Keira Knightley Helped Me Realize I Was Queer
Film is integral to so many of our coming out stories.
I was six years old when Pirates of the Caribbean came out. I remember that movie distinctly but not necessarily for the plot (although it is a pretty fun movie). I was immediately enamored by Keira Knightley. I’m not sure if it was her attitude, her accent, the transition from 18th-century dresses to the pirate ensemble, or her acting but I was captivated.
While everyone was gushing over Orlando Bloom, I had my eyes locked on Keira Knightley. Bloom had nothing on Knightley, I barely glanced over to his character on the screen whenever he was sharing time with the beautiful Elizabeth Swann. I remember immediately wanting to re-watch the film and thinking about her character as I fell asleep.
Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann was my first Hollywood crush and although at the time I didn’t critically think about my attraction to her, deep down I instinctively knew it was more than just “oh, she’s a pretty actress.”
Flash forward to high school, I was talking to some queer friends of mine. While I still identified as straight, they were sharing the first time they realized they were queer. Sam shared she first knew when she had a crush on Shego from Kim Possible, everyone jumped in with similar stories…
