LGBT family who appeared on ‘My Lesbian Mums’ accused of ‘promoting homosexual propaganda’
A woman who made a documentary about her lesbian mothers has been abused online and accused of “promoting homosexual propaganda”.
Jillian Stewart explores her own relationship with her mothers after she came out as well as the broader topic of parents coming out later in life in the BBC Newsbeat documentary, My Lesbian Mums.
The documentary marks 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of homophobia in England and Wales.
However, since its release at the start of the month, she has been the victim of horrendous abuse online.
As well as trolls calling her mothers an abomination, Stewart and her family had been criticised for “promoting homosexual propaganda”.
Stewart explained: “We’ve been told on YouTube that we’re promoting homosexual propaganda.”
The family have taken steps to report the trolls.
She added: “After reading some of the comments on Twitter, I reported them.
“I received emails back saying what was posted was within the Twitter guidelines.
“How can homophobia be in the rules of Twitter?”
The terms and conditions of Twitter state: “You understand that by using the Services, you may be exposed to Content that might be offensive, harmful, inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate, or in some cases, postings that have been mislabelled or are otherwise deceptive.”
Speaking in the documentary, Stewart explained that her mother came out when she was very young and so it wasn’t ever an issue for her.
“Twenty years ago my mum came out as a lesbian,” Stewart explained. “I was only four at the time so it wasn’t such a big deal for me.”
She added: “I’ve learnt from my parents that it was a bit more difficult for some of my older siblings, so I wanted to speak to them about what it was like.
“And I also wanted to find out if it’s any easier now for parents to come out.”
Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions said that Twitter is a “new platform” for abuse.
“Whether shouted in their face on the street, daubed on their wall or tweeted into their living room, the impact of hateful abuse on a victim can be equally devastating,” she said.
“We’ve even had people say they’re confident in telling their children that they’re gay.”
