When I was at school, Section 28 of the Local Government Act prohibited my teachers from ‘promoting homosexuality’. This meant teachers weren’t allowed to discuss even the possibility of same sex relationships and that libraries had to remove all books with lesbian and gay themes. From a young age, I learned that the world around me would have preferred me to be something different to who I was.
Outside of school, my mum worked three insecure jobs to make sure we had food to eat in our high-rise council flat. We used government issue tokens to get seven pints of milk a week and could only get our school uniform from British Home Stores because they were registered with a government scheme.
I served as a member of the Children’s Panel in Scotland for four years and spent a decade in the charity sector - campaigning for change to how people who experience the care system are supported. In that time, I supported hundreds of people to speak to politicians, journalists and public servants about their experiences - while managing a high impact, award winning team.
These experiences are why I feel strongly about creating spaces that are sensitive to the shame and judgment that many of us have been made to feel throughout our lives. I think that the most productive spaces are ones where we can be embraced in our entirety, and where new ideas about how we live our lives can be welcomed.
I want us all to feel comfortable enough to dare to be ourselves and talk honestly about what we want from life.
