First dater opens up about being 'queer-bashed' on tonight's episode
On tonight’s episode of First Dates Ireland, one dater opens up about being “queer-bashed” after coming out at 16 years old.
Jamie, who was on a date with Anthony, told him that he would ask his attackers to hit him harder to make them look stupid and because he refused to let them hurt him in the long run.
“I got queer-bashed quite a few times,” he said.
“Just smile and laugh, always smile and laugh. Go ‘yeah, punch me again, hit me harder. What are you proving by doing it? It has taken seven of you to punch me in the face to prove you are a bigger man than me'.”
It was never one person, the 35-year-old said, always groups trying to prove that they were “bigger or harder” than him or that they were “somehow more of a man” than him because they were straight.
“It hurt the next morning but on a principle level and a mindset level, they achieved nothing by doing that and actually I could stand there and say: 'you didn’t really hurt me in the grand scheme of things. If anything it made me a lot stronger about who I am as a person'.”
Tune in to tonight’s episode on RTÉ2 at 9.30pm.
