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LIVING FREE

Dionne Simpson-Amuah • Sep 04, 2019
How many of you reading this, can take the notion of ‘living free’ for granted?

When you wake up in the morning you don’t actively have to wear a mask to disguise who you are. Whether you like who you are or not, you can be authentically yourself.

Of course, particularly in working life, you may have to scale back on some parts of your personality in order to ‘fit in’ and to be seen as a ‘professional’, particularly if you happen to be in the minority.

However, can there be anyone as torn as someone who is trying to hide their sexuality? I can only imagine it being like a trapped child, looking out through a crack in the window and seeing everyone else play whilst you remain inside.

What if you lived in a country that actively persecuted you because of the attraction you have to a gender that you cannot control?

It was important for me to cover this topic as we are in the fourth season of Love Laid Bare, and have not yet touched upon the complexities and hardships within the Black LGBTQ+ community.

I for one have close friends and family who are gay and who live as they choose, without any immediate harm or fear.

You would think that in 2019, 52 years after ‘homosexual acts were decriminalised’ that there would be much further strides in people being able to be honest about who they are without the fear of rejection and/or abuse.

Growing up as a Black British girl of Jamaican descent, music was the only thing that I recall that constantly reminded me that being gay was allegedly an absolute abhorrence. From Beenie Man to Buju Banton, Sizzla and Capleton; all of these artists would sometimes dedicate huge sections of their songs to the verbal abuse of gay men in particular.  

What I had always found interesting was that Jamaica itself had bigger problems. Child rape and sexual abuse of young girls had very harsh and wounding statistics. Why wasn’t there a focus on these paedophiles that were hurting girls in our families, more of an issue to protest about?

Why is there such hysteria about men who are gay in comparison to the more apparent ills of the world?

"The Bible says it’s wrong! Bun down a Sodomite!" *snores*

Let’s be very honest here, the bible says a lot of things are wrong, including fornication. How many of us will be actively engaging in fornication soon after listening to this podcast or reading this blog? 

I came across tonights guest on twitter, due to his tweet going viral. My heart swelled when I felt the euphoria he felt. The freedom of being in love and loving who you choose in public, must be exhilarating when you’ve closed yourself down for so long.

My hope is that this episode will help the listeners who are still on the fence, or firmly planted on the other side, see the humanity of people who identify as LGBT+.

You can also listen on Spotify, iTunes, Castbox, Apple Podcasts and all other podcast listening platforms. Download now!

I’d like to commend Dan for finally living and speaking his truth, whilst also building a platform for people who need the support he never had.



You can follow him on instagram @livingfree_uk.

www.livingfreeuk.org



Sending Love & Light to you all!


Dionne xxx


by Dionne Simpson 13 Jul, 2022
personally, as soon as I was faced with the notion that my relationship with my ex-husband would not survive, we discussed at length how we would conduct ourselves. We discussed finances, how we would deal with future relationships, mutually agreed on how we would parent and left no stone unturned. our daughters well-being was the priority and everything else came afterwards. yet, despite these discussions and writing things on paper, we still faced some of the same hurdles that millions of other co-parents do. sometimes it is nearly impossible to avoid friction at some point in the journey, particularly when everything is fresh and new to everyone. one question I always ask myself when it comes to co-parenting in the face of adversity is, 'does this benefit my daughter?' . if the answer is no, I just won't allow myself to behave or respond in a way that is detrimental to her or the co-parenting relationship. does that mean I back down? no. but what it means is that I approach all conversations and disagreements respectfully and as calmly as possible. a breakdown in healthy communication gets neither party anywhere, and if both are sincere and care enough, the Childs needs will always come first. realistically, Things may not always go smoothly when co-parenting. It helps to be clear about what your most important goals are for the future. Here are two that you might want to consider: To commit to supporting your children in having a free and uncomplicated relationship with the other parent. To keep whatever feelings you have about each other separate from your co-parenting relationship. These principles can serve as foundations for everything you do as co-parents.
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