When coming out, homosexuals, especially adolescents, still face many obstacles. A recently published Swiss study proves this showing alarming numbers: the risk of suicide for 16- to 25-year-old bisexual and homosexual men in the middle of their coming out process is two to five times higher than for their heterosexual contemporaries. Pink Apple addresses this issue in a panel, coupled by screenings of historical and recent films on the topic.

Because for a long time films with the (implicit) motto “only a dead homosexual is a good homosexual” has been dominating the cinema screens! When figures displaying same-sex love appeared, they inevitably had to die before the end of the film in order to reinstate social order. Impressive examples of this are films such as “Children’s Hour” (USA 1961) or “Les amitiés particulières” (F 1964). But even if the New Queer Cinema since the Eighties and Nineties has created new role models, and homosexuality has experienced great progress in being accepted in the Western world, suicide remains a serious reality for teenagers, as the study shows.