"The way this country embraced me has been pivotal to me as a person."

Marlon Jimenez-Compton is an Advertising Sales and Account Manager with GCN. Originally from Venezuela, he has lived in Dublin for 16 years. He tells Her about coming to Ireland and how life has changed for him since then.

When I was younger, I wanted to change my sexual orientation but after a long process and going to therapy for three years, I ended up changing my mind.

I decided to accept my homosexuality. My therapist and I worked on my self-esteem because I needed to love myself even more and be strong to face the challenges I was going to face for being gay in a society like Venezuela.

Growing up there was quite tough. You feel judged and mocked for being gay and more so if you are a bit effeminate. There was and is an organised gay community but gays are still are very isolated, marginalised and very much on their own.

I arrived in Dublin on 9 June 2003 and it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. The way this country embraced me has been pivotal to me as a person. Ireland is my house and Dublin is my home.

The gay community was a bit smaller than now but it was amazing to me, considering my circumstances back in Venezuela.

Life for gay people has utterly changed since then - and I have hugely benefited from those changes.  I met my partner John Compton in The George 15 years ago. Back then the idea of same-sex couple getting married seemed like an unrealistic dream. Who would have thought that we as a couple one day were going to have a civil partnership? We did that in July 2011 and then when the same-sex marriage referendum passed, we got married in March 2016.

I feel very lucky to live in a country where gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights.

Pride is very important for me. I every year walk the parade and celebrate it in a big way. I celebrate being able to express myself as a gay man and feel liberated. This year’s celebration marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which is a very important milestone in our worldwide community. I love Pride month.

I think we will always need Pride - it is like Christmas time for the queer community. It is the perfect opportunity to take a stand in terms of relevance and commitment. We have a voice which we can use throughout the year and we use it with more power throughout Pride month.

We are now more organised, we have legislations put in place to protect and promote our rights and by all means we should use them but I personally think Pride should remain as a celebration of how far we have come as a community and society.

Photo credit: David Park