Singer-songwriter Jenny Owen Youngs on
Wednesday announced she is gay, and engaged.
The 32-year-old Youngs, whose single
Fuck Was I from her 2005 self-released album Batten the
Hatches appeared on the second season premier of Showtime's
Weeds, came out in a blog post written for the site
EveryoneIsGay.com.
“I'm writing to tell you, among other
things, that I am super gay,” Youngs wrote. “This may or may not
come as a surprise to you. If it does: Surprise! If it does not:
You were right all along! Either way: Hooray!”
“In a perfect world, nobody would
have to experience any of the negative side-effects of figuring out
that you're gay, which can include feeling confused, shameful,
afraid, lost or alone. In a perfect world, everyone could just like
who they like, and get on with it.”
“Spoiler alert: We do not live in a
perfect world.”
Youngs said that she didn't come out
earlier because “it wasn't anybody's business.”
“I still maintain that it is not
anybody's business. I don't think anyone should have to feel an
obligation to come out. I don't think that outing people is cool. I
think every person has the right to privacy, and should be able to
share themselves with their friends, their family, and the world at
their own pace, in their own time. However, I've come to realize in
recent months that a big part of my desire to hide this aspect of
myself was rooted in those dusty old feelings: that there is
something wrong, something bad, something less-than about being gay.”
Youngs added that she and fiance
Kristin Russo of EveryoneIsGay.com were set to marry this summer.