Yorkshire England Lioness star Beth Mead opens up on being a gay footballer – Yorkshire Live
England’s Euro 2022 hero Beth Mead has opened up and her sexuality and dubs her and partner “lesbian Posh and Becks”.
The 27-year-old Arsenal player, from North Yorkshire, rose to fame as one of the Lionesses after helping them secure the Euros crown this year. After seeing her stardom raise, she has expressed how she feels being gay in women’s football and says it is now “more the norm”. Beth loves sharing what she is up to with partner – Dutch teammate Vivianne Miedema – who also plays for Arsenal.
After a busy summer of the Euros, Beth and Vivianne took a break in August and went to Zakinthos, Greece. The pair were seen enjoying evening meals, exploring seaside coves, and even went on quad bikes.
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She even joked in an interview with the Times last month, that her and Miedema were the new Posh and Becks “of the lesbian world” – like ‘posh spice’ Victoria and football legend David Beckham.
(Image: @bethmead_/Instagram)
Mead has previously said the pair are able to keep their professional and private lives separate, and “keep each other grounded”, she told Sky Sports. Fans can’t get enough of Mead and Miedema dubbing them “so cute”, and “beautiful girls”. It is no secret that sport can be a difficult space to share sexuality but Beth says it is becoming “the norm” in the women’s game.
The Arsenal star said she struggled with her sexuality for a long time, but is now confident to open up about the subject. Mean, who is from a village near Whitby, hopes by speaking out she can “bridge that gap” for both men and women, particularly in sport.
In her interview with Sky Sports, she that she wants to make coming out “normal” rather than having to make it a statement. Mead also acknowledged that it’s harder for men to come out as there’s a “difference in culture”. Jake Daniels, who plays for Blackpool FC, became the UK’s first active male professional player to publicly come out as gay since Justin Fashanu in 1990 this year.
(Image: @bethmead_/Instagram)
She said: “Actually, I’ve never physically come out and said I’m gay, I’m with a girl because I’ve not had to. I’m just being me. I’ve put pictures with my partner on social media. To me, I’ve tried to make it the normal rather than make it a statement.”
“Obviously for the men right now, they have to put it out in the media to then see what reaction they get and I get the culture in the men’s game is still very different and it is much, much harder”, she added. “It’s tough.”
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