MHAIRI Black has opened up about how LGBT representation has changed since she was young.
The SNP MP for Paisley & Renfrewshire South celebrated the “leaps and bounds” that have been made in “her short lifetime” and said she is excited to see the progress continue.
The 28-year-old politician said when people ask her when she came out as a lesbian that she tells them she was “never in” and is “a big fan of being gay”.
Black has always championed rights for the LGBT community and has now shared a video for LGBT history month to her 245.5k Twitter followers.
In the footage she hailed comedian Hannah Gadsby as her favourite “lesbian heroine” and said she wished she'd seen more LGBT people have a platform while she was growing up.
In the video MP Mhairi Black said: “I’m a big fan of being gay, it has truly been a joy for me.
“People ask me, when did you come out? I was never in!
“That just shows the leaps and bounds we are making and have been making.
There are so many lesbians right now and queer people that are actually available and have a platform.
As #LGBTHM23 draws to a close I was asked about the importance of representation and role models 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ pic.twitter.com/oeP0dAkNFF
— Mhairi Black MP🏳️🌈 (@MhairiBlack) February 27, 2023
"[For example] Hannah Gadsby, she did a Netflix comedy special.
"I have always understood up here [points to head] why representation is important, but watching her was the first time I felt in my gut where I was suddenly looking at somebody going oh ‘you’re like me’.
“[She] was on stage, on TV, on an app, that I had never heard before and that was well into my 20s.
“She’s my favourite, my lesbian heroine.
“I find it very refreshing because it is the kind of thing that I would have loved to have seen growing up, but it wasn’t there.
“So now even in my short lifetime we are already seeing the progress continue.
“It is something to be proud of, not taken for granted.
“I do think most people are on board with it.
“It shouldn't be a thing that you are gay. It is just part of who someone is, that’s it.”
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