FROM BULLIED TO BOSS
WOMAN'S OWN|May 02, 2022
These women took their classmates’ taunts and turned them into businesses
ASHLEIGH PAGE.
FROM BULLIED TO BOSS

‘I hid in the closet, now I talk on stage’

Jackie Handy, 49, is an author, TEDx and keynote speaker and inclusive leadership specialist (jackiehandy.com) and lives in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire.

Stepping down from the stage, I took a deep breath. I couldn’t believe I’d done it – I had just told my story in front of hundreds of people.

It was September 2018 and I had delivered a TEDx talk, informing companies how best to be truly inclusive. It was particularly poignant for me because speaking openly about my sexuality was something I never would’ve done growing up.

OFFENSIVE NAMES

It was only when I’d hit puberty that I started to question whether it was boys or girls I fancied. At 15, I told my friends that I was gay and it wasn’t long before the whole school knew about it.

I started to hear offensive names ringing through the corridors, and while I was usually extrovert and chatty, I began to withdraw from my friends and studies.

Then, one day, the constant name calling just got too much and I punched a boy in my class. I was shocked - I’d never hit anyone before.

‘What’s up with you?’ my parents asked me later. They could tell something was clearly wrong.

‘Are you pregnant?’ Dad demanded. I shook my head but I couldn’t answer him. I knew my parents loved me dearly but I didn’t know how to say the words.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 02, 2022 من WOMAN'S OWN.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 02, 2022 من WOMAN'S OWN.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

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