Years & Years ontman Olly Alexanr discs his powerful new documentary Growg Up Gay, and beg a Diversy Role Mol.
Contents:
- OLLY ALEXANR: THE YEARS & YEARS ONTMAN DISCS POWERFUL NEW DOCUMENTARY ‘GROWG UP GAY’
- 'IT'S A S' BRGS A LOST GENERATN OF GAY MEN TO LIFE
- YEARS & YEARS’ OLLY ALEXANR PRENTS NEW BBC DOCUMENTARY ‘GROWG UP GAY’
OLLY ALEXANR: THE YEARS & YEARS ONTMAN DISCS POWERFUL NEW DOCUMENTARY ‘GROWG UP GAY’
* growing up gay documentary *
In a powerful BBC3 documentary, Olly Alexanr: Growg Up Gay, the 26-year-old explor why the queer muny is more vulnerable to mental health issu – and ndidly addrs his own prsn. No one’s sayg beg gay giv you mental health issu – ’s growg up a world that mak you feel like you’re wrong, disgtg or perverted. Like half of all LGBT teens, you suffered homophobic bullg at school.
You say you partied too much when you first went on the gay scene aged 18. The documentary forms part of a season markg 50 years sce the partial crimalisatn of homosexualy. How do you feel about Thera May’s parliamentary al wh the anti-gay-marriage Democratic Unnist party?
Olly Alexanr: Growg Up Gay is available on iPlayer now. But spe of the acute homophobia that not only existed, but was socially enuraged, their love blossomed and thrived for more than seven s, wh the uple g out to their fai their 80s, such was their ncern about how their loved on would receive the while ’s sperately sad that Terry and Pat had to keep their love hidn, sacrificg so much to prerve their relatnship, this is a tale of hope. Even as mors of a "gay ncer" or "gay plague" blow to London om New York, the dancg ntu...
'IT'S A S' BRGS A LOST GENERATN OF GAY MEN TO LIFE
A new Brish TV drama looks at the liv of gay men London at the very start of the AIDS crisis — back when no one wanted to stop the party, and no one thought the vis uld touch them. * growing up gay documentary *
I secretly bought as a ltle stunt, secretly buyg his gay magaze, all kd of ashamed and exced all at once, like you do, " Davi said. Wh It's a S, Davi ptur the tragic irony of an era where gay men were jt startg to enjoy some amount of eedom after hard-fought battl for liberatn, only to be ravaged by an unseen viral predator.
HIV/AIDS is far om jt a gay man's disease, but as s first victims — predomantly gay men — started fillg up ICUs and mu, a backlash agast them ensued. Olly Alexanr, who's 30, has been open about beg a victim of anti-gay bullyg growg up, says his school experience was fely fluenced by that backlash.
YEARS & YEARS’ OLLY ALEXANR PRENTS NEW BBC DOCUMENTARY ‘GROWG UP GAY’
"You know, now that I'm lookg back, I realize what a huge impact that had on me as I was g to terms wh my own sexualy and the word gay and AIDS were ed as jok the playground.
Though Rchie might be the fierct nialist the seri, 's clear that at least at the outset, most of It's a S's gay characters n't be bothered to stop the party. Sensg the impendg wave of fectns, olr gay men try, to no avail, to warn their younger unterparts, but their advisory posters are rejected om gay bars and their worri are shunned as simply attempts to prive a younger generatn of their newfound sexual eedom. The only sympathetic ear the olr gay men seem to fd is that of the character Jill, played by Lydia Wt.
Jill is a straight woman livg the Pk Palace wh her gay iends, and though we don't learn much about her personal story, she do a lot of the show's emotnal labor — whether 's phonebankg, prott anizg or holdg the hands of the abandoned and dyg — and she do all wh ltle regnn. I thk I wouldn't be dog my job if I wrote gay men as sats all the time and you see great prsure beg put on her, " he says.