For some LGBTQ+ shunned by relatives, friends and community are rewriting what ‘family’ means
What is Christmas really about? In an increasingly diverse and secular Britain, the festive period has become a celebration of family for most of us. But that focus on traditional family – the people who are supposed to offer unconditional love, no matter who you are or what you do – is precisely what makes this time of year a source of anxiety and dread for others.
Parents rejecting their LGBTQ+ offspring might sound like a plotline from gritty films of the 1980s and 1990s, not something that happens in 2022, when even Hallmark is releasing its first same-sex Christmas romcom, and we’re more than 50 years on from the decriminalisation of homosexuality. But research from the anti-abuse LGBQT+ charity Galop found that family rejection is still all too common: almost three in 10 LGBTQ+ people had experienced abuse from a family member, rising to more than four in 10 trans and non-binary people. In 60% of cases, they felt their identity was the main or contributing factor.
Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist
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