I didn’t come out until my twenties – gay people shouldn’t live in fear

The issues affecting young LGBT+ people today, and trans people in particular, are more complicated than when I was coming out, says Wes Streeting

Being gay isn’t a choice but I had spent so many years choosing not to be gay (PA)

I can’t remember when I first realised that I was gay, but I do remember how hard I tried not to be gay.

For years I buried who I was and how I really felt. Every time I felt gay, I felt afraid. Afraid of my feelings; afraid that I would be rejected by my family and friends; afraid that being gay would affect my future; afraid that my life at school would be harder than it already was.

I went to an all-boys inner-city state school in the centre of London. It was tough. I had been on the receiving end of homophobic slurs from my first year at the age of 11. I’d arrived there with my best friend from primary school. We were inseparable and our friendship made us a target for bullying.