‘It Isn’t Just About Celebrating’: Brooke Blurton Talks About Embracing LGBTQIA+ Pride

For the sixth year in a row, POPSUGAR is dedicating the month of June to recognising LGBTQIA+ voices, having honest conversations about sexuality and gender, and honouring individuality, through first-person interviews and allyship guidance.The POPSUGAR team is sharing these stories throughout the month, so be sure to find all our pieces here.

Brooke Blurton needs no introduction. She first rose to fame during the Honey Badger’s season of The Bachelor Australia. During that time, the youth worker made headlines after she decided to walk off the show despite being a clear front-runner. However, her quest for love did not end, and shortly after, Blurton appeared on Bachelor In Paradise.

Perhaps what she’s best known for is fronting The Bachelorette Australia in 2021, and being the first openly queer and Indigenous woman to do so. Blurton is a proud Noongar-Yamatji woman born to an Aboriginal-Malaysian mum, her father is English and her grandmother is Noongar.

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Passionate about mental health and advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights, Blurton chatted with POPSUGAR Australia this Pride Month, and spoke about her experience as a queer person and what those outside of the community can do to show their support.

POPSUGAR Australia: What does Pride Month mean to you? 

Brooke Blurton: Pride Month for me isn’t just about celebrating. I see it as, remembering, appreciating, and respecting the work and the people who made this month even possible for us to say ‘celebrate’.

This month was based on years of protests, activism and even lives lost to the battle for the better for our LGBTQIA+ youth to live a better quality of life, and here I am in 2022, able to marry the same sex if I wanted to, celebrate and post about it. 

I feel it’s a huge privilege on its own to say that. I won’t forget the work that has been done and I take these moments as a remembrance and to reflect on how far we have come and how far we still have to go.   

PS: What does it mean to embrace LGBTQIA+ Pride? 

BB: Pride is about being proud and that’s exactly how everyone should feel when embracing who they are and their sexuality. I haven’t always had safe places to express my sexuality and for me to embrace that is being able to create spaces in every walk of life for others to feel comfortable in theirs.

PS: What is an issue the LGBTQIA+ community is facing that many people might not know about? 

BB: I think just a simple underrepresentation on all platforms.  

PS: How can individuals continue to support the LGBTQIA+ all year round? 

BB: Practice allyship every day, listen and learn from LGBTQIA+ voices.  

PS: How are you planning to celebrate Pride this year? 

BB: Just like I do every day — elevating LGBTQIA+ voices and creators. I feel like we shouldn’t dedicate a month to only celebrating Pride. Every day should be Pride.  

PS: Can you speak to your coming out experience and what that was like? 

BB: I actually didn’t have one. I do speak about this is in my book about how I really didn’t have parents to ‘come out’ too. All my friends kind of already knew.  

PS: What advice would you give to someone who might be grappling with their sense of identity and might not know how to discuss this with their friends and family? 

BB: I would just ask: What would you tell your younger self? If you would tell them to love themselves for themselves. Why not say that to yourself now and again.