Woman writes emotional letter to her 14-year-old self about coming out
A woman’s letter to her 14-year-old self about coming out has gone viral.
Lyra McKee wrote the letter in a blog post following a homophobic comment made by a local evangelical pastor.
McKee grew up in Belfast, which she described as a “hostile environment” for a young gay woman.
Now her blog post has been made into a moving short film.
She told the Irish Times: “I wanted to write it because a local evangelical pastor here made some horrible derogatory remarks about gay people, and gay women specifically, and it really upset me.
“I could really see the impact of what he had said, because I knew so many people at the time who were really struggling with their sexual identity.
“A friend of mine said, you should write a response to this, and so I did.
“It really struck a chord with people.
“I had so many people contacting me, saying they had cried reading it.
“The emails that moved me the most were parents who contacted me, saying they were going to show it to their sons and daughters.
“They said: I hope my child never feels like this, and if they are gay, that they will know they will always be loved by their parents.”
