REPRESENTATION AT THE OLYMPICS
I came out when I was 15. My mum was scared for me; she thought being queer would ruin my opportunities in life, that I would be discriminated against. I have been. But I am also privileged – I am still white, cisgender, and able-bodied. I also don’t ‘look’ like the stereotype of a queer person.
Even other queer people presume I’m straight. My identity is mine – it is a truth, a fact, not a performance. I know that showing up as me, and living my truth, helps other people to be more themselves and contributes to
dismantling those stereotypes. Growing up, it didn’t even cross my mind that anything except heterosexuality existed, because there was simply no representation. Thank goodness for the internet. The patriarchal binaries that are so deeply ingrained in our society disregard our humanness. They exist to serve the (very flawed) system, instilling fear for lack of familiarity. When people who don’t fit in these binaries are brave enough to step forward and say, ‘this is who I am,’ the world
becomes a better, kinder place. This generation is cultivating a culture of empathy through representation of diversity. – Abby Buckthought.
artwork by Georgia Broadbent-Berge
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