AEW Star Anthony Bowens Talks LGBTQ Representation In Wrestling
In a political climate where far-right extremism is on the rise, LGBTQ individuals have to grapple with their identity and place in a sometimes hostile society. Fortunately, wrestling has some public figures helping to guide the way.
RELATED: Tony Khan Says CM Punk Is "Very Important" To AEWOne of these public figures is none other than former AEW World Tag Team Champion, Anthony Bowens of the Acclaimed. The openly gay athlete recently shared his thoughts regarding his role as a Queer talent on a grand stage.
In an interview with Haley of Nerds & Beyond, Anthony Bowens discussed LGBTQ representation in wrestling. He said that it "hasn't really been done correctly before" and that there's "a delicacy" to crafting good stories.
I think companies should be working towards better. For me, I’d want to present it the right way, considering how things were presented in the past which was presented terribly. So I’m actively trying to figure out what would be a good story to tell; what would be the right way to go. Because, again, if we are going to do it the right way, we’ve got to make sure that we are doing it the right way. It will be under a microscope because people want to see how this goes, how it plays out, how the story’s written. So there’s a delicacy to it too. It hasn’t really been done correctly before. So that’s something that I would like to probably do in the future.
The interview concludes with Anthony speaking about what Pride Month means to him, expressing that celebrating what makes you who you are.
Pride means just being authentically you and embracing it and loving yourself. You know, a lot of times when you’re struggling with yourself or you’re in the closet, or you’re trying to present yourself to the world and you’re scared, your self-confidence drops and yourself image drops. It means breaking and shaking that completely — accepting yourself, loving yourself, and not letting all of that negative energy consume you. It’s about celebrating who you are as an individual.
