Will Young: It’s homophobic to oppose same-sex marriage
Will Young has said it is homophobic for politicians to vote against same-sex marriage.
Speaking with Channel 4 about his own struggles with mental health and low self-esteem, he advocated the concept of mindfulness, which he said should be taught in schools. He said: “It’s essential. You do PE, you do mental well-being.”
He went on to say that he would talk to the education secretary, Nick Morgan.
When reminded that she had voted against same-sex marriage, Young said that it was a “paradox” that she should do that while at the same time being equalities minister. He said the same was true of current equalities minister Caroline Dinenage.
Asked if it was homophobic to vote against same-sex marriage, he said: “For me it certainly shows a lack of liberal thinking. It’s relying on institutions and thinking that I think is out of date.
“So in that sense it is a little bit homophobic.”
He went on: “Can you be a little bit homophobic? You either are or you aren’t. So yeah, it is.”
Will Young has previously called for lessons to tackle homophobic bullying in schools, saying: “It is not just educating the kids, it’s the teachers and the heads – that needs to be a priority.
“In fairness, Ofsted is pretty good when it comes to looking at homophobic language, but I think part of the reason is that language and the use of the word ‘gay’ has not come under the definition of homophobia.
“Secondary school heads don’t see it as being homophobic and many say it happens so often ‘how are we going to tackle it?’ And a lot of the time they see it as just kids being kids.”
