Cara Delevingne, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana DeBose are celebrating their authentic selves.
The award-winning trio, who are part of British Vogue‘s upcoming August 2022 Pride issue, shared their coming out stories and the importance of LGBTQIA+ visibility and representation in media in a July 2 video.
“I never really came out. It was more that I just decided that I was done with being in the closet, I was done with being ashamed for who I loved and who I was,” Cara, 29, explained. “So, for me, it was just being like love is love and we should be able to love who we want.”
The Only Murders in the Building actress, who in 2020 revealed she is pansexual, described the cover as a “real pinch-me moment,” adding, “Growing up, I didn’t really see many people like me, so I’m just really grateful to be one of those people representing.”
The Evolution of LGBTQ+ Representation in Film
Earlier this year, Ariana won an Oscar for West Side Story, making history by becoming the first Afro Latina and first openly queer woman of color to win an Academy Award for acting. She told British Vogue that she “didn’t realize I was coming out” until later in life.
“I just was living, and I realized, ‘Oh, I don’t think my grandparents know that I like all different types of humans,'” the 31-year-old said. “And at that point, I hadn’t even really chosen a word to describe myself, but I decided I’m queer because I just thought it would allow me to continue to grow, no matter who I love, no matter how they identify. So that works for me.”
However, Ariana revealed that she had a childhood moment that could be considered her coming out story.
“When I was 11, I was riding in the car with my mother. We were in the middle of a dance workshop, and on the ride home, I said, ‘Mom, you know, people are just really beautiful. Just like look at all those beautiful dancers. I think I could like a girl. I could date girls,'” she shared. “She was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool.'”
As for Cynthia, British Vogue reported that it took the performer, who will star in the upcoming film adaptation of Wicked, a long time to share that she is bisexual.
Cynthia told the outlet that LGBTQIA+ people “still feel the need to be constantly justifying why we deserve to be treated as equal beings, when really the only difference is that we love differently and we express ourselves differently. Rather than being chastised for that we should be commended for being brave. That’s the most important thing: giving people the space to show up fully as who they are.”
She added, “I can’t tell you how many people I have discovered along this journey, that have just welcomed me in with open arms and made space for me, and made me feel so comfortable in my skin. And I just want to do the same for others.”
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