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It's OK to be Gay: Celebrity Coming Out Stories
Launched to coincide with National Coming Out Day, It's OK to be Gay is a collection of inspirational coming out stories from well-known figures from the LGBT community, who talk frankly about their own experiences and how their sexuality has shaped their character and success.
Contributors include: Sue Perkins; rugby star Gareth Thomas; best-selling crime writer Val McDermid; Coronation Street star Charlie Condou; Strictly Come Dancing star Robin Windsor; Evan Davis, presenter of Dragon’s Den and Radio 4′s Today programme; Alice Arnold, former BBC newsreader and partner of Clare Balding; Edd Kimber, winner of the first ever Great British Bake Off; Reggae/soul singer Diana King; Lord Waheed Alli, Labour peer and entrepreneur; Award-winning writer Stella Duffy; X Factor finalist Jade Ellis; Author Paul Burston; Paralympian Claire Harvey; Actress Sophie Ward; Jane Czyzselska, editor of Diva magazine; Hip-hop artist Q Boy; Playwright Shelley Silas; Former Brookside actor Stifyn Parri; International rugby referee Nigel Owens; BBC Radio presenter Chris Needs; Rosie Wilby, comedienne and writer; hyllis Opoku-Gyimah, Director UK Black Pride; Darren Scott, editor of GT magazine.
It's OK to be Gay is a raising money for the charity Diversity Role Models and its work to stop homophobic bullying in schools.
Contributors include: Sue Perkins; rugby star Gareth Thomas; best-selling crime writer Val McDermid; Coronation Street star Charlie Condou; Strictly Come Dancing star Robin Windsor; Evan Davis, presenter of Dragon’s Den and Radio 4′s Today programme; Alice Arnold, former BBC newsreader and partner of Clare Balding; Edd Kimber, winner of the first ever Great British Bake Off; Reggae/soul singer Diana King; Lord Waheed Alli, Labour peer and entrepreneur; Award-winning writer Stella Duffy; X Factor finalist Jade Ellis; Author Paul Burston; Paralympian Claire Harvey; Actress Sophie Ward; Jane Czyzselska, editor of Diva magazine; Hip-hop artist Q Boy; Playwright Shelley Silas; Former Brookside actor Stifyn Parri; International rugby referee Nigel Owens; BBC Radio presenter Chris Needs; Rosie Wilby, comedienne and writer; hyllis Opoku-Gyimah, Director UK Black Pride; Darren Scott, editor of GT magazine.
It's OK to be Gay is a raising money for the charity Diversity Role Models and its work to stop homophobic bullying in schools.
240 pages, Paperback
First published October 10, 2013
4 people are currently reading
278 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
dnf
April 17, 2022I wanted to try this out to find if it could be added to my list of LGBT+ books that I recommend. What I should have realised when I picked this up - which is totally not the book's fault - is that memoirs that don't have a driving message and are just moments from someone's life, just aren't for me. I think the idea of this is great, as it is great to have more visible LGBT+ figures for young people to look up to, and from what I read, it sounded good.
October 20, 2014
3 of 5 stars
I'm excited to have won this as a Goodreads First Read – so thanks!
We've come a long way, baby! What a fun quick read, hearing about how others compare or don’t to my own process of coming out; and I love how this contributes to stopping bullying as well as hopefully helps people with their own struggles. I think of this as a British version of the US’s NO H8 and It Gets Better efforts, and applaud them for it. I also learned about some of the recent history of the gay culture of Britain.
At first I was disappointed the people were British and thus weren’t more well known in the US, but I soon got over that as I got into the stories. In actuality, it’s probably more helpful that the readers can likely relate better to the stories told here because they are more like how most of us have grown up, and even in the more famous folks most of their coming out was before they were famous and thus they were just like the rest of us at the time, thus more a more compelling message.
One disappointment is that there is not more diversity – just a few people of color and none of them black men, only one old enough to have grown up before decriminalization in Britain, and I’m not sure about religious diversity represented. Unfortunately maybe that’s a representation of who is out, thus a reflection of the prejudices still existing in our varied cultures.
While everyone talked about having to deal with prejudices, etc. For most, I felt they were glossed over with a more detached treatment, almost minimizing it maybe so as to encourage and not scare particularly young readers with the heavy stuff of life. It may lay in the art of storytelling to be able to convey the strong feelings of the extent of their personal fears, emotional repression, and the verbal and physical abuses from the culture and society. Consequently, the stories I liked best were the ones that revealed more of their struggles – e.g., Chris Needs, Shelley Silas, Phyllis Opoku-Gyimah, Nigel Owens, Gareth Thomas.
Because of its purpose, it pains me a bit to not rate it even higher, because of a few flaws, but it is still an interesting and helpful compilation of stories. Since we in the gay community like the ritual of sharing our unique, personal, emotionally-charged coming out stories because they mean so much to us and bond us, these stories are still powerful, personal and helpful for those still in the process.
I'm excited to have won this as a Goodreads First Read – so thanks!
We've come a long way, baby! What a fun quick read, hearing about how others compare or don’t to my own process of coming out; and I love how this contributes to stopping bullying as well as hopefully helps people with their own struggles. I think of this as a British version of the US’s NO H8 and It Gets Better efforts, and applaud them for it. I also learned about some of the recent history of the gay culture of Britain.
At first I was disappointed the people were British and thus weren’t more well known in the US, but I soon got over that as I got into the stories. In actuality, it’s probably more helpful that the readers can likely relate better to the stories told here because they are more like how most of us have grown up, and even in the more famous folks most of their coming out was before they were famous and thus they were just like the rest of us at the time, thus more a more compelling message.
One disappointment is that there is not more diversity – just a few people of color and none of them black men, only one old enough to have grown up before decriminalization in Britain, and I’m not sure about religious diversity represented. Unfortunately maybe that’s a representation of who is out, thus a reflection of the prejudices still existing in our varied cultures.
While everyone talked about having to deal with prejudices, etc. For most, I felt they were glossed over with a more detached treatment, almost minimizing it maybe so as to encourage and not scare particularly young readers with the heavy stuff of life. It may lay in the art of storytelling to be able to convey the strong feelings of the extent of their personal fears, emotional repression, and the verbal and physical abuses from the culture and society. Consequently, the stories I liked best were the ones that revealed more of their struggles – e.g., Chris Needs, Shelley Silas, Phyllis Opoku-Gyimah, Nigel Owens, Gareth Thomas.
Because of its purpose, it pains me a bit to not rate it even higher, because of a few flaws, but it is still an interesting and helpful compilation of stories. Since we in the gay community like the ritual of sharing our unique, personal, emotionally-charged coming out stories because they mean so much to us and bond us, these stories are still powerful, personal and helpful for those still in the process.
March 10, 2020
This book is so important for kids and even adults to read and understand. There should not be a need for someone to come out and yes, even have to fear for their lives. Read this book, understand it, and LOVE who you love.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews