Life of Liam

View of the River Clyde Glasgow , Scotland's largest city (though sadly not the capital. Thanks a lot, Edinburgh!). A population of just over 600,000 weird and wonderful people. A city that has so much going on, so much culture, happiness, and beauty. And for me, it's home. This post is quite long and the first part focuses on my experience of living in Glasgow over the past 3 years. The second part discusses my top 3 favourite things about Glasgow, so if you want to skip the nostalgic and personal stuff then scroll about halfway down the post! I moved to Glasgow in September 2014 for University, however, I grew up in Livingston which is under an hour away. So it wasn't a tremendous move, but far away enough from home that I could have my independence - and, of course, still close enough to home that I could visit my parents without trekking the country! Growing up, I had always viewed Glasgow as this strange, big, and scary city. It was certainly rougher than Edin...

Note from Liam:  an edited version of this post has been included on The Glasgow Guardian's (University of Glasgow student newspaper) website as part of their LGBT History Month 2018 coverage. You can see that post  here . The phrase "coming out of the closet" is a metaphor largely associated with someone disclosing their sexuality to someone else. I am not a huge advocate for "coming out" and making a big deal about not being straight. For me, sexuality is another part of your individuality and identity which does not require validation from others. However, because we live in a heteronormative society, which likes to put labels on things and have out-of-the-norm things overtly expressed, then "coming out" has become something which most LGBT people will experience at some point in their life. Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, a German gay rights activist, introduced the idea of coming out in 1869 as a means of emancipation. In a time where the LGBT communit...

By definition, "heteronormativity" can be seen as "the belief that people fall into distinct and complementary genders (male and female) with natural roles in life. It assumes that heterosexuality is the only sexual orientation or only norm, and states that sexual and marital relations are most (or only) fitting between people of opposite sexes. Consequently, a "heteronormative" view is one that involves alignment of biological sex, sexuality, gender identity and gender roles." Heteronormativity is something which has been present in society for a very long time. In my opinion, a lot of heteronormative behaviour is not done with malicious intent but I believe that, as society is becoming more accepting and open to many concepts surrounding what it means to be human, then perhaps these heteronormative views (which have been ingrained  into society over generations) need to be reevaluated. Progress takes time, and now is that time. As stated in the ...

As the days get closer to Glasgow Pride, I find myself reflecting on my own sexuality and how much life has changed for me in the past few years. To make a long story short, my personal experience with being gay is not exciting, or tragic, or painful. From personal memory, I realised I was gay over a period of time and there was no one moment where I had a gay epiphany and Lady Gaga came down on a rainbow unicorn to throw glitter over me (although that would be awesome). But I suppose my story is still important to tell because it is important for younger LGBT people to understand that being LGBT does not have to be a big or dramatic realisation. Life for an LGBT person does not have to be a struggle and you are not always going to be persecuted for it. I became more comfortable with being gay as I grew older, but there was a period of time when I thought I would grow up, have a wife and kids and live in a perfect white picket fenced house in a nice neighbourhood. That was most lik...