Whenever I think of being in love, I always think I am the kind who will shout about her love from the rooftops and annoy and partially deafen the neighbours. The kind who would proudly own up to my feelings and declare to the world, how I have found the one I’d always been looking for. And while the passion, the enigma and the intensity of such a love is much appreciated in books and movies, in reality it is the kind of love that people frown upon. Especially if you and your partner belong to the LGBTQ+ community in a world that is less than accepting of it. As supermodel Aweng Ade-Chuol recently experienced.
Aweng Ade-Chuol allegedly attempted suicide because of the intense hatred she received over her sexuality and was being marginalized by homophobic and orthodox people. Having been thrown into a rut of self doubt and depression, even though Aweng Ade-Chuol may have thought of ending her life at one point, today she holds the courage to stand up to all those who dare question her love.
And the way she did it, was by posing for a kissing picture with her wife Alexus, on the cover of Elle UK magazine making a bold statement to all the bullies out there who weren’t accepting of her choice and her sexuality. The couple married in New York, where they lived until a recent move to London, in December 2019.
Also Read : This Indian-American Gay Couple Had A Big Fat Indian Wedding. One Groom’s Father Talked About How He Was A Homophobe And His Speech Is Beautiful
Captioning the beautiful and powerful post, Aweng Ade-Chuol wrote, “And to women who love women, who never realised that soul ties have been called by the ocean tides, love is as calm as the ocean gets.” And just the fact that she had it in herself to not bow down to the closed mindset of people, and has publicly claimed and celebrated her love was more than assuring for every queer and straight person out there, who ever fell short of courage in going all out for their loved ones.
In an interview with Elle UK, the same magazine that published this strong picture in retaliation to the homophobic bullies, Aweng Ade-Chuol shared how it was the backlash from the South Sudanese community over her sexuality and marriage, that had driven her to attempt suicide. She said, “For me, it was like, with the political climate that’s going on, you really think that my marriage is the most significant thing in your life right now? It was saddening, because it was the happiest day of my life, and they couldn’t let me enjoy it.”
However, right now the model is in a better place, as she has received positive support from people and fans all across the globe. Although, people do need to realise that we can’t expect to force our way of thinking and living onto others, and that for once keeping our noses and opinions to ourselves might just make the world a better place. After all, love is love, and last we checked, it came with no gender tags.