I've always known I've been gay and always been proud of it, but it is only in more recent years that I have realised the importance of making this proudness a more public than private thing - not in a showing off gay way but in a way that shows those more uncertain about their sexuality, and without the support that I have been so lucky to have that being gay is not a bad thing, it is a beautiful thing that defines you and makes you the gorgeous person you are.Part of my public way of showing this has been through the Gay and Lesbian online lifestyle magazine I write for. Whilst this features entertainment articles and lifestyle articles, it is the news section for me that I enjoy writing the most.
The reason why is down to the focus on the content. Instead of being on the depressing discrimination that we as gay people can all face (though there are cases when I feel so strongly that I can't ignore it), I instead spend a long time looking for the good news stories of what we as a community have achieved both together and as individuals.
The website in it's current form hasn't been running long but the support I've got from the gay community in this short time as been amazing, and has thought me a lot about the power of social media, as thanks to the power of both Twitter and Facebook lead to some great contacts for the website. However what is most important to me is how setting up the website has lead to discussing amazing people from the gay community who I'm sure are going to be friends for life.
And I'm still looking to meet more of you, so if you're on Twitter, I'm @gayfriendly, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/michellepen or of course you can get in touch with me through the Gay Friendly site.
I met Michelle when she followed me on Twitter. I got in touch with her, and she came through for me with her face and her story just hours later. Thanks Michelle!
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