Entertainment
Dear Baga Chipz: How do I find my tribe of LGBTQ+ friends?-Cydney Yeates-Entertainment – Metro
RuPaul’s Drag Race legend Baga Chipz is on hand to help.
Baga Chipz shot to fame in the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK where she killed us all with her uncanny Margaret Thatcher impression in snatch game.
After finishing the BBC Three competition show in third place, our self-professed ‘queen of the battered sausage’ went on to appear in the first edition of RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs the World.
More recently, Baga has been involved with Debt Free London’s new helpline for the LGBTQI+ community in support of Pride Month, helping callers deal with their debts.
Today, she is taking on the role of Metro.co.uk’s very own LGBTQ+ Agony Aunt – and she’s got some solid advice.
Dear Baga, I have recently come out to my family and friends. While I couldn’t have asked for a better response, I can’t help but feel a little bit lonely. Most of my immediate group of friends are straight and I do struggle to relate to them sometimes. How do I go about finding a group of LGBTQ+ friends? I need to find my tribe!
I know you might feel lonely at the moment because you haven’t found your tribe, but believe me, get out and see the world and you’ll be a scene queen in months!
I found my group of LGBTQ+ friends by asking a close straight friend if they would come out with me in Old Compton Street and Soho. The amount of friends I’ve made on these nights out, oh my God! Some of my best friends I’ve met in boozers, clubs, bars. You haven’t got to drink, you might not like alcohol, but this is where you can meet a lot of gay people. These are our venues and where we socialise, this is where you can meet other likeminded LGBTQ+ people.
Baga has been involved with Debt Free London’s new helpline for the LGBTQI+ community (Picture: Swiss Chocolate Photography)You can still have that relationship with your current friends, you can still go for dinners and be a good friend to them like they’ve been to you, but you’re right, you need likeminded people in your life. You need people who have the same experiences and people who’ve been through the same things as you. Basically, you want to meet your gays and your lesbians and your trans friends.
Most gay guys I know go out with their girlfriends. This is how it starts. I used to go out with my girl mates and the more you go out, you meet people and then you become a familiar face.
Baga shot to fame on the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (Picture: Wire Image)On a night out, you’d be surprised. People will just come up to you. Make conversation, befriend people, follow them on Instagram. You can even make friends online. I’ve got friends that I’ve never even met before. I just sent one of them a message saying I loved their wig.
I would recommend hitting the town and getting online. And, if you’re still lonely, I’ll be your friend too!
Debt Free London have launched their LGBTQIA+ bespoke community hotline: 0800 808 5664. For more information visit: https://debtfree.london/pride
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Metro.co.uk celebrates 50 years of Pride
This year marks 50 years of Pride, so it seems only fitting that Metro.co.uk goes above and beyond in our ongoing LGBTQ+ support, through a wealth of content that not only celebrates all things Pride, but also share stories, take time to reflect and raises awareness for the community this Pride Month.
And we’ve got some great names on board to help us, too. From a list of famous guest editors taking over the site for a week that includes Rob Rinder, Nicola Adams, Peter Tatchell, Kimberly Hart-Simpson, John Whaite, Anna Richardson and Dr Ranj, as well as the likes of Sir Ian McKellen and Drag Race stars The Vivienne, Lawrence Chaney and Tia Kofi offering their insights.
During Pride Month, which runs from 1 – 30 June, Metro.co.uk will also be supporting Kyiv Pride, a Ukrainian charity forced to work harder than ever to protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community during times of conflict, and youth homelessness charity AKT. To find out more about their work, and what you can do to support them, click here.
For Metro.co.uk‘s latest Pride coverage, click here.
