‘Thor: Love and Thunder’s Tessa Thompson on Inspiring LGBTQ Youth
Tessa Thompson, co-star of Thor: Love and Thunder and Emmy nominee, opened up recently about her coming out as bisexual and the feedback she’s received from LGBTQ youth. Thompson describes her feelings, touching so many lives and inspiring other queer folks to live authentically, as “tremendous.”
During an appearance on Variety’s Just for Variety podcast, Thompson opens up about coming out as bisexual herself, encouraging her fans to embrace who they are and to come out to their loved ones.
Her presence as Valkyrie on Thor: Ragnarok as well as Thor: Love and Thunder is more than just a role to her and other members of the LGBTQ community, she says. Thompson serves as a living testament to her own advice; being herself and embracing her sexuality, while simultaneously contributing to a growth in LGBTQ representation in the media, is just as empowering as her words of encouragement.
Thompson provides more insight on her impact as a bisexual public figure in a recent interview with People. The 38-year-old actress says that “There is something powerful about seeing an image of yourself reflected in any way. But we know all too well there are some ways that really just matter because we don’t have enough of it,” referring to a severe imbalance of LGBTQ onscreen representation in the media in past decades.
She comments on how lucky she is to have lived in, and continue to work in, an environment where her fellow costars and teammates encourage her to be her authentic self 100% of the time, acknowledging that most people are not so lucky.
As a media figurehead, she believes that it is her duty to attempt to remedy that with her fans. In an interview with Net-A-Porter, Thompson nods again toward her ability to impact younger members of the LGBTQ community who are unsure about coming out yet:
“I want everyone else to have that freedom and support that I have from my loved ones. But so many people don’t. So, do I have a responsibility to talk about that? Do I have a responsibility to say in a public space that this is my person?”
As a public figure with the ability to touch so many lives offscreen, Thompson is using her success as a way to extend a hand and a hug to those struggling with how their sexuality may be received in their respective environments. Tessa Thompson, along with many others, are pioneers in the world of LGBTQ onscreen representation and further inspiration for LGBTQ youth. More of this, please!
Photo courtesy of Tessa Thompson on Instagram
