English readers will recognize Euan Sutherland. He came out last year and swiftly became London's underage soundbite queen. And no wonder. He's sweet, he's forthright, and he knows how to fight for the right to party.
English readers will recognize Euan Sutherland. He came out last year and swiftly became London's underage soundbite queen. And no wonder. He's sweet, he's forthright, and he knows how to fight for the right to party.
Euan is London's youngest lobbyist, working for The Stonewall Group - a citizens' lobby that works on lowering the gay age of consent to 16 [it's already 16 in England for heterosexuals, but 18 for gay men]. When he took the job, he was 16 himself.
Euan - he just turned 18 - is presently suing the UK government for the law to be equalized. And he is making a documentary on the subject for a London FM station.
"I told my parents I was gay two years ago - soon after I told my girlfriend!" he laughs. His girlfriend asked why he hadn't told her sooner. His parents [father a college administrator, mother a family planning nurse] warned, "Be careful, protect yourself and your partner... and don't get arrested."
Euan's been lucky. But he's also been brave. He know he was gay at 12, came out at 16, told the BBC, and put himself right in the firing line.
He says he just shrugged the law off. The law was never going ever stopped him campaigning for the rights of young people. It's hard to believe anyone could arrest Euan for being Euan. But up until recently, they might have.
His life points to some of the problems in growing up too soon. he didn't fit in at all in school and was banned from all school trips - "though I think drug-taking and getting pissed [drunk] all the time had a lot to do with it." yet when he called Stonewall - who've been criticized for establishment groveling - they instantly invited him on board.
Euan has nothing but praise for Stonewall - "They've run a fucking good campaign" - and the non-stop media interest has provided useful contacts. When he finishes studying photojournalism, he hopes the experience will help him work toward his goal of becoming a producer/director in film or TV.
But in the meantime, he's out in London clubs. Euan met a lot of people over the past two years, and he certainly broke the 18 age of consent with some of them. "I said yes or no," he told me, quite sure of himself, "but the law said I didn't have that right."
"I waited until I was ready to handle it before I came out, and then I had my first relationship with a man and it was fantas-tic! I've been seeing people since and I've enjoyed it. It's been on my terms and it's been my decision." If he'd been straight, it would have been legal.
Is he looking for long term? "I don't think so... My longest relationship was two or three months. If it lasts a month and you've enjoyed it, that's great. If Mr. Right comes along that's fantastic." What would he be like? "Generally up to five years older than me... God, it sounds so corny, but it's a matter of personality. Well, I'll probably be in a walkframe by the time it's decided. In the meantime, I'm really just looking for some fun," he says mischievously - "whatever that might entail."
- Helen Sandler
Helen Sandler, a free-lance writer based in London, is former managing editor of Phase Magazine."
