Today I want to express my total admiration and respect to all my friends who at some point in their lives had the courage to be happy and recognize who they were without fear of what others would think.
And although society today is more open to different sexual orientations, there’s still a lot of taboo. Of course it’s not easy to acknowledge it, but that’s when you will truly understand who your family, your friends and your close circle are.
The psychologist Alejandro Alder explains the importance of coming out: “Having to hide who you are, if you know that your environment doesn’t accept you, is a factor associated with the risk of developing anxiety. We are more likely to fall into addictions, to have depressive symptoms, anxiety, to develop an eating disorder (bulimia, anorexia, etc.), to experience feelings of emptiness or to enter into processes of ideation, planning or attempted suicide”.
However, the psychologist admits that this step isn’t the same for everyone: “Each subject has very specific circumstances which, unfortunately, mean that not everyone can choose to come out of the closet at the time they might want to”.
Like all history, there are parts that are not so pleasant, for example, in Spain, there was a law of vagrants and thugs, especially for men, where they were persecuted and imprisoned. With the end of the dictatorship, this law ceased to apply and was definitively repealed in 1995.
In the case of lesbians, the situation was no better, because most of the time they were locked up in psychiatric hospitals once they acknowledged their sexual orientation.
Fortunately, the WHO (World Health Organization) stopped considering homosexuality as a “mental illness” on May 17, 1990, the date commemorating the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. This decision marked a milestone in the fight for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.
Of course, it was the result of years of activism by gay organizations who denounced and demanded the recognition of homosexuality as a natural variation of human sexuality. This had an impact not only on mental health, but also legal and social implications for thousands of people, allowing access to health services and setting a precedent in the fight for equal rights and inclusion.
Our team of gossipers, I mean, of restless collaborators, wanted to investigate the story of some celebrities who never came out of the closet or vitrine, yet apparently everyone knew but us.
George Washington: Historians relate that, at one point in the Revolutionary War, George may have been the first community ally in the United States and encouraged Alexander Hamilton and John Laurens to openly share a bunk bed while in camp.
He was also a Mason, and some newspapers alleged that at the time members of this lodge engaged in anal penetration with wooden spikes. Strong claims!
James Buchanan: The only elected unmarried president of the United States, and may also be remembered in history as the first homosexual president. He is said to have had an affair with Senator William Rufus King.
Abraham Lincoln: President Lincoln’s sexuality has been questioned for a century and a half, and his long-term relationship with Joshua Speed is noted. Historian C.A. Tripp claims he had several affairs even with his bodyguard.
Katherine Hepburn: The 4 times Oscar winning American actress had only one husband, Ludlow Ogden Smith, when she was 21 years old. But, he was more of an agent rather than a husband for 6 years. In one of her biographies, she talks about an extensive list of women who were her lovers.
Juan Gabriel: The Divo de Juárez. For years, his homosexuality was questioned and he never confirmed or denied it, but he always answered the insistent question with the iconic: “Lo que se ve, no se pregunta” [tr: “You don’t ask what you can see”].
Today, men and women, regardless of their sexual orientation or profession, continue to work and fight for equality and inclusion of LGBTQ+ people, because, despite significant progress, there are still countries where homosexuality is criminalized, discriminated against and social prejudices and stigmas persist.
The psychologist Alder explains how discriminatory behaviors of hate, rejection, mistreatment and humiliation towards the community start in childhood and adolescence:
“The child grows up with the indirect information that what they are and what they feel is frowned upon by their family or educational context. They begin to grow up with the question “What about me? Am I alone in the world?”.
The famous Pride flag, created by artist Gilbert Baker, was first flown on June 25, 1978 during San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day parade. As in any process, the flag changed to six stripes because of the unavailability of two colors; pink and turquoise. However, Baker’s work has been adopted around the world as a symbol of pride and emblem of the LGBTQ+ community.
Homosexuality should not be a conduit for shame, and I hope that someday that pretty flag will represent us all as its colors. Hot pink to represent sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony and violet for spirit; a beautiful rainbow full of love.
Traducción del español: Catalina Oviedo Brugés
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