Being visible in Bradford

TRANSCRIPT

So, she you know, because uh, it is something… you know all my friends they... I don't know how they know I am lesbian. I'm no [laughs], I'm not like them. Some reason they know. I never knew how they know, but they know. So, she approached me in town. That's how we met and she, she said erm, I didn't know she was lesbian, so she said "Oh you know are you... erm, are you?" like you know... she just... invited me for coffee or things like that. I said yeah that's fine, I will go and then you know, slowly, slowly I found out she [laughs] she is lesbian [laughs] and she said, I already- first I said no I am not because I was you know when I came here, before EP [Equity Partnership] I was still hiding myself, there was... I would just be hesitant to say.

So, she said ‘Are you lesbian?’ I said, ‘No, who said that? I'm not, I never, no.’ ‘Are you sure? My like you know my gay radar can't lie’ [laughs]. I said, alright okay I mean you know slowly, slowly when she said yeah, yeah I am out, she was so proud lesbian, oh my god. She used to talk about women like you know on bus, bus stops and on bus even. We used to travel on public buses and they were like talking, I said... just, just, just like you know just be slow just don't be too loud. And she was like ‘Oh you know Hafsa, you just, you know, you don't know anything’ and things like that and you know ‘I'm not bothered about people they can think whatever they want to think’ and that was quite new thing for me.