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It was such a brave decision – he’s 17 and he’s only just signed a professional contract. It kind of blew me away, reading about him coming out. It has to be Jake Daniels, the footballer. via Getty Images) Who is a queer person in the public eye right now that makes you excited about the future?
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via Getty Images)ĭennis Rodman at the VMAs in 1995 (Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd. He didn’t follow the rules, and he didn’t break the rules, he just made his own rules.ĭennis Rodman at the VMAs in 1995 (Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd. I was such a sports fan, and I think to have a sporting icon – which he was at that time – pushing the boundaries and the limits of what people assumed every sports person should be, or look like, or wear, or say, it was very iconic to me. And if his identity didn’t match what someone else thought it should be, that was somebody else’s problem to deal with, not his. He had tattoos and piercings and it felt, to me, he was someone who had no shame around his identity. He would wear a dress if he woke up and felt like he wanted to – it didn’t define him, he just felt like he wanted to wear one. He was a great athlete, he was a great basketball player, but he also always pushed the limits. Growing up, I loved Dennis Rodman so much. The cast of Channel 4's It's A Sin (Photo: via PA Features Archive/Press Association Images) Who is your ultimate queer icon? The cast of Channel 4's It's A Sin (Photo: via PA Features Archive/Press Association Images) There is always a chance in society that if we relax or if we stop talking about things, it’s easy to fall back to the way things were. the reality of what happened, and with my connection to it, I wished I could have done something then, but also it made me more determined to realise, “at least I can do something now”. That gave me a sense of motivation, but also a sense of sadness that people had to live through that.Īnd I made sure that everybody that I spoke to watched it, because I wanted to make sure that we never go back to times like that.
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They spent the rest of their lives, after diagnosis, being locked in a room or being discriminated against or with people not wanting to touch them. But also, I felt so connected to, and helpless for, the people who lost their lives in horrific, horrific ways. I became very appreciative of the times I live in now, the fact that I can live on medication now. They’ve told me stories, but to see it played out and the reality of what it was brought it to life a lot more. I live with HIV myself, and through the work I do now, I know a lot of people who are from that generation. For me, watching It’s A Sin, as much as I found it addictive and wanted to binge-watch it, I also found it quite disturbing. It has to be It’s A Sin, without a shadow of a doubt. What was the most recent LGBTQ+ show or film that made an impact on you?
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He’s even younger than me! It sounds like a really bizarre one, because I’m sure people would think, you know, Peter Tatchell or Ian McKellen or somebody like that. He’s probably not somebody that people would think, because he’s not someone I grew up watching. So I kind of hid myself away.īut someone I would say now is H Watkins from Steps, who’s a really good friend of mine. I kind of feel like I used to shelter myself away from many iconic LGBT figures when I was growing up, because I was afraid of being “guilty by association”. Who was the first queer person you can remember looking up to? To mark Pride month, HuffPost UK spoke to Gareth about how Queer As Folk provided an insight into a world he’d “only ever dreamt of” before coming out, why It’s A Sin proved to be both an “addictive” and “disturbing” watch and his admiration for Blackpool’s Jake Daniels. And to be successful, you need a diverse work environment, you need people to be able to be authentic, you need people to be able to be the best version of themselves.” And try to create change, because culture can break people down and stop people being authentic. “What we’re trying to do is get the culture of this industry up to speed with 21st century thinking and 21st century living. “Tough Talks is all about sitting down with people and giving them a safe place where they feel they can air the problems that are around what is a very very macho and sometimes toxic masculinity kind of environment,” he explains. Gareth Thomas pictured in 2020 (Photo: ITV/Shutterstock)