Mumbai: Music icon Elton John says the condition of the LGBTQ community is still far from better as the people still shamed by the society for their sexual orientation.
The 70-year-old singer-activist, who himself is a homosexual, says it is time society realised young gay continue to face stigma, reported Grazia magazine.
"Tragically it is still (a) shame. Too often LGBT people are tolerated rather than accepted, let alone embraced. "When almost half of all gay, lesbian, bi, and transsexual pupils are bullied at school...
"As a result, more than 60 per cent self-harm and 40 per cent of trans people have tried to take their own life, it's a serious wake-up call that gay stigma and shame are still poisonous," says John.
But the ‘Bennie & The Jets’ hitmaker adds things have changed a lot for the gay community in 50 years since sexual acts between two men were decriminalised in England and Wales.
"It's changed out of all recognition. I was 20 when the Sexual Offenses Act partially decriminalised homosexuality.
Back then, being gay was acknowledged as a source of shame.
Gay people were spoken of in euphemisms.
"Today, gay couples, married with children, are accepted by most people and even championed by some. Instead of being shamed in public, you would now be shamed for being publicly homophobic," he says.
