Documentary aims to break silence on gay people farmg - Farmers Weekly

Contents:

• THE SECRET LIV OF GAY FARMERS
• ‘LANDLE’ EXPLOR THE WORLD OF GAY FARMERS IN A REAL LIFE VERSN OF ‘GOD’S OWN COUNTRY’
• DOCUMENTARY AIMS TO BREAK SILENCE ON GAY PEOPLE FARMG
• THIS RAL MATCHMAKG SERVICE HELPS GAY FARMERS FD LOVE
• VIO: GAY FARMER STORI SHARED EMOTNAL LANDLE FILM
• RICHARD OXLEY - CHANGG VIEWS ON GAY FARMERS
• GAY FARMER HELPLINE

THE SECRET LIV OF GAY FARMERS

In the Uned Kgdom, there is only one hotle for gay farmers. Growg up gay a muny that prized tradnal masculy, Inon felt isolated. Landle, a short documentary om Matt Houghton, featur the voic of gay farmers who have lled to Inon’s hotle.

In the film’s rerd telephone nversatns, gay Brish farmers share their ndid and often shockg experienc. There was no such thg as a gay farmer. Although the romantic enunter picted God’s Own Country is ultimately upliftg, the mud-splattered lonels of life as a gay farmer is often wrought wh pa.

Sce was tablished 2009, the Gay Farmer Helple has received hundreds of lls om farmers who are stgglg to pe an dtry that priz tradnal masculy above all else.

‘LANDLE’ EXPLOR THE WORLD OF GAY FARMERS IN A REAL LIFE VERSN OF ‘GOD’S OWN COUNTRY’

While unlikely gay scen n often be found even the most ral of lotns, those who e the helple are ually aged 50 or over and believe that they’re the only people around who share the same sir. Clearly, ’s not easy beg gay this kd of environment, but even then, dienc might be surprised by how tough this life really is. However, soon beme apparent that the stranger tried to kill himself bee he’s gay and at that pot, the father reveals that if he had known this before, he would have left the man to die.

Believg that his father would have left someone to die bee of his sexualy mt have been trmatizg for a young boy who’s jt started figurg out who he is, pecially if his only ntact wh other gay men volv suici. As we hear the stori told the nversatns, Landle provis a ndid and often shockg snapshot of what isolated gay people endure. To fd out more about the Gay Farmer Helple, please vis Keh Insen’s sehere.

A short film spired by the gay son of a farmer is seekg to open up nversatns about farmers who may be stgglg silence wh their sexualy. Two years ago Rupert Williams, who’s father is a Lanshire dairy farmer, began workg wh award-wng filmmaker Matt Houghton, havg rearched homosexualy ral areas some years earlier.

DOCUMENTARY AIMS TO BREAK SILENCE ON GAY PEOPLE FARMG

Part of his own vtigatn led him to ntact Chhire-based farmer-turned-chapla Keh Inon, who set up the only helple dited to gay farmers 2010. See also: How acceptg is the untrysi of gay people?

Couple that wh the fact that lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer (LGBTQ) people are at a far greater risk of mental health problems, which clus havg thoughts about endg their liv, and you’ve got a recipe that puts gay farmers an extremely high-risk tegory.

“There’s no roadmap to dog this sort of thg and was difficult for me growg up, ” Rupert explas, thkg about his own experienc as a gay man beg part of a farmg fay. Today, Rupert liv and works London as a social worker and has prevly worked at the London Lbian and Gay Swchboard, but his experienc of growg up on the farm prompted good iend Matt to start work on the documentary, tled Landle.

THIS RAL MATCHMAKG SERVICE HELPS GAY FARMERS FD LOVE

It tak a handful of s where people om farmg muni had lled the Gay Farmer Helple, showg a renstctn of the moments and emotns scribed their rerd phone nversatns. Over the urse of about a year, they llected stori and experienc om farmers who have dialled 07837 931894 – the Gay Farmer Helple number.

There are cuttg personal acunts that pull at the heartstrgs, but Landle also featur stori of fallg love, of strs and risk-takg and of overwhelmg support om fay, iends and the wir muny upon g out as an openly gay person farmg. Related: WATCH: The secret world of gay farmers explored new documentary. Related: PHOTOS: Sexy gay farmer on why he lov beg home on the range.

This is pecially te when pared to cy livg, where folks live close quarters and you’re much more likely to live near a gay or lbian bar. A short documentary tellg the stori of gay people the farmg muny has won ternatnal regnn and praise for sparkg nversatns about farmers who may be stgglg silence wh their sexualy. The film, tled Landle, was spired by farmer’s son Rupert Williams, who rearched homosexualy ral areas.

VIO: GAY FARMER STORI SHARED EMOTNAL LANDLE FILM

His own vtigatn led him to ntact Chhire-based farmer-turned-chapla Keh Inon, who set up the only helple for gay farmers about 10 years ago. It clus renstctns of events scribed by a number of llers to the Gay Farmer Helple. See also: Documentary aims to break the silence on gay people farmg.

Gay Farmer Helple.

RICHARD OXLEY - CHANGG VIEWS ON GAY FARMERS

But what about fdg love if you are a gay farmer? He also wants to create a support system for gay farmers, and help those sufferg silence as much as possible.

“In my md, you always know that you are gay, but the biggt worry is that you don’t know how people will take , and if you will even be accepted. For many of , is hard to unrstand why would be so hard to tell people about our te feelgs, but Richard was keen to emphasise that is, at tim, impossible, for people to e out as gay, particularly if you are a farmer. He explaed: “Some people who are gay are married, wh children, and if they were to e out, they would lerally lose everythg, bee their fai will not accept them – and I know people who are that exact suatn.

GAY FARMER HELPLINE

In the UK, one four gay people die of suici, and the farmg muny has the untry’s hight rate of suici, and Richard said there uld be a lk.