Dustin Lance Black has admitted that he thought he’d go to hell if he fell in love with another man when he was younger.

Oscar winning writer Dustin Lance Black has spoken out about the fear he felt as a young gay man about falling in love with another man.
He revealedย that, growing up in a military Mormon household, he feared he would go to hell, get bashed or killed if he fell in love.
He also opened up about theย fear, sadness and suicidal thoughts that he had as a younger man as his church heaped negative messages about homosexuality on him.
ADVERT
Speaking to Huffington Post he said,
CREDIT: Dustin Lance Black / InstagramโI was about 15 years old when I moved to the Bay area. At that point, for eight or nine years, all Iโd had were negative messages from the church about going to hell. From the military environment, itโd been made clear that I was definitely somebody to be excluded and, being from the South, that I would bring shame to my family if any body found out.”
โSo I thought if I fell in love, I would go to hell, bring shame to my family, be bashed or be killed. That removes the possibility of love from someoneโs entire life and replaces it with shame. As a young kid, you start to contemplate solutions for making this living thing shorter, I certainly did, and I know Iโm not alone.
โIf you look to the LGBT organisations, theyโll tell you that LGBT young people are four times more likely to attempt suicide, and nine times more likely if they come from an unaccepting environment.”
โThere were just no hopeful messages.โ
โIโd heard about this guy creating a world where it was possibly to be gay. All of a sudden, I realised Iโd never heard one thing like that in my entire upbringing,โ he remembers.ย
โThat wasnโt an idea that had existed in Texas in the 1980s. Iโd never heard that, Iโd just seen Rock Hudson on a stretcher, with the message that being gay will make you sick like this.โ
ALSO READ: Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black have been together for 3 years! Happy Anniversary guys!
ALSO READ: Dustin Lance Black and Tom Daley are getting married
However Dustin was able to find hope in his situation when he learned more about the historic gay iconic figure, Harvey Milk.
โI was very lucky to hear the story of Harvey Milk, it was life-saving for me. I wanted to share it in case it helped others, but the story of one gay man isnโt going to do it.”
โUntil recently, Hollywood wasnโt there to support a production of easily accessible hero journeys for LGBT people. I think itโs incredibly important for young people who, as they come of age and might start hearing negative messages about who they are, that they also have a history of their forefathers and foremothers that they can draw inspiration from.”
HuffPost UK is turning Loud & Proud. Over the next fortnight, weโll be celebrating how gay culture has influenced and, in turn, been embraced by all fields of entertainment, inspiring cinema-goers, TV audiences, music-lovers and wider society with its wit, creativity and power of expression.