Every LGBT+ individual can likely pinpoint one celebrity's coming out that fundamentally impacted their character, outlook or experience. Ellen DeGeneres' announcement on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 1997 gave confidence to millions of American women who watched TV's comedic sweetheart proudly and openly accept her sexuality. The Wachowski sisters' dual coming out in 2008 and 2016 as trans women shocked the world. It also filled the hearts of millions of trans people in the arts across the world. As people in the spotlight continue to open up about their identities, I am increasingly hopeful that the next generation of LGBT+ youth will have plenty of inspirational figures to admire.
I finally found mine.
I have been a fan of Fifth Harmony's Lauren Jauregui since 2014, when I saw her and the rest of the group in concert with Little Mix and Demi Lovato. Even then I knew there was something different about her, something that resonated with me personally. It was something that I didn't even fully know about myself. I had my fingers crossed, but didn't want to assume anything. I've been holding onto that hope for years.
As 5H began taking up more space in the public eye, fans (a large percentage of whom are LGBT+ young women) began to speculate and spread rumors. We hoped as hard as we could that Lauren was like us. I've spent hours upon hours watching slowed-down footage of her supposedly checking out girls, I've looked at magnified photos of her touching or holding other women and I've nitpicked hundreds of her interview quotes about her identities. I, like many other fans, was desperate. I desperately needed to see her sing to a female love interest in a music video. I desperately needed her to use female pronouns in a song. I desperately needed Lauren Lauregui to be gay.
"I am a bisexual Cuban-American woman & I am so proud of it," Lauren wrote in an open letter to the PEOTUS last night.
She had been potentially outed the night before by Perez Hilton, who leaked a photo of her kissing longtime friend Lucy Vives and my heart broke. I had no room to be happy. She'd had something so personal and so frightening stolen from her. I couldn't imagine being in her shoes. I just wanted her to be safe.
Following the PEOTUS' nomination of Jeff Sessions as attorney general, Lauren penned a heartfelt, passionate, heartbroken, proud, empowered, angry open letter, in which she announced her bisexuality.
I was in the middle of bleaching my hair. I was half-dressed and distracted. I was scrolling Twitter when I saw it happen. Then the screaming started followed by the tears. I was so proud. I was so happy. I was so overwhelmed. Two years of hoping, pleading, waiting...
Of course, I have other LGBT+ icons, but this was the first icon of mine whose coming out I got to witness. I had no words other than "Thank you," which I promptly tweeted approximately twenty times.
In a moment of such devastation, horror and sorrow in America, I felt an inkling of inspiration last night. I felt so happy for a 16-year-old me, who knew even back then that the dark-haired girl on stage dancing just for her understood how she was feeling. I felt so happy for all the girls younger than me who may now have the courage to come out or even begin to question their sexuality. I felt so happy for all the older LGBT+ women whose daughters have such a beautiful role model. I felt so proud of my idol, who snatched Perez Hilton's nasty, dangerous outing away from him and owned it herself.
I am so happy on so many levels.
In the current American mood, I'm thankful for any shred of inspiration that comes my way. Thank you, Lauren Jauregui, for gifting that to me.
