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“I WANTED TO NORMALISE GAY,” CARL AUSTIN-BEHAN TALKS OF HIS YEAR AS MANCHESTER’S LORD MAYOR

AS Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Carl Austin-Behan, reaches the end of his reign, we take a look back at his time in office.

 

Following decades of predecessors from all walks of life, Carl had some big (and somewhat straight-laced) shoes to fill upon being sworn in as Lord Mayor back in May 2016.

By stepping into the role of not only the face of Manchester, but the face of the LGBT community, Carl knew from the offset that this was his moment to reinvent the title of Lord Mayor.

I felt as though there were no relatable role models for the local community. There was nobody in the spotlight that was gay and led a normal life. I wanted to normalise gay,

"As soon as I became a councillor I realised that we’d never had any representation from the LGBT community, so I wanted to put myself out there," he explained.

As Manchester's youngest and first ever openly-gay Lord Mayor, Carl took to his role with confidence and pride, never shying away from being a pillar of the city's LGBT community.

Prior to Carl's term in office, there had only ever been one councillor to be outed as a member of the LGBT community. During the eighties, a female candidate resigned from her position as Lord Mayor as she was ridiculed for her sexuality and this certainly lit a fire within Carl's heart.

A couple of people have said to me, ‘why is everything about gays?’, but they don’t understand that we’ve never had this platform before," he said, "this should have happened in the 80s!"

Carl has attended an uncountable number of events across Greater Manchester throughout the past year. With his husband and consort, Simon Austin-Behan, in tow the couple set out to support citizens in many a venture.

I’ve made it more accessible. By talking to people, attending events and communicating with everyone I’ve been able to break down barriers.

It isn’t all posh and ceremonial; I’m here to represent the city.”

By involving himself with the community in every way possible, Carl has broken down the formal conventions of being Lord Mayor. As a true Mancunian, he was able to use his status and power in a way which remained relatable to his public.

As a proud member of the LGBT community, Carl was also able to utilise his spotlight to promote charities which support LGBT people across Manchester.

A poignant cause that Carl has brought to light is the recognition and treatment of people living with HIV and AIDS.

We need to talk about HIV and AIDS like we talk about cancer. I’d like to think that in ten years time that it is just a normal conversation,” he stated.

By actively and passionately supporting charities such as George House Trust, Carl has helped to reduce the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS and promoted sexual health testing amongst the LGBT community.

 

Carl credits his positivity and determination to his history with the armed forces. Carl was dismissed from his role as a firefighter in the Royal Air Force in 1997 due to his sexual orientation as it was not deemed to be 'compatible with service life'.

Although overcoming such a setback would be no mean feat, Carl used his dismissal from the airforce as an opportunity to strive for equality.

It could have easily gone one of two ways, I could have ended up in a really bad place but I turned that negative into a positive,” Carl said.

Despite the past, Carl was quick to confess his love for the armed forces and has since made peace with the British Army, praising them for their first ever march in a LGBT pride parade back in 2003.

 

As the end of Councillor Carl Austin-Behan's term in office as Lord Mayor draws closer, it must be said that he has played a huge role in educating not only citizens of Manchester, but visitors to the city, in the importance of celebrating diversity.

I’ve done some school visits and these kids have never known anything different. They have never lived in a world where it’s illegal to be gay,

"That’s when I realised that these children are going to go away and educate their parents and their grandparents and their brothers and sisters.

Carl's year as the first openly-gay Lord Mayor of Manchester has shown a real progression of LGBT equality across Manchester.

Taking the role of a prestigious pillar of the community and using it to promote diversity and equality has truly been the key to his success.

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