Danny talks to James Ledward about being bullied when he was growing up and the bullying he received from other LGBT people on Facebook for living his life as he wants.
AT SCHOOL Daniel Richard Eade was relentlessly bullied. Through those dark times he was very miserable and made it his ambition to appear on the front cover of Gscene to show the bullies he was strong and proud. He appeared on the cover in November 2011 and Danny GoGo was born.
In September 2014 he appeared on our Pride 2014 cover; this was followed by shocking bullying comments from people on Facebook. I asked Danny to write a few words about his experiences of being bullied and his approach to being gay on his terms in Brighton and Hove in 2014. For those of you who fired your bullets from the safety of your Facebook profiles, shame on you!
Danny says: “You would think that growing up in the city of Brighton and Hove, recognised by many as the gay capital of England, that it would be easy to come out… but the reality is quite different.
“For example, at the school disco, there I was with a girl who lived around the corner making gooey eyes at me and trying to look interested – when the only thing I wanted to do was dance crazily to 1980s disco tunes and wear pink in my hair. Of course, back then, there was no way I was going to let on to the others in my class that this was how I felt.
“Bullying takes shape in many ways; name-calling is the most hurtful but being rejected by the pack is harder to take. It is lonely when you just don’t fit in. I found myself feeling frustrated and that came out as anger, mainly at the people who loved me the most.
“Luckily for me I had a mum who sort of got it; having rebelled herself at a similar age she saw what was going on. She told me to front it out with humour, so if someone said “Hey you, you raging woofter” I would reply; “How clever you are to notice!” or “Can’t get one past you can we?”….
“It’s no fun bullying someone who won’t be a victim and laughs with you…
“The easiest part of coming out is actually telling people, in fact you only have to tell one person, as they will do a wonderful job of telling the entire school that they knew you were gay all along!
“It’s funny being asked to write this, as it makes me remember the dreaded PE lessons, the name calling and boys saying “You looking at me, fancy me do you?”.
“It makes you want to disappear and not mix with anyone. It does get easier over time, though, and I decided to embrace my gayness, almost to overdo it… sort of shove it in their faces…. I now have become super confident (even if I don’t always feel it), wearing flamboyant clothes and seeking attention wherever I go…
“So much so, that I got to be on the Snog, Marry, Avoid telly programme and I have to admit that Brighton’s Gay Pride is the highlight of my year!
“My message to others who may be being bullied is to find someone you can trust to confide in. The support and being accepted for who you are will give you the strength to stand up and be counted. I did, you can also.”
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