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From Kristen Stewart to Katy Perry: Why coming out matters

Last month, Kristen Stewart was praised after she used the word “gay” to describe herself for the first time during her big Saturday Night Live debut.

The American actress had previously revealed she was dating a woman in an interview with Elle magazine but to many in the LGBT community her “gay” remark signalled that the 26-year-old star had finally accepted her sexual orientation and was officially out of the closet.

(PA)
(PA)

We salute you, Stewart!

But hang on, why did it take her so long to say it and errrr isn’t she bisexual? Robert Pattinson is still a man, right? Yep.

A quick wiki search confirms that RPatz IS still a man and he definitely dated his Twilight co-star back in the day.

Sara Gilbert, la Darlene di Pappa&Ciccia, è sposata con Linda Perry, la frontwoman dei 4 non blondes.
Kristen is rumoured to be dating model Stella Maxwell. (AP)

Meanwhile, earlier this week at the Human Rights Campaign Gala in Los Angeles Katy Perry was given a prestigious award for her LGBT advocacy. During her acceptance speech the ‘I Kissed A Girl’ singer said she had done “more than that” with women and had tried to “pray the gay away” when she was a teenager.

“When I was growing up, homosexuality was synonymous with the word abomination and hell. A place of gnashing of teeth, continuous burning of skin… So most of my unconscious adolescence, I prayed the gay away at my Jesus camps,” she told the audience.

Katy Perry (Photo: Getty Images)
Katy Perry (Photo: Getty Images)

So, is Katy Perry bisexual?

The singer – who recently split from actor Orlando Bloom – fell short of giving her sexual identity a label. Does that mean she’s trying to hop on a bandwagon that fellow pop star Miley Cyrus is driving in order to appeal to a wider fan base? Is she being irresponsible by not calling herself bisexual?

Taking into account Perry’s relationship track record, it seems unlikely that the 33-year-old pop star is going to step out with a girlfriend anytime soon.

Why it matters

In December, gay Panto star Christopher Biggins made shocking biphobic remarks inside the Celebrity Big Brother house. In one exchange with Mob Wives star Renee Graziano, Biggins was caught on camera discussing the LGBT community and said: “I think the worst type though, I’m afraid to say, is the bisexuals. What it is is people not wanting to admit they are gay.”

Christopher Biggins/Wenn Photos
Christopher Biggins/Wenn Photos

Sadly, identifying as bisexual attracts the most stigma in the LGBT community and those who do are often frozen out, especially when they are in a relationship with a member of the opposite sex.

This is why we need celebrities like Stewart and Perry to promote discussion, inclusion and acceptance. Perry’s words were important because studies show that the suicide rate among gay teens in religious households is higher than non-religious.

Stewart summed it up in an interview with The Guardian back in 2016 when she said she is “just trying to acknowledge that fluidity, that greyness, which has always existed… But maybe only now are we allowed to start talking about it.”

She went on: “It’s cool that you don’t have to nail everything down any more. That whole certainty about whether you’re straight or gay or whatever.

(Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
(Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

“You’re not confused if you’re bisexual. It’s not confusing at all. For me, it’s quite the opposite.”

It is still really important for people to come out as gay

Whether gay, straight, bisexual, pansexual, it’s important for celebrities to say what they are and be proud of it because they have a voice that could be incredible. At the same time, they can’t be expected to then lead that lifestyle to the letter because sexuality is so fluid.

As society seeks to label everything, in a bid to make the majority feel comfortable, but thankfully there are a few shining stars who are willing to push boundaries and refuse to allow life to be a box ticking exercise.

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