Young LGBTQ+ People of Colour Share What 'Love and Rage' Means to Them this UK Black Pride
To celebrate UK Black Pride, two young lesbians and a young trans man have created a video on what it means to be LGBTQ+ and a person of colour.
Pippa, Amy and Isaac open up about being LGBTQ+ people of colour and what ‘Love and Rage’ – UK Black Pride’s theme for 2021 – means to them.
Pippa Sterk, a lesbian and Just Like Us ambassador, says: “When I was at secondary school, I felt really insecure about my body, I felt really insecure about the way I expressed myself.
“I felt like everyone had learned how to be a girl and it just did not come natural to me at all. I tried wearing makeup a couple of times, I tried wearing skirts and dresses, but always just felt that I looked ridiculous.
“When I came out I thought that that would make me feel better about the way that I look and the way that I dress. But I still see a lot of LGBTQ+ communities that idealise white bodies and often LGBTQ+ people of colour aren’t even recognised as LGBTQ+.
“I’ve walked into a lot of rooms where people assume that I’m in the wrong place or I’ve got the wrong door because they just can’t imagine that there are LGBTQ+ people who look like me.
Pippa says that, conversely, coming out to her family was much easier and it “didn’t feel like it was a big deal”.
She says: “I think a lot of the time when LGBTQ+ people of colour speak about being LGBTQ+ publicly, there is such an audience for hardship and really difficult family relationships but for a lot of people, there actually can be a lot of love in our families as well and it’s really important to share those stories too.”
Just Like Us ambassador Amy says The Half of It movie, about a closeted Chinese American lesbian drastically changed how she felt about coming out.
“It highlighted to me that being a lesbian was not because of Western influence, which I believed in my childhood,” she explains.
“The portrayal of the intersection of race and sexuality indicated that the connection with my culture did not have to be weakened by my sexuality.
“For many years I felt shame for who I was, for liking girls. I barely saw any positive LGBTQ+ representation in the media – let alone a gay Chinese woman I could relate to.
“It helped me to realise that I wasn’t alone.”
Isaac S, a trans man and Just Like Us ambassador, says: “Coming to terms with yourself is one thing but managing the weight of how everyone else sees you and treats you is a whole other thing.”
“Growing up in a Muslim community while not being religious myself and navigating my sexuality and then later on my gender identity as a trans man, I often felt so alone. Out of place and so misunderstood.”
Isaac is now a Just Like Us ambassador, meaning he volunteers to speak in schools with the charity to help prevent anti-LGBTQ+ bullying.
If you are LGBTQ+, age 18-25 and live in the UK, you can volunteer with Just Like Us and help prevent anti-LGBTQ+ bullying in schools. The charity provides training for volunteers to speak in schools about what it’s like to be LGBTQ+ – sign up now.
