Burlesque and moving to the UK helped me come out as bisexual
London, I’ve been reborn as my burlesque alter ego, Sapphira – songwriter, author and proud bisexual. This transformation hasn’t been an easy or straightforward one though.In the early stages of my life, I was raised part of a strict Christian Brethren sect linked to the Plymouth Brethren, which is a separatist version of Christianity.
In the most exclusive versions of it, women have to cover their heads with scarves and the congregation must not associate with the outside world unless ‘witnessing’ (which means to convert people to the religion).While our Brethren Church was more moderate, I went to school and associated with all other kids and families in our neighbourhood, I was aware we lived by very different rules.TV was mostly banned, as was non-Christian music.
I felt very much at odds with the hyper-conservative methods at our church. Eventually, I was excommunicated by the church when I was 17 after they found out I had premarital sex.
To this day, I am not sure how they found out.Being fired from a church group cut me to the core and I began displaying signs of hyper-mania, which led to full blown psychosis a few years later.
