Drag Race UK star Cherry Valentine reveals heartbreaking battle growing up gay in Traveller community
manchestereveningnews.co.ukStood at the side of a massive stage in Sackville Gardens, drag queen Cherry Valentine is gearing up for a performance in front of hundreds, if not thousands, of people at Manchester Pride.
Wearing a black latex bodysuit and a red and black fur coat, Cherry towers over you not only in presence but also in height.
Having grown up within the gypsy roma community, it’s a moment that Cherry, real name George, may never have imagined could be a possibility but, at 28 years old, they’ve managed to make it happen. READ MORE: Village Screen pop-up cinema to host Valentine’s movies at Victoria Baths Having grown up in Darlington, Cherry, who uses they/them pronouns, said the expectation of being a traditional male was always something instilled on them from a young age. “I was always brought up on old-fashioned, stereotypical views of what a man or woman should be or should do,” Cherry tells the Manchester Evening News. “I had to identify as your typical man growing up and that meant following the society rules and expectations of being masculine.
There wasn’t ever any wiggle room. “The idea of going to university wasn’t even something I considered. “I thought my life had been mapped out for me - I was going to get a job as a mechanic, get married, have kids and that would be it. “But that wasn’t something I always wanted to do. “I sort of realised I needed to make the decision of whether to just do it or get away from that and move away.” Cherry admits the stark realisation that it would be up to them to change the roots presumably set in motion was a ‘terrifying’ prospect at first.
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