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started to receive abusive comments
again. What shocked me was that it
wasn’t from homophobes, but from gay
people. I was called all sorts of names,
and it was claimed that I was making the
violent incidents up as a form of selfpromotion. I let it go, as frankly I had
more important things to think about,
but at the same time felt a sense of
disappointment that so many gay people
appear to turn on each other so easily.
Where was the sense of community and
togetherness going? Does the hatred
come from their own self-loathing or is it
jealousy?
After a couple of weeks free from
being trolled, it has flared up again
recently. This time it’s due to an article
that a local newspaper ran based on one
of my tweets about the LGBTQ charity I
run not doing too badly considering I
was told by a local councillor that there
are no gay people in Warwickshire. It’s a
very old story and I thought it was
common knowledge. However after a
sensationalised article locally, the story
was picked up by national gay
publications. They began running the
story of how I had made this revelation,
despite the fact I hadn’t revealed
anything or even spoken to those
publications. As the comments from gay
people started, they ranged from the
amusing to the abusive. For some it
became less about the article and the
issues we face as a community, as more
comments about my appearance
surfaced, with some gay people basically
saying I’m a minger.
Whether I’m a minger or not, the
thing that concerns me the most is how
the gay community appears to be
fracturing. I’ve detailed some of my
personal experiences here, but I’m sure
we’ve all seen profiles online that state
“no fats, no fems, no blacks, no Asians”.
There’s even one person on Grindr who
states he is looking for “beef, not mince”.
The reality is that we are now in a
position where it’s seemingly ok to
ridicule and discriminate against our
own kind rather than stick together. I
now find myself questioning whether the
‘gay community’ actually exists or
whether it’s a thing of the past.
With hate crime on the rise and equality
still to fight for, particularly in a social
context, I don’t see that in-fighting and
discrimination within the gay
community does anything to further our
cause. It worries me that so many gay
people would rather abuse and ridicule
their own kind than come out in support
of the issues that are being highlighted
or in support of each other as a minority.
We’re no longer the family we once were.
So what’s the solution?
Unfortunately I don’t have all the
answers, but it’s clear to me that trolling,
racism, body shaming and ridicule are
becoming increasingly prevalent within
the gay community. Surely we’re better
than that?
@MrDanielBrowne
THEGAYUK | ISSUE 16 | NOV 2015 65