National Coming Out Day: Standing Strong Against Queerphobia
- Charlie Laughton-Peake
- Oct 13, 2021
- 4 min read
Despite today marking National Coming Out Day, figures from leading charities would suggest the ever-rising numbers in queerphobic and derogatory comments prevent members of the LGBTQ+ from expressing their identity.
First celebrated in America 1988, Richard Eichberg, a psychologist and Jean O'Leary, a gay rights activist, National Coming Out day marks an opportunity for "closeted" people to "come out". The movement began to raise awareness for the LGBTQ+ community
However 33 years later, the levels of queerphobia and other forms of derogatory abuse remains at an all-time high.
Galop, a leading LGBTQ+ charity, have found of the 1166 people they surveyed this year, 96% of respondents had received some form of impactful abuse.
According to the Birmingham LGBTQ Centre, 35,000 cases of hate crime committed against people because of their sexual orientation go unreported each year resulting in a large portion of the LGBTQ+ community having a damaged or lost sense of identity.
Stonewall announced 46% of Bi people and 47% of Trans people feel comfortable talking openly to one of their family members about their sexual orientation and gender identity.
Joseph "Joey" Taylor, 24, professional freelance dancer, from Birmingham, has regularly performed at The Nightingale and has had previous experience with Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Joey Taylor said "(coming out) was hard, regardless of having a really supportive family, and having a great family background in every sense. It was still difficult because you never knew (how they would react), even though they would love you unconditionally.
"Through them not talking too much about sexuality, from my dad's perspective, it was because it didn't matter to him, which was positive, but something that needs to be talked about.
"a week or two ago, a friend of mine and I went to a kebab shop round the corner from the Hippodrome, and there was a man stood in the door way. We were dressed quite overtly queer, but not anything crazy. He said 'no you cant come in. You will have to go to another shop.' He was just refusing us entry, just giving no reason.
"Eventually we went inside, ordered our food and his girlfriend tried to apologise for him, but he was right there and could have apologised to us.
"(Birmingham) is relatively good actually, I don't see how it would be any more dangerous than London or Manchester, but I couldn't say it was 100% safe.
"To be homophobic, you have to buy into or believe what created the whole stigma around homosexuality in the first place, so really ridiculous and backwards things like 'homosexuals are all paedophiles!'
"Occasionally I might wear a black plain skirt out, but I feel super empowered by it, because that's the whole point of trying to combat it. For people who are committing homophobic crimes, their goal whether it is conscious or not is to limit the presence of gay people by shunning them indoors by fear. So the more I see it the more I'm like f*** you, I'm gonna go out it something really really camp
"I'm super proud to be apart of the queer community"
Peter Bennet Barnes, 53, Business Analyst, originally from Birmingham, said "I struggled to accept my sexuality, but when I did and "came out" (...) it was a huge weight being lifted.
"I told my dad in a pub. (...) I told him I was gay and I genuinely thought he was going to get up and leave, but he stayed and told me I was his son and he loved me no matter what.
When asked about homophobia, Mr Bennet Barnes said: "You have to be careful in what you do and how you act. We do try not to bring attention to ourselves as there is always a risk.
"Two of my friends were beaten up in a McDonalds only last month and that was only because one of them was wearing a pride face mask.
"Now I'm proud to say I'm gay, my sexuality doesn't define me its part of who I am, just like the colour of my eyes or the size of my feet!"
Rebekah Jennings, 20, University of Birmingham Student, is a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
She has recently received verbal homophobic verbal abuse after leaving The Nightingale Club in Birmingham on her way home. Miss Jennings said: "I didn't say anything in response at the time, I just drowned them out.
Miss Jennings felt it was important for the LGBTQ+ community to have a sense of belonging and identity. "I have not explicitly (come out) to my parents, but I'm lucky that its not something I have to hide.
"I know I have nothing to hide from (her parents) the way some would, there's still a lingering sense of taboo around the topic.
"I have repeatedly witnessed people around me making derogatory comments ranging from something off-handedly out of touch to clear queerphobic statements.
"Abuse restricts how open people can feel about their identity and can often imprint a kind of "walking on eggshells" feeling for individuals."
Although there is a looming sense fear amongst the LGBTQ+ community, the need for identity and belonging is, and should, remain paramount and prevail over the abuse.
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