I grew up gay with a father who was incredibly homophobic. Being outed to him at the age of 17 remains one of my most traumatic experiences.
While trying to find a sense of community online, I was browsing the Gay Youth UK website – a now defunct forum that gave young LGBTQ+ people an opportunity to talk to each other.
But viewing LGBTQ+ websites like that was risky business in my household. The family desktop computer was in the living room so browsing sites like this felt impossible.