t spoken about back in 1995 when I came out and it wasn’t as mainstream as it’s now on T.V and being published." RuPaul has changed the lives of the LGBTQIA+ community and he is a role model.
This statement by RuPaul is so true, it shows how we’re all the same. I wear false eyelashes, fake tan, lots of makeup and this is all drag. Apart from drag queens do it more flawlessly than me.
So, next time you feel like you have to change who you're to be what’s classed as ‘normal’ remember the saying from RuPaul as we’re all the same despite our differences. Never let anyone dull your sparkle because you only get one life and you should live it doing everything that makes you the happiest.
There is always going to be someone that doesn’t like you but that’s their issue to stress over not yours. Just keep shining.
What can we do now to continue this awareness and share the love of the LGBTQIA+ community?
1) The more we speak about it openly the more it will be known.
2) More T.V shows, blog posts, social media posts and events for the LGBTQIA+ community.