Pink News editor ‘comes out’ as straight
March 3rd, 2010 by Chloe.Setter
The editor of the gay news website Pink News has ‘come out’ as straight.
In an interview with The Guardian, Jessica Geen, who has edited the news website for around 12 months, publicly stated that she is “not actually a lesbian”.
She said that reactions to her heterosexuality had ranged from “gentle ribbing to disbelief and even occasional anger”.
Geen told The Guardian that most people had been fine with the fact she is straight and in a heterosexual relationship, however, one head of a small gay charity had “visibly flinched” at the mention of a boyfriend.
“My predecessor [Tony Grew] has been harangued in the bars of Westminster for daring to employ someone who is ‘not even a bisexual’,” she said.
“But that’s not to say everyone has been appalled. Stonewall has been lovely and gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell barely blinked when I suggested my boyfriend and I could join his campaign to open up civil partnerships and civil marriage to straights and gays alike.”
In the interview, entitled ‘I’m sorry, I’m not lesbian’, she recalls a time on a radio show where she was asked whether she had been teased at school for being a lesbian. Geen admittedly “ummed and aahhhed over how to answer”.
However, she defended her decision to work for Pink News. “I took it [the job] because I believe in gay rights and because it was a fantastic opportunity. Not, as some of my straight friends assumed, because I’d be hanging out in G-A-Y every night.”
Geen took over the role as news editor from Tony Grew, who left the title to pursue other interests.
At the time of her appointment in March last year, Geen said: “I’m really pleased to be starting at PinkNews and am looking forward to expanding and developing the site.
“We’re currently the biggest gay news provider in Europe and I hope to keep up the tradition of respected and widely-read journalism established by Tony.”
comments