.png)
4 hours ago
2
When Rochford was crowned as England’s straightest place in the 2021 census, it weighed heavily on Chris Taylor’s mind.
Taylor, a Rochford native who is 36 and gay, was not surprised. He had grown up in the rural and traditionally conservative stronghold where, he recalls, conversations and recognition of gender identity outside heterosexual norms were “nonexistent”.
So he decided to do something about it.
After running for Rochford councillor and MP last year with the Green party, Taylor decided to start a Facebook group for the LGBTQ+ community in January. It has since grown to 97 members and has ambitions to one day host a local pride event.
“I know there are going to be people out there against it,” said Taylor, who added that the group had already received some hateful messages. “But they can’t dictate to us that we can’t be who we want to be in our community.”
In the 2021 census, the district of Rochford in Essex was shown as the straightest place in England, after only 1.6% of the population identified as LGBTQ+. By contrast, in Brighton and Hove, one in 10 people over 16 identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or of another sexual orientation.
Across England and Wales, the percentage of those who identified as gay or lesbian or bisexual was 2% and 1.8% respectively, according to the 2021 census figures.
While some members of the newly formed Rochford District LGBTQ+ group feel people may have been less open to answer the census question honestly, Rochford, with a population nearing 86,000 in 2023, is also home to an older population, with a median age of 46. Census data has previously shown significant correlation between sexual identity and age, with younger areas having more LGBTQ+ people.
Bev Danby, 64, was compelled to join the local group because there was nothing else like it. Aside from the recent negative responses in the group, Danby said she had only ever had positive experiences living as a gay woman in the area.
“It makes me less lonely,” said Danby of the group. “If you’re a gardener, you join a gardening group. If you’re a walker, you join a walking group. If you’re gay, you join a gay group. What is wrong with that?”
She was one of nearly a dozen members of the newly formed group who met in Rochford for the first time in early February. While many in the group identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, others identify as allies for their children who are navigating their own identities. Some members questioned the census figures, admitting to declining to answer honestly, while others spoke of the lack of LGBTQ+ visibility in the area, including gay bars, that had previously led them to feel less accepted.
In 2016, James Edmunds left Essex at the age of 18 for London as he found the area “very homophobic” and “unaccepting”. He had found a community in London, and returning to Rochford he was glad the new group had formed, with new allies and friends he had’t known were there.
“Coming back five years later, I’ve seen the town and the area change so much in such a positive way,” said the 26-year-old.
The feeling was similar for Rosie Williams, 30, who had not anticipated returning to Essex after moving away for university.
“I didn’t think I’d ever come back to Essex because I never really felt like I belonged here,” said Williams, who works for the mental health charity Mind, which will be helping provide services to the group. Had the group existed sooner, Williams said she probably would have come out earlier, and been more accepting of her identity.
“Once I moved here, I did feel worried about being able to find a community and actually feel safe in my identity because of the politics of the area,” said Williams, who recently moved back to Rochford. Having access to the group had made her feel less afraid, she said, adding that when out with her partner she would often survey their surroundings and wonder if they would be safe holding hands.
“It’s scary being gay at the moment,” she said, citing the political rhetoric around trans identity, as one example. “Fascism is back in fashion. It’s a scary time to be on the fringes of society.”
When Mary Holmes first came across the group on Facebook, she was thrilled.
Holmes, 33, works as a population health nurse for the NHS in Rayleigh, within Rochford. Her role focuses on community outreach to address health inequalities, but reaching the LGBTQ+ community has been difficult for Holmes, who relies on data, including that from the census or how people register with their GP.
“I was so excited because I’ve been looking for you guys for so long. Because people identify differently, or might not feel comfortable putting things, the standard ways of searching for people doesn’t come up with anything and it’s very difficult to reach out,” she said.
A primary focus for Holmes was making others in the community aware of the lived experiences of those who identified as LGTBQ+, she said.
“There are people out there that want to support, that want to educate and learn and I think that’s why it’s so important to try and grow these groups.”
