LISTEN: "The difference between now and when I was a teen is huge"

Friday 19 January 2024

As she prepares to take the helm of Jersey's leading equality and diversity charity, Kaye Nicholson joined Express in the studio to discuss what it was like growing up as a gay woman in Jersey, how times have changed, and what changes still need to be made to ensure we are a truly equal and inclusive society...

Liberate recently announced its first change of chief executive since the organisation was founded a decade ago.

In April, Kaye Nicholson is due to take over from current chief executive Vic Tanner Davy MBE.

Kaye is a gay woman, a mum, a campaigner for same-sex parental rights, a manager in the finance industry, and current vice-chair of the Jersey Community Relations Trust.

"The progress has been great, and the difference between now and when I was a teenager is huge," she explained on the latest episode of the Bailiwick Podcast.

"I didn't have any representation as a teenager growing up on this island. It was isolating. I didn't have the ease of the internet or my phone. I didn't know anyone else gay when I was growing up. I didn't see anyone else gay on the television. I didn't read about anyone who was gay. I felt like there was something wrong or odd about me."

Pictured: Founder of Liberate, Vic Tanner Davy MBE, recently announced he would be stepping down to allow some "fresh eyes" at the charity. (Rob Currie)

"Now I see accessibility in terms of books, shows, social media, where anybody can go and see people like themselves and that representation gives them that sense of belonging," she continued.

"Up until the age of 18, Jersey was all I knew, but when I went and studied performing arts and literature at a UK university, it was culture shock to me, to realise that no one really cared if I was gay and that there were lots of other gay people around. Coming back to that Jersey environment in my twenties to become a professional, you realise the difference.

"It's probably less pronounced now. But there is certainly more work to be done. There is room for improvement in the Island, and that's why Liberate exists, to raise the awareness and to make sure that we are looking at these aspects and making government aware, working with them and with other charities.

"That feeling of belonging and representation that was lacking when I was younger is something I'd like to create here on the Island. I want to work on making sure that individuals, particularly of minority groups, but every individual on the Island too, has a sense of belonging, that we feel seen and represented, and we feel that we belong."

LISTEN...

Listen to our full interview with Kaye below – or wherever you get your podcasts – and read a fuller interview with her in tomorrow's Jersey Evening Post...

Pictured top: Kaye Nicholson (left) previously worked on a project with Deputy Louise Doublet to bring books celebrating diversity and inclusivity to island primary schools.