Natasha Devon on why 'I don’t care' isn't helpful to those who come out as LGBTQ+

3 July 2022, 16:20 | Updated: 3 July 2022, 16:37

Natasha Devon explains why her sexuality is part of her identity

By Tim Dodd

This was Natasha Devon's powerful explanation of why ‘I don’t care’ isn't a progressive response to someone who's come out as LGBTQ+.

Yesterday more than a million people descended on central London to celebrate the first Pride event held since the outbreak of the pandemic

Natasha, who is openly bisexual, told listeners: "My sexuality is still part of my identity. And I think probably the most hurtful response that I get when I speak about this publicly - and I get this both online and in real life - is when people say 'I don't care, why are you telling me about this? What you do in the bedroom is none of my business'.

"And what those people are failing to understand, is that this isn't just about sex, this is about life. Your sexuality affects who you date, yes, but also who you hold hands with in the street, and who you bring home to meet your family, and who you choose to maybe raise children with.

"And it also massively, massively, shapes your formative years as a human, and that's why it becomes part of who you are."

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Natasha explained that it wasn't until one of her teachers mentioned bisexuality that she realised it existed.

"A teacher called Dr Cochrane. He taught us Shakespeare, and he was talking about the Merchant of Venice, and there's a character in it called Antonio and Dr Cochrane said 'Of course Antonio is bisexual, as many intelligent people are'," she said.

"And that was the first time I thought 'Ah, there's a word for people like me'. And I still remember how good that felt to be acknowledged.

"So now, I do try and drop it into conversation because I just want to exist as a bisexual person in the world, and yes potentially represent and be a role model for other people - but to do it outside of the context of sexuality."