February Cover Story

Happy February! What a month to be on the cover! How will you be celebrating this month of self-love and LGBT History?

February will be for me like people in the springtime starting anew and the ‘Let’s Talk about Sex’ course will be in full swing! 

What does self-love mean to you? 

It’s getting up in the morning, making sure you have a shower and getting yourself clean, having some private time. Also doing things that you genuinely love that are good for you, for some people it’s painting, reading, just do things that are good for you and bring you a lot of joy. 

When we talk about pleasure and self-love and looking after yourself, for example wearing your favourite slippers, I know it sounds so insignificant but for someone who, like myself, has a long term health condition, that can bring so much joy. 

Tell me how you’re involved with the g2g community?

I’ve really enjoyed being a peer mentor for ‘Let’s Talk about Sex’ because it has made me into a better person. It’s helping me so much with other people and myself, I’ve learnt so much about myself and my sexuality but also being able to help other people. I urge people to come along to a session! 

What does LGBT History Month mean to you?

Unfortunately it has such a sad past but hopefully we can rewrite it. I think people looking back had to keep that part of their lives hidden. There were people who were out and killed, like Harvey Milk, which was an absolute travesty, or who, for their own sanity and self-preservation, had to keep quiet. It’s not a long history, in fact I remember watching a documentary on LGBTQ history in Britain and they failed to mention that Scotland actually didn’t decriminalise (sex between people on the same gender) until the 1980s. I think we can make our own history. 

What does the future hold?

I would like to qualify and do something within ‘Let’s Talk about Sex’ and take it further becase I think the more people with disability who have all this knowledge and work in this sector, the more accessible it is. Things like contraception, sexual health clinics and also if someone wants to have a baby or explore their sexuality in a safe way, hopefully we can provide that!