Hidden Voices, S2: United Kingdom

“For someone growing up in the Northeast especially, although there are still people who do hold very traditional ideas of sexuality and gender, the world is so much bigger than a little town or city in the northeast” In this episode, we speak to Safeenah (she/her) a bisexual woman living in the United Kingdom. Safeenah chats to us about her experience in coming out in the Northeast of England, the interplay between racism and homophobia and the impacts, and about her own interest and undergraduate research into gender roles. Throughout, Safeenah reiterates the importance of educating people on gender and sexualities and that although societal views have shifted in the past ten years, further action is needed. “In that angsty teen “I’m not happy with my Mam, moving out to my grandparents”, I just thought well I am going fully against everything that my Mam has forced me to believe growing up, and my grandparents aren’t as physically as forceful of their beliefs and things so I knew that even if I did come out then I knew even if they liked it or not, they weren’t going to kick me out or anything like that. I think that is one way that I was lucky; for some kids, it wouldn’t have been like that especially with grandparents. I think being at my grandparents I knew the freedom that I have and I just thought I have left my mams house who is being physically and emotionally abusive for years and years, I have left a religion that I was forced to believe, so I feel that me coming out is only a small part of the things that I have left at home and things but I just didn’t care at thatpoint.“