13-year-old and 78-year-old sit down to discuss their very different experiences of being gay

Thirteeen-year-old Louis and 78-year-old Percy are both openly gay. YouTube channel TrentAndLuke asked them both about their experiences – 50 years after the UK decriminalised homosexuality – and they’re world’s apart.

Percy’s mum didn’t take the news of her son’s sexuality very well, but it went a lot better for Louis:

[My parents] were really nice. They told me they loved me no matter what, if I was gay or straight. There’s not one member of my family who doesn’t support me

Percy replied:

That’s amazing, that’s wonderful, they’ve been all so supportive

If I go back to my own childhood… I don’t think I would’ve told anybody. You’re so lucky that the world has changed and you can just be yourself.

Percy says he was 16 when he came out to a school friend, who was also gay, and the two of them decided to go to a gay club.

It was an eye opener that there were other people – and so many people – that felt just like we did. It was quite exciting, really.

And in those days, if you went to a gay club, you had to sign in. we invented names, we didn’t give our real names, we didn’t dare.

Right up till 1967 it was illegal and you had to be very careful because if you had a boyfriend and you were spending the night with them, the police could come, knock on your door and because you were in bed with them they could charge you with a guilty offence.

You always had a slight suspicion that something could go wrong, so you were never 100 per cent at ease. Whereas now that would never ever happen. So I envy you in that sense, in one’s youth it would’ve been wonderful to think it doesn’t matter a damn” you can just enjoy yourself and be yourself.

Here's the full video:

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