Following the tragic nightclub shooting in Orlando earlier this week, songwriter Béatrice Martin, better known as Coeur de pirate, has penned an open letter detailing how the events moved her to come out as queer.
The letter, published through Noisey, recounts how support online for the LGBTQ community left her wondering if she was being honest with herself. "In response to the news, social media became full of hashtags like #gaysbreaktheinternet and #queersbreaktheinternet to publicly come out in support of," she wrote. "I thought it was wonderful: why hide who you are? In a world where, in certain countries, being gay is still punishable by death, it's important to take a stand. The internet is a beautiful place sometimes."
She continued: "I can no longer be scared of what people might think about me. I can't be scared that someone will stop listening to my music, or that parents might not want their kids listening to me because of the fact that I want to love whoever I want to love."
In the letter, Martin writes about having romantic feelings for girls at a young age, feeling traumatized when one of her first crushes began ignoring her. She began living a heterosexual lifestyle, but felt her feelings return after giving birth to her daughter.
"I'm coming out for my daughter who needs to learn that love knows no race, religion, gender or orientation," she further penned. "Even though the family that she knew in the very beginning won't be the same, she deserves all of the love that she needs or wants. I'm coming out for the victims that lost their lives because they wanted to celebrate who they truly were."
Support from Martin's industry peers can be found below. Read her letter in full here.
The letter, published through Noisey, recounts how support online for the LGBTQ community left her wondering if she was being honest with herself. "In response to the news, social media became full of hashtags like #gaysbreaktheinternet and #queersbreaktheinternet to publicly come out in support of," she wrote. "I thought it was wonderful: why hide who you are? In a world where, in certain countries, being gay is still punishable by death, it's important to take a stand. The internet is a beautiful place sometimes."
She continued: "I can no longer be scared of what people might think about me. I can't be scared that someone will stop listening to my music, or that parents might not want their kids listening to me because of the fact that I want to love whoever I want to love."
In the letter, Martin writes about having romantic feelings for girls at a young age, feeling traumatized when one of her first crushes began ignoring her. She began living a heterosexual lifestyle, but felt her feelings return after giving birth to her daughter.
"I'm coming out for my daughter who needs to learn that love knows no race, religion, gender or orientation," she further penned. "Even though the family that she knew in the very beginning won't be the same, she deserves all of the love that she needs or wants. I'm coming out for the victims that lost their lives because they wanted to celebrate who they truly were."
Support from Martin's industry peers can be found below. Read her letter in full here.
Beautiful. Like you and your music! xoxoxo https://t.co/ykZk3sVtGh
— Tegan and Sara (@teganandsara) June 16, 2016
Very proud of you @beatricepirate https://t.co/k8a4TYFtak
— Laura Jane Grace (@LauraJaneGrace) June 16, 2016
