She’s openly gay but singer Jamie Fine – one half of pop duo Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine – says she doesn’t necessarily feel a need to be part of the LGBTQ community.
“I’m not an advocate for the community,” she told iHeartRadio.ca. “A lot of people will be offended until they kind of understand.”
Fine explained: “People often fight oppression with oppression. I find in the gay community they’ll say we want equality but also we’re our own community. In my opinion that’s not the way it should be.
“I understand the importance of community and I understand the importance of fighting oppression and I really do support that. I’ve marched in the parade before and I go and I show my support – but I don’t think that I need to be part of a separate community.
“I think the whole point is that I’m trying to be part of the same community as everybody else.”
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The “Ain’t Easy” singer said she would rather be an advocate for all people.
“If you want to talk about if you’re gay, or if you’re struggling with your race, or struggling with your religion… it should all be the same thing,” said Fine. “So I’m supportive and I’m proud of who I am, but I never define myself as a gay person. I just define myself as somebody who loves the same. I wouldn’t even say I love women.”
Fine said she didn’t realize she was gay until she was 18 – “a lot later in life than a lot of people” – and found plenty of support within her family.
“The day that I realized that I was gay, I was like, ‘Mom and Dad, I’m gay I think. I like a girl.’ And my parents, my whole family, are the most accepting people in the world,” she recalled.
“There’s not one day that I woke up like, ‘Weird, I’m gay.’ It’s partly due to how I was raised, for sure.”
Fine acknowledged that she has been fortunate.
“There’s not one day where I’ve dealt with discrimination about me being gay,” she said. “And I don’t think it’s because it hasn’t been out there, it’s just literally because I’m not paying attention and I couldn’t care less.”
Woods, her music partner, admitted he thought there would be more attention on Fine’s sexuality when the duo were thrown into the spotlight on The Launch last January.
“People recognize that you’re a real person,” he said. “People don’t care.”
Fine agreed. “We’re two weirdos making music and nobody cares how I look, or about my sexuality.”