TRIGGER WARNING: This text contains language that some may find offensive, discusses topics of hate crime, discrimination and violence, and uses slurs which may trigger unwanted or painful memories. Reader discretion is advised.
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“KNOWN HOMOSEXUAL-ist!”
“Gay Victorian, Kink Guru & Trans Oracle.”
“Performing Arts Snob.”
“Social Whore.”
These are all examples of what I have been called over the years from other people and you can now find in my various Instagram Bios.
Hello, my name is Henri J Rex, I am all of the above and more.
I am a little man from Great Yarmouth, who just happens to be;
-Gay (or a Known Homosexualist).
-Trans.
-Non Binary.
-Altersex (Medically In-Between Perisex and Intersex).
-Aro/Ace.
-A Leatherman.
-Disabled, Chronically Ill, Neurodiverse and Mentally Ill.
-Reform Jewish.
-A New Wave Traveller.
-A Drag Artist.
-A Queer Artist.
-Incredibly Hyper Aware that I’m ticking every SJW Box going.
-A Menace to Society.
-And Rupert Lowe’s Worst Nightmare.
I don’t particularly consider myself important. I’m not particularly powerful, I’m not rich, (unless you consider owning a copy of vintage Monopoly as someone who should consider buying a safe), I don’t work for anyone of high stature – as I am, indeed, self employed.
I work very hard for little to no money, and I do a fair amount of volunteer work that takes ups a lot of time, energy and I often lose money on my projects. But I do what I do, because I love gay people, and if I didn’t do what I did… It wouldn’t get done.
Everything I do, is for the love of the gays.
I call us the gays, because that’s who we are.
We’re gay. It doesn’t matter if you’re L/G/B/T/Q/I/A/P/D/2S/+ (Lesbian/Lesboromantic, Gay/Homoromantic, Bisexual/Biromantic, Transgender/Transsexual/Transvestite, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Aromantic/Asexual, Pansexual/Panromantic, Demisexual/Demiromantic/Demigirl/Demiboy/Demigender(etc.), Two Spirit, etc.), you are just called Gay by those who hate us, bullied us, want us gone, want rid of us etc.
When I was at High School, it didn’t matter if you came out as Gay, Bi, Trans, Non Binary, Gender Fluid, Asexual etc. you were labelled as Gay. No matter how much you protested or said “no I’m not, I’m (insert identity here).” you were just subjected to Homophobia.
Yes, even people who were Trans or Asexual, people who not necessarily associated with being a man (or a masc) who has romantic or sexual relations with other men (or mascs). You were just called Gay or a Homo(sexualist), Mary Queen, a Queer, or, my favourite, a Fag.
I have a fair amount of Tattoos, one of which is my Homo Frog, (a Cartoon Frog with Homo written underneath in my handwriting), and the other is a Shrimp with Fag Rights! Written underneath in my handwriting, too.
Why Fag Rights!? Beyond it being a nice conversation starter, it also exudes my core beliefs.
Human bloody Rights. Why Fag and not Gay/Queer/Trans?
To me, Fag means more than just us. It means more than just the 2SLGBTQIA+/Queer Community.
Fag was the word used against both myself, and my Straight Friends, (I have Straight Friends, I know, shock horror). Fag(got) was the word used against my friends who were Autistic, Furries, Cosplayers (I know! I come from a time where being a Cosplayer was a Bully-able offence! To the point of being called a Faggot for it. I had friends who would secretly show me their pictures of themselves at Comic Conventions and had secret Facebook Accounts using fake names to share their love for all things Nerd), interested in Pop-Culture like Doctor Who, Star Trek, The Big Bang Theory, Pokemon, LEGO, Theme Parks etc. – all of these traits that wasn’t anything to do with being Gay, were still given the label of being a Faggot.
(Notice how all of our bullies are all now Nerdy and are invested in the same interests that we were at Middle & High School, hmm?)
Fag Rights as a Tattoo isn’t just for the Fags, but for all of those who were attacked and bullied for being a smidgen weird or out of the ordinary.
And that’s entirely what I believe in.
I live for Human Rights and Queer Art. That’s all that’s important to me. Both of these things are Political. Very Political.
Being a Homosexual is Political.
Choosing to be an Out Gay Person in anyway shape or form, is an Act of Politics.
*Gay Person meaning any kind of 2SLGBTQIAPD+/Queer Person, remember, no matter how you ID, Bigots will just throw Homophobia at you because all you are is one of them, just like how all School Bullies called any of us Fag because we were in anyway different from them and their interests.
Choosing to be a Closeted Gay Person in anyway shape or form, is an Act of Politics.
Being Out or Closeted is an act of Social Safety & Security, as well as an act of either rebellion or conformation of religion, law, dynamics of family & friends, potential loss of housing, work and adoption/fostering/keeping of biological children, as well as so much more.
Many people say the phrase of “the difference between being Gay and Queer is Politics. Being Gay is the act of being a Homosexual and having gay sex etc., whereas being Queer is being Gay and Political.”
I disagree.
Being Gay is Political. Out or Closeted. You are still a Political Human Being because you purely exist.
Your body, mind and voice – exists. And it is something that exists that goes against the grain… the social norm. You exist in a world and under a government that doesn’t want you to exist. By purely existing you are already being a Political human being, even if Closeted, as you are making a choice to do so. It is not a shameful choice either, it is a personal one that matters to you and you only. Noone needs to Out you, bar you. It doesn’t mean that you aren’t proud either, it just means that you are making the Socio-Political choice to keep yourself safe.
To me, the word Queer just means, (in terms of Identity), someone who is not Heterosexual (Straight), Cisgender (not Trans), Allosexual/Alloromantic (not Ace or Aro), Perisex (not Intersex or Altersex), Monogamous (not Polyamorous) or Vanilla (not Kinky) in any way shape or form.
The Term Queer is often associated with being more Political for the pure reason is because the above terms that concern themselves with more than the usual (Cis) LGB, have many more restrictions on them in terms of Politics, Laws and Legislations, not just here in the UK or even in the US, but across the world, too.
The Term Queer is also easier to say over perhaps describing myself as “yeah, I’m gay, trans masc, non binary, aro/ace, panromantic, polysexual, polyamorous etc. etc. etc.” The Queer Label just puts a nice full stop to it. You get it. I’m multi-labelled and complicated, I’m not a simple boy. It’s also a nice little indicator that that I’m a safe person around other Marginalised Queers.
At the end of the day… it doesn’t matter what label you use, as I keep saying, those who hate us, all just label us as one of those, and they wouldn’t give it a second thought to beat us to a pulp if they wanted to.
Gay/Queer Bashings still happen. Its not just a nineties thing.
I have many stories from friends about Taxi journeys going wrong, nights out clubbing, afternoon drinks down the pub, an evening at the (supposedly Queer Friendly) Theatre all ending with it going wrong down at the end of the night – slurs shouted them, hair pulled, clothes torn, black eye and a broken tooth. Another trip to the dentist for them.
I don’t need to retell their tales, when I can raconteur about my own rapports;
In the last year alone, I have had verbal and physical threats on buses, trains and the underground (when I’m in London for gigs), practically monthly. Between Homophobia and Anti-Semitism, I am becoming more and more deathly afraid to leave my Caravan and go out, even to work, even locally. I have often messaged or called my partner when people have shouted things at me in the street, regarding Homophobia, Transphobia and Anti-Semitism, mostly in Norfolk, just to feel a little safer when travelling around.
On Gay Dating Sites/Apps, I have dated many people who have claimed to be GBQ+ Men and have ended up only being on the app to find and abuse (L)GBTQIA+ Men, such as myself. I have recently seen that at least one of these men who claimed that they are GBQ+ in private are now on the Far Right and spewing Anti-LGBTQIA+ Rhetoric, one of which is now (allegedly) on the Great Yarmouth First Team.
I have been on Testosterone for over 2 years now, and I have also had Top Surgery; to help myself keep safe in our current declining society, and to pass more as a Cis-Binary-Perisex Man, I am no longer dressing as flamboyantly, feminine or as camp as I used to, and I’m dressing in Straight-Passing clothing. Between that and not wearing my Yarmulke and Tzitzit as much, I am now receiving a lot less Homophobia, Transphobia and Antisemitic abuse than I used to – I am finding that Transphobia and Antisemitism are fairly linked, and I am seeing Antisemitic Troupes being used by TERFs (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists) online as well as Transphobic Dogwhistles being used in Antisemitic Circles in real life, too.
I’ve lived in Great Yarmouth almost my entire life, I was born in Essex and we moved here when I was 6 months old, and therefore I feel very proud of both my heritage and my upbringing. I’m proud to be born in Essex, I’m proud to have strong London & Irish Heritage, and I’m proud to have grown up in Great Yarmouth and to be shaped into a Proud Norfolk Boy. But I am scared of what Great Yarmouth is now becoming. I’ve been involved with the Local Gay and Drag Scenes for a long time and the amount of stories I’ve heard where young Queers are leaving Pride Events and getting beaten up on the way home, ending up in Hospital. Unfortunately, these were the good times. We’re now being run by the Third Reich of Greater Yarmouth, (I should say, allegedly and in my opinion), aka, Rupert Lowe and his little band of knobs in Great Yarmouth First.
I can’t believe that the town that I have lived and worked in, for 99.99% of my life, is down to betray their own Community which is made up of a wonderful diversity of LGBTQIA+ People, BIPOC People, Muslims, Christians, (a small amount of) Jews, Multi-Faith Spiritualists and Practitioners, Irish, Welsh & Scottish Travellers, Rromani & Sinti Travellers, a Variety of Immigrants, Disabled People, Blue & White Collar Workers, Working Class, Single Parents, Doctors & Nurses, Teachers & Educators, Emergency Service Workers, Artists, Writers & Actors, Students…
This is not the hard working fishing and farming town of Great Yarmouth that I have grown up in, these are not the people I thought I loved, this is not the Community I believed in and brought me up.
Or perhaps… it is?
I opened up this testimonial with words and phrases that I’ve been called and now own, and then talked about how me and my friends were constantly bullied for being a smidgen of different.
These kids were still brought up in the same town, by the same people who live in this town.
Maybe that just is Great Yarmouth. Maybe we are Bullies? Maybe Great Yarmouth is racist, bigoted, ableist, homophobic, transphobic, queerphobic, xenophobic, antisemitic, ageist etc. etc.?
Should we just settle for the obvious? Should we just keep voting in people who are further and further Right, because that’s what we obviously are?
Nah.
I don’t think so, mate.
I hate the phrase “Making Great Yarmouth Great Again.” that’s spurred around the town, because as we know, Rupert Lowe is the most imaginative and creative man alive – Fascists usually are known for big bright ideas of their own, (again, he’s only an alleged Fascist, in my opinion), he totally hasn’t taken the phrase from Donald Trump (MAGA/Make America Great Again), who stole his idea from Hitler and the Nazis (“restoring Germany’s greatness” Campaign, “Deutschland erwache!”/ “Germany awake!” and “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer!”/ “One People, One Empire, One Leader!”).
The phrase implies that Great Yarmouth isn’t Great, and apparently far from it… It implies that Great Yarmouth is on its last legs and begging for reform. It’s making out that everything to do with Great Yarmouth is shite and essentially be binned and started anew.
Which isn’t the case. Not at all.
Great Yarmouth is currently down on its luck in terms of income and outcomes… venues are shutting down left, right and centre, prices are going up and the quality of everything that Great Yarmouth is famous for producing is going down, in-turn, helping the decline of people’s mental health, finances and access to education meaning…
The increase of ignorance, and ignorance leading to hate and fear over communities and social justices that they do not know nearly enough about.
Increase of ignorance leads to the reliance of misinformation being Gospel.
Great Yarmouth has been failed by our Government time after time after time…
I understand the magical “one all, cure all” sales pitch of Great Yarmouth First essentially curing the Great Yarmouth Problem, but it’s a snake oil sales pitch, its a pipe dream, Rupert Lowe allegedly, in my opinion), is like a Monkey’s Paw Wish Granter, you get your wish, but at what cost?
When it all goes balls up and he throws you all under the bus, what then? You’re going to run out of wishes.
This all seems depressing, and it all feels a bit like pointless ramblings of a little Gay Boy.
But there is a point to this.
As the great Harvey Milk, once said, “Hope will never be silent.”
Hope for a greater future, a better future – is never silent. Us gays have never just sat down and kept quiet, doing our knitting.
We fight for our basic human rights, every single day. We fight for each other to live, to exist, to love, to experience joy – every single day. We do it, with noise, with song, with dance, with screams at the top of our lungs – we do it by existing. Gays are writing, painting, photographing, drawing, gardening, growing, gaming, drinking, eating, baking, cooking, making, buying, selling – living. To live, is to make noise. To live, is to be resilient. To live, is to never be silent. To live, is to build a Community.
A Bigger Community. A Brighter Community. A Greater Community.
Great Yarmouth is more than just people “born and bred” in Great Yarmouth.
I, for one, am born and bred in Essex. My family come from London, and before that, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and France… and even further than that – Argentina. My family are very proud East-End Londoners, and have contributed to the Great Yarmouth Community for now 27 years, my mother has been working in the Childcare Industry since I was 4 years old. I have Jewish Ancestry from all over Europe. I have a gorgeous boyfriend who has a mix of Ancestry, including Irish, Maori and Ashkenazi Jewish, though a practising Christian.
Within one family, the background and heritage diversity is vast.
Diversity is what makes Great Yarmouth actually Great.
Diversity is what makes people safe.
Diversity is what makes a Community.
I pray, genuinely pray, that those who aren’t us realise that we’re not a threat to them.
Because it isn’t an us vs them problem; it’s an us vs the rich problem.
Rich people aren’t on our side, at all.
Never have been, never will be.
The sooner we all learn that, the sooner you’ll understand the Queer Struggle.
The Rich, like Lowe, just want to stay rich.
How to stay rich? By being powerful.
How to be powerful? Be popular.
How to be popular? Have a broad opinion that covers the masses, and sell a magical cure that will solve all of your problems, no matter how vast and different between the population.
How does this magical cure work? By blaming everything on a common “problem”.
Lowe’s chosen Problem; Immigrants.
Are Immigrants the problem? No.
Have they ever been? Never.
But they’re a nice, quiet target.
Who’s going to scream for their rights?
The people who have always screamed for Human bloody Rights.
The Gays.
Therefore, we become a new problem.
But this is nothing new.
We’ve always been a problem. Since forever.
What do we do? We build Community.
And we build it bigger than we have ever built it.
Because we have to. For survival.
Gays keep Gays alive. We always have, always will.
How? By protecting others, providing space for those in need.
Our history is proof. In every decade, we have a seemingly brand new struggle, and it turns out its the same-old, same-old Bigotry repackaged as something new.
Queer People have always stood hand-in-hand with one another, with Women’s Rights, Sex Worker Rights, the Rights of the Irish, Rights of Ukrainians, Rights of Palestinians, Rights of HIV/AIDs Victims and Survivors, Children’s Rights, Disability Rights, Immigration Rights, Traveller Rights, Rights of the Working Class, LGBTQIA+ Rights Worldwide… why work hard for the rights of other communities even if they don’t concern ourselves? Because these Communities do concern ourselves. We can not have full Gay+ Rights, without Human Rights given to all of these Communities first, and vice versa.
As much as I worry… I do have strong belief in things getting better.
As a Drag Artist, Community Leader and Event Organiser, I am proud to produce and create Community Events for people who consider themselves the outcasts of our Community who have nothing and noone, I am proud to be called many people’s Dad. I am proud to be many people’s Safeguarder and entrusted to be a caretaker of people’s belongings. I am so proud that I have been able to provide safety and security for young Queers in times in need, and that when I’m on stage, I have given so many newly out Gays a space to be themselves, find themselves and feel & be seen, and valid in a world that feels like its crumbling.
Life is terrifying, and it constantly feels like we’re going one step forward and three steps back – but Hope Will Never Be Silent.
As long as you’re never silent, we can always be hopeful, and the Bullies will never win.
So…
Gays.
I love them.
Out or Closeted, you are Political. Your existence is political. Your existence is noise.
Noise is hope.
Make more noise than those who hate you.
High School or Politicians; Bullies are Bullies.
And Bullies only pick on those they don’t understand or those who are a smidgen different.
If you’re going to be different, be more than a smidgen different, because you’re going to be hated all the same.
Fight for your life, fight for your love, fight for your joy – and do it with your Community, and the Communities around you. Fight for your voice, fight for your body, fight with so much noise that it hurts – fight for hope.
It is all we have.
Hi,
My name is Henri J Rex, I am a “Writer. Performing Arts Snob. Social Whore.” and also, according to my Instagram Bio;
“A Trans Jewish Traveller for the Liberation of the oppressed.”
I am a menace to society and Rupert Lowe’s worst nightmare.
The world may want me to censor me, but there is nothing, nothing, you can do to stop me from being a Known Homosexualist. I am a Homosexual. I was born a Homosexual. I will die a Homosexual.
And you will never, never be able to shut me up.
Long live Queer noise. Long live Queer hope.
Forever.