Children's thor: I was Eton's only openly gay stunt | PkNews

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• I WAS ETON’S ONLY OUT SCHOOLBOYCLASSY GUYPIERS TORDAY, THE PRIZE-WNG CHILDREN’S THOR, RELLS G OUT AT 15 AT THE ELE BRISH BOARDG SCHOOL, WHERE HE FACED LTLE BULLYG, BUT LOTS OF QUTNS. TOM SYKROYALIST CORRPONNTUPDATED JUL. 12, 2017 2:43PM EDT / PUBLISHED JAN. 17, 2015 6:45AM EST JAM BETTS“EVERY TIME A IEND SUCCEEDS, I DIE A LTLE,” WROTE GORE VIDAL, AND, AFTER A YEAR OF TRYG WH LIMED SUCCS TO GET MY OWN CHILDREN’S BOOK PUBLISHED, WAS WH A CERTA ENVY-SICKNS THE STOMACH THAT I SAW MY OLD SCHOOL IEND PIERS TORDAY HAS WON THE GUARDIAN CHILDREN’S FICTN PRIZE FOR HIS SEND BOOK, THE DARK WILD, WHICH, TOGETHER WH HIS FIRST, THE LAST WILD, TELLS THE STORY OF A YOUNG BOY LIVG A FUTURISTIC DYSTOPIA WHO N TALK TO ANIMALS. BOTH BOOKS ARE TO BE PUBLISHED TOGETHER AMERI NEXT WEEK, ON JANUARY 22, AND THE NCLUDG PART OF THE TRILOGY WILL FOLLOW DUE URSE.IN FACT, SUCCS ULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED TO A NICER GUY, AND, ONCE THE NSEA PASSED, I WAS LIGHTED FOR HIM.PIERS AND I WERE THE SAME YEAR AT ETON COLLEGE, FACT WE EVEN CHOSE THE SAME ‘TUTOR’, AN ENGLISH ‘BEAK’ (AS THE TEACHERS WERE LLED) WHO ACTED AS A MENTOR, WH WHOM WE WOULD MEET A SMALL GROUP OF SIX ONCE A WEEK. WHILST MOST OF THE NAM AND FAC AND BGRAPHIL TAILS OF THE KIDS I ATTEND SCHOOL WH HAVE FAD TO OBSCURY, PIERS’ NEVER WILL, SPE THE FACT THAT I HAVEN’T SEEN HIM FOR OVER 20 YEARS.IN FACT, I WOULD GO AS FAR AS TO SAY I DON’T THK THERE IS A SGLE OLD ETONIAN OF MY GENERATN WHO WOULDN’T REMEMBER PIERS TORDAY—THE REASON BEG THAT PIERS ME OUT AT ETON WHEN HE WAS 15. HE WAS THE ONLY OUT BOY THE SCHOOL, WHICH NUMBERED 1250 STUNTS. AT THE TIME JT SEEMED FUNNY, A B BIZARRE, SLIGHTLY UNBELIEVABLE. IT’S ONLY NOW THAT I REALIZE THAT PIERS MT HAVE GOOD CLAIM TO BEG THE BRAVT ETONIAN THAT EVER STUDIED THERE.HIS BOOK, PERHAPS UNSURPRISGLY, FEATUR A PROTAGONIST WHO IS SOMETHG OF AN OUTSIR TOO.SET A NON-SPECIFIC MIDDLE-FUTURE BLIGHTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE, WHEN AN EBOLA-LIKE DISEASE LLED RED EYE HAS CIMATED THE ANIMAL KGDOM, OUR HERO, KTER, DISVERS HE N TALK TO ANIMALS AND IS SENT ON A MISSN BY A CHATTY CKROACH TO A MYSTER REALM KNOWN AS THE LAST WILD, WHERE SOME ANIMALS— NEED OF HIS HELP—LIVE ON.WHEN I SPEAK TO PIERS ON THE PHONE, AND AFTER EXCHANGG THE UAL PLEASANTRI ONE TRAS WH SOMEONE YOU HAVEN’T SEEN FOR 20 YEARS, WE GOT CHATTG ABOUT HIS BOOK.“I JT REALLY WANTED TO WRE A STORY FOR KIDS THAT, WHILE NOT CLAIMG TO HAVE THE SOLUTNS, ASKED QUTNS,” SAYS PIERS, “TO SAY TO THEM, ‘LOOK, ’S NOT JT HUMAN BEGS THAT LIVE ON THIS PLA, THERE ARE TWO AND A HALF LN OTHER SPECI AS WELL. AND WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO ABOUT ? DO YOU WANT TO BE JT —OR DO YOU WANT TO BE AND SOME OTHER ANIMALS, BEE IF YOU WANT TO BE AND SOME OTHER ANIMALS, YOU MIGHT WANT TO THK ABOUT A B.’“IT’S ACTUALLY ALMOST TOO LATE FOR OUR GENERATN TO DO ANYTHG. WE, , OUR PARENTS, OUR FOREFATHERS HAVE DONE A LOT OF THE DAMAGE. BUT ’S THE KIDS OF TODAY AND THEIR KIDS, THEY’RE THE ON THAT ARE GOG TO HAVE TO E UP WH THE SMART SOLUTNS, WHETHER THEY ARE ELOGIL, BEHAVRAL, ENOMIC, OR, PROBABLY, A MIXTURE OF ALL THREE.”AND HOW MUCH DID HIS EXPERIENCE OF BEG AN OUT GAY BOY AT ETON FLUENCE THE STORY?“I FEEL MYSELF PROBABLY GO BACK A B FURTHER, BACK TO PREP SCHOOL. I WENT AWAY TO PREP SCHOOL, BOARDG, WHEN I WAS NE.”DID HE KNOW HE WAS GAY AT PREP SCHOOL (WHICH ENDS AT AGE 13 THE UK)? “NO, BUT I HAD A VERY STRONG SENSE OF BEG DIFFERENT BUT I DIDN’T REALLY KNOW WHY. BUT I’VE WRTEN A STORY ABOUT A BOY TRYG TO PE. YOU DON’T NEED TO BE DR. FRD TO SEE THAT THERE’S OBVLY SOMETHG GOG ON MY SUBNSC THERE.”ONE OF THE THGS I ALWAYS LIKED ABOUT ETON WAS THAT, NTRARY TO THE MON PERCEPTN, THERE WAS ALMOST NO BULLYG AT THE SCHOOL, AND ECCENTRICY AND DIFFERENCE WAS POSIVELY CELEBRATED.WAS PIERS BULLIED THERE AFTER HE ME OUT?“VERY LTLE. THERE WAS SOME SNIGGERG, BUT THERE WAS CERTALY NO UPSETTG OR TRMATIC BULLYG. WHAT THERE WERE STEAD, BEE OF URSE WAS BLOODY ETON, WERE LOTS OF QUE TENSE TELLECTUAL ARGUMENTS, MORE LIKE THE KD OF POLIL ARGUMENTS YOU WOULD SEE BEG PLAYED OUT ABOUT HOMOSEXUALY—‘IS NATURAL? IS RIGHT?’“BY AND LARGE I WAS SO LUCKY BEE EVERYONE AT SCHOOL WAS PRETTY SUPPORTIVE. OF URSE I WASN’T HAPPY AT TIM, AND THE WAY I ME OUT WAS KD OF BY MISTAKE.”SO HOW DID HAPPEN?“THOSE FEELGS BUILD UP YOU, AND I KD OF JT LET THEM OUT, AND, WHOUT EVEN THKG, I JT TOLD SOMEONE. WE WERE OUT ROWG OR SOMETHG AND I TOLD HIM WHOUT REALLY THKG; IS THIS THE RIGHT PERSON TO TELL? IS HE READY? I THK HE JT ULDN’T TAKE ALL ON HIMSELF, SO ALTHOUGH I SAID, ‘YOU MTN’T TELL ANYONE, YOU MTN’T TELL ANYONE,’ HE DID. I WANT TO STRS I ATTACH NO BLAME TO HIM. WE ARE STILL GOOD IENDS. I WAS JT CREDIBLY NAïVE. I WAS SO WRAPPED UP MY OWN EXPERIENCE, I ACTUALLY DIDN’T REALIZE HOW DIFFICULT WOULD BE FOR MY IENDS TO PE WH.”I RELL MYSELF HOW FAST THE NEWS SPREAD THROUGH THE SCHOOL.“PEOPLE’S RPONSE WAS CURSY. I DIDN’T GET ONE CLASSIC, ‘YOU’RE A FAGGOT,’ THERE WAS NONE OF THAT,” SAYS PIERS.“IN THE END WAS A VERY HAPPY EXPERIENCE BUT IF I’D THOUGHT ABOUT A B MORE I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN A B MORE UT ABOUT . BUT BY AND LARGE, WHAT I’VE ALWAYS THOUGHT ABOUT ETON IS THAT PEOPLE WERE VERY SUPPORTIVE, GIVEN THAT WAS LATE 80S, EARLY 90S AND THE PAPERS WERE FULL OF HEADL ABOUT PEOPLE BATTLG TO BLOCK THE AGE OF NSENT [OM BEG EQUAL FOR GAY AND STRAIGHT PEOPLE] AND AIDS.” SCE LEAVG ETON, PIERS HAS SET UP A CLUB FOR GAY OLD ETONIANS, THE DRAGONFLI.“NOW WE’VE GOT SOMEONE WHO LEFT ETON 1946 AND SOMEBODY WHO LEFT ETON 2012,” HE SAYS, “THERE ARE KIDS AT THE SCHOOL NOW WHO ARE BASILLY OUT.”PIERS IS A HUGE FENR OF HIS ALMA MATER, AND, LIKE ME, IS ALWAYS RATHER FENSIVE ABOUT THE PRUMPTNS PEOPLE WHO NEVER WENT THERE MAKE ABOUT THE PLACE.“WHEN I WAS AT ETON, PETER TATCHELL [THE LEADG HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST] ME TO TALK THERE. I N’T THK OF MANY OTHER PUBLIC SCHOOLS THAT WOULD HAVE HAD A SORT OF RADIL HUMAN RIGHTS MPAIGNER LIKE PETER TATCHELL TO SPEAK TO THEIR BOYS LIKE THE EARLY 90S. I THK THE TRAGEDY OF ETON IS THERE’S ONLY ONE OF THEM. IT’S JT SO FEW PEOPLE THAT GET TO GO THERE. IT’S NOT NECSARILY THE STUTN SELF.” TOM SYK
• CHILDREN’S THOR: I WAS ETON’S ONLY OPENLY GAY STUNT
• GAY ETON (WT BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND)

I WAS ETON’S ONLY OUT SCHOOLBOYCLASSY GUYPIERS TORDAY, THE PRIZE-WNG CHILDREN’S THOR, RELLS G OUT AT 15 AT THE ELE BRISH BOARDG SCHOOL, WHERE HE FACED LTLE BULLYG, BUT LOTS OF QUTNS. TOM SYKROYALIST CORRPONNTUPDATED JUL. 12, 2017 2:43PM EDT / PUBLISHED JAN. 17, 2015 6:45AM EST JAM BETTS“EVERY TIME A IEND SUCCEEDS, I DIE A LTLE,” WROTE GORE VIDAL, AND, AFTER A YEAR OF TRYG WH LIMED SUCCS TO GET MY OWN CHILDREN’S BOOK PUBLISHED, WAS WH A CERTA ENVY-SICKNS THE STOMACH THAT I SAW MY OLD SCHOOL IEND PIERS TORDAY HAS WON THE GUARDIAN CHILDREN’S FICTN PRIZE FOR HIS SEND BOOK, THE DARK WILD, WHICH, TOGETHER WH HIS FIRST, THE LAST WILD, TELLS THE STORY OF A YOUNG BOY LIVG A FUTURISTIC DYSTOPIA WHO N TALK TO ANIMALS. BOTH BOOKS ARE TO BE PUBLISHED TOGETHER AMERI NEXT WEEK, ON JANUARY 22, AND THE NCLUDG PART OF THE TRILOGY WILL FOLLOW DUE URSE.IN FACT, SUCCS ULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED TO A NICER GUY, AND, ONCE THE NSEA PASSED, I WAS LIGHTED FOR HIM.PIERS AND I WERE THE SAME YEAR AT ETON COLLEGE, FACT WE EVEN CHOSE THE SAME ‘TUTOR’, AN ENGLISH ‘BEAK’ (AS THE TEACHERS WERE LLED) WHO ACTED AS A MENTOR, WH WHOM WE WOULD MEET A SMALL GROUP OF SIX ONCE A WEEK. WHILST MOST OF THE NAM AND FAC AND BGRAPHIL TAILS OF THE KIDS I ATTEND SCHOOL WH HAVE FAD TO OBSCURY, PIERS’ NEVER WILL, SPE THE FACT THAT I HAVEN’T SEEN HIM FOR OVER 20 YEARS.IN FACT, I WOULD GO AS FAR AS TO SAY I DON’T THK THERE IS A SGLE OLD ETONIAN OF MY GENERATN WHO WOULDN’T REMEMBER PIERS TORDAY—THE REASON BEG THAT PIERS ME OUT AT ETON WHEN HE WAS 15. HE WAS THE ONLY OUT BOY THE SCHOOL, WHICH NUMBERED 1250 STUNTS. AT THE TIME JT SEEMED FUNNY, A B BIZARRE, SLIGHTLY UNBELIEVABLE. IT’S ONLY NOW THAT I REALIZE THAT PIERS MT HAVE GOOD CLAIM TO BEG THE BRAVT ETONIAN THAT EVER STUDIED THERE.HIS BOOK, PERHAPS UNSURPRISGLY, FEATUR A PROTAGONIST WHO IS SOMETHG OF AN OUTSIR TOO.SET A NON-SPECIFIC MIDDLE-FUTURE BLIGHTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE, WHEN AN EBOLA-LIKE DISEASE LLED RED EYE HAS CIMATED THE ANIMAL KGDOM, OUR HERO, KTER, DISVERS HE N TALK TO ANIMALS AND IS SENT ON A MISSN BY A CHATTY CKROACH TO A MYSTER REALM KNOWN AS THE LAST WILD, WHERE SOME ANIMALS— NEED OF HIS HELP—LIVE ON.WHEN I SPEAK TO PIERS ON THE PHONE, AND AFTER EXCHANGG THE UAL PLEASANTRI ONE TRAS WH SOMEONE YOU HAVEN’T SEEN FOR 20 YEARS, WE GOT CHATTG ABOUT HIS BOOK.“I JT REALLY WANTED TO WRE A STORY FOR KIDS THAT, WHILE NOT CLAIMG TO HAVE THE SOLUTNS, ASKED QUTNS,” SAYS PIERS, “TO SAY TO THEM, ‘LOOK, ’S NOT JT HUMAN BEGS THAT LIVE ON THIS PLA, THERE ARE TWO AND A HALF LN OTHER SPECI AS WELL. AND WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO ABOUT ? DO YOU WANT TO BE JT —OR DO YOU WANT TO BE AND SOME OTHER ANIMALS, BEE IF YOU WANT TO BE AND SOME OTHER ANIMALS, YOU MIGHT WANT TO THK ABOUT A B.’“IT’S ACTUALLY ALMOST TOO LATE FOR OUR GENERATN TO DO ANYTHG. WE, , OUR PARENTS, OUR FOREFATHERS HAVE DONE A LOT OF THE DAMAGE. BUT ’S THE KIDS OF TODAY AND THEIR KIDS, THEY’RE THE ON THAT ARE GOG TO HAVE TO E UP WH THE SMART SOLUTNS, WHETHER THEY ARE ELOGIL, BEHAVRAL, ENOMIC, OR, PROBABLY, A MIXTURE OF ALL THREE.”AND HOW MUCH DID HIS EXPERIENCE OF BEG AN OUT GAY BOY AT ETON FLUENCE THE STORY?“I FEEL MYSELF PROBABLY GO BACK A B FURTHER, BACK TO PREP SCHOOL. I WENT AWAY TO PREP SCHOOL, BOARDG, WHEN I WAS NE.”DID HE KNOW HE WAS GAY AT PREP SCHOOL (WHICH ENDS AT AGE 13 THE UK)? “NO, BUT I HAD A VERY STRONG SENSE OF BEG DIFFERENT BUT I DIDN’T REALLY KNOW WHY. BUT I’VE WRTEN A STORY ABOUT A BOY TRYG TO PE. YOU DON’T NEED TO BE DR. FRD TO SEE THAT THERE’S OBVLY SOMETHG GOG ON MY SUBNSC THERE.”ONE OF THE THGS I ALWAYS LIKED ABOUT ETON WAS THAT, NTRARY TO THE MON PERCEPTN, THERE WAS ALMOST NO BULLYG AT THE SCHOOL, AND ECCENTRICY AND DIFFERENCE WAS POSIVELY CELEBRATED.WAS PIERS BULLIED THERE AFTER HE ME OUT?“VERY LTLE. THERE WAS SOME SNIGGERG, BUT THERE WAS CERTALY NO UPSETTG OR TRMATIC BULLYG. WHAT THERE WERE STEAD, BEE OF URSE WAS BLOODY ETON, WERE LOTS OF QUE TENSE TELLECTUAL ARGUMENTS, MORE LIKE THE KD OF POLIL ARGUMENTS YOU WOULD SEE BEG PLAYED OUT ABOUT HOMOSEXUALY—‘IS NATURAL? IS RIGHT?’“BY AND LARGE I WAS SO LUCKY BEE EVERYONE AT SCHOOL WAS PRETTY SUPPORTIVE. OF URSE I WASN’T HAPPY AT TIM, AND THE WAY I ME OUT WAS KD OF BY MISTAKE.”SO HOW DID HAPPEN?“THOSE FEELGS BUILD UP YOU, AND I KD OF JT LET THEM OUT, AND, WHOUT EVEN THKG, I JT TOLD SOMEONE. WE WERE OUT ROWG OR SOMETHG AND I TOLD HIM WHOUT REALLY THKG; IS THIS THE RIGHT PERSON TO TELL? IS HE READY? I THK HE JT ULDN’T TAKE ALL ON HIMSELF, SO ALTHOUGH I SAID, ‘YOU MTN’T TELL ANYONE, YOU MTN’T TELL ANYONE,’ HE DID. I WANT TO STRS I ATTACH NO BLAME TO HIM. WE ARE STILL GOOD IENDS. I WAS JT CREDIBLY NAïVE. I WAS SO WRAPPED UP MY OWN EXPERIENCE, I ACTUALLY DIDN’T REALIZE HOW DIFFICULT WOULD BE FOR MY IENDS TO PE WH.”I RELL MYSELF HOW FAST THE NEWS SPREAD THROUGH THE SCHOOL.“PEOPLE’S RPONSE WAS CURSY. I DIDN’T GET ONE CLASSIC, ‘YOU’RE A FAGGOT,’ THERE WAS NONE OF THAT,” SAYS PIERS.“IN THE END WAS A VERY HAPPY EXPERIENCE BUT IF I’D THOUGHT ABOUT A B MORE I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN A B MORE UT ABOUT . BUT BY AND LARGE, WHAT I’VE ALWAYS THOUGHT ABOUT ETON IS THAT PEOPLE WERE VERY SUPPORTIVE, GIVEN THAT WAS LATE 80S, EARLY 90S AND THE PAPERS WERE FULL OF HEADL ABOUT PEOPLE BATTLG TO BLOCK THE AGE OF NSENT [OM BEG EQUAL FOR GAY AND STRAIGHT PEOPLE] AND AIDS.” SCE LEAVG ETON, PIERS HAS SET UP A CLUB FOR GAY OLD ETONIANS, THE DRAGONFLI.“NOW WE’VE GOT SOMEONE WHO LEFT ETON 1946 AND SOMEBODY WHO LEFT ETON 2012,” HE SAYS, “THERE ARE KIDS AT THE SCHOOL NOW WHO ARE BASILLY OUT.”PIERS IS A HUGE FENR OF HIS ALMA MATER, AND, LIKE ME, IS ALWAYS RATHER FENSIVE ABOUT THE PRUMPTNS PEOPLE WHO NEVER WENT THERE MAKE ABOUT THE PLACE.“WHEN I WAS AT ETON, PETER TATCHELL [THE LEADG HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST] ME TO TALK THERE. I N’T THK OF MANY OTHER PUBLIC SCHOOLS THAT WOULD HAVE HAD A SORT OF RADIL HUMAN RIGHTS MPAIGNER LIKE PETER TATCHELL TO SPEAK TO THEIR BOYS LIKE THE EARLY 90S. I THK THE TRAGEDY OF ETON IS THERE’S ONLY ONE OF THEM. IT’S JT SO FEW PEOPLE THAT GET TO GO THERE. IT’S NOT NECSARILY THE STUTN SELF.” TOM SYK

Former Eton College stunt Jamie Jackson wr an open letter to children’s thor Piers Torday, after he ma claims about low levels of homophobia at the famo school. I was terted to read on PkNews about your claims that Eton was a relatively good school to be openly gay at. However, I have to say that your posn as head of the Old Etonian gay anisatn (‘the Dragonfli’), I felt this was a pretty irrponsible ntributn, given your posn lent crence to the ia you were speakg on behalf of gay/bi alumni more generally, rather than jt yourself.

CHILDREN’S THOR: I WAS ETON’S ONLY OPENLY GAY STUNT

The ia that Eton do not have a problem wh homophobia allows the school to ignore the issu, rather than tacklg them head on. As a small, blon kid, wh effemate mannerisms and a voice that refed to break, I was pretty acquated wh the sult ‘gay’ and even ‘fag’/’faggot’ at the school, pecially E and F block (years 9 and 10). Sadly, homophobic bullyg happens, to varyg extents, at every school.

– Whilst some teachers did pick boys up on g the word ‘gay’ as an sult, many others ignored , and few even ed themselv as the punchle to ‘jok’, and, worse, as an sult.

GAY ETON (WT BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND)

– There were never any specific mpaigns agast homophobic bullyg – asis om one (excellent) lecture om Peter Tatchell, there was no attempt to te most stunts about LGBT issu. Stonewall studi have shown that merely statg that homophobic bullyg is unacceptable school assembli n rce the rate of such bullyg by 40%.

For all the reasons, I, and half a dozen of my iends I eher privately knew were gay/bi at school or who have subsequently told me, were not ‘out’ at school. It is extraordary to thk that out of 263 stunts my year who, even if we are to e the most nservative timat, at least around 15 were gay/bi, none felt able to tly e out publicly.