Out singer Elton John revealed in a
recent interview that he believes LGBT people are still not accepted.
John, 70, told UK
weekly Grazia
that LGBT people are tolerated rather than accepted by their friends,
family and society.
“Tragically it is still shame,”
John said. “Too often LGBT people are tolerated rather than
accepted, let alone embraced.”
”When almost half of all gay,
lesbian, bi, and trans pupils are bullied at school and, as a result,
more than 60% self-harm and 40% of trans people have tried to take
their own life, it’s a serious wake-up call that gay stigma and
shame are still poisonous.”
Change, John said, is being fueled by
out role models.
”Today, gay couples, married with
children, are accepted by most people and even championed by some,”
John said.
”There are openly gay people in all
walks of life, politicians like Ruth Davidson, sports people like
Keegan Hirst, Gareth Thomas and Tom Daley, and people in business
like John Browne and Waheed Alli,” he added.
John and filmmaker David Furnish
married in England in 2014 after 21 years together and nearly a
decade after entering a civil partnership. Together they are raising
two children, Zachary and Elijah.