Jacqueline Wilson thrilled to be viewed as "gay icon” after coming out

Over the years, Jacqueline Wilson has been described in many ways, but one title that still surprises her is “gay icon.” In 2020, the British children’s author revealed she was in a long-term relationship with a woman. Known for her intricate depictions of childhood struggles, Wilson has attracted a new and unexpected audience after sharing her sexuality. “I'm very touched to be thought of as a gay icon, it's an absolute delight,” she tells the BBC. At 78, she doesn't see herself “rampaging around with a rainbow flag, but I highly applaud and approve of anyone who does.”

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According to ‘BBC’, Wilson has recently published her first adult novel, which, among other themes, explores same-sex relationships. ‘Think Again’ is a sequel to the Girls series, following Ellie Allard and her best friends Nadine and Magda as she turns 40. Wilson says the idea “has been on my mind for years and started when my daughter asked me if I ever wonder what happens to my characters when they grow up.” Having authored more than 100 books, Wilson feels now is the right time to pen her first adult novel. “In real time the girls would be hitting 40,” she reflects, “and that's a significant age where you have to make big decisions, and, for some people, life doesn't look like what you dreamt of as a teenager.”

In ‘Think Again’, none of the three women have quite the life they envisioned, and Ellie finds herself in a rut as her milestone birthday approaches. “The girls don't have their happy-ever-after ending but I didn't want to write something that is all grim because there are things in their lives that are great and fun,” Wilson explains. “I just wanted it to be realistic.” She acknowledges that “nowadays many teenagers are quite depressed and anxious, but they also have big ideas and say, ‘I want to be this’ or ‘I’m going to do that’, which is fantastic but this story shows that you need to have a plan B or C.”

The former children's laureate is also using the book to emphasise how “choice is the best thing in modern life.” Ellie, Magda, and Nadine aren't in relationships that might be expected from middle-aged women. “There's not just one path nowadays,” Wilson says. “In my generation, we were told you either get married and have children or have a career, but why can't you do both? Getting married young wasn't a sensible idea for me and women now are more sensible and work out what they want. It's finding it that's the difficult part!”

Wilson’s books have examined a wide range of themes, but only recently has she begun writing about LGBTQ+ issues, with her gay heroine featured in her 2020 novel, ‘Love Frankie’. She notes that she could have included a gay character in her earlier work, but “there would have been far more ‘oh my gosh Jacqueline has written about someone who is gay’ whereas now it's not a big deal.” In ‘Think Again’, Ellie unexpectedly falls in love with a woman, echoing Wilson’s own experience of beginning a relationship with a woman after her divorce.

"I'm aware that people will think there are parallels but that's not the intention, I was just being imaginative when I wrote the book,” she says. She also believes that society shouldn’t view sexuality in such a binary way. "We don't need to just think that everyone is either straight or gay. Of course I'm not suggesting we chop and change all the time, but for my generation it didn’t occur that you could be attracted to all sorts of people, so we've definitely become much more grown up.”

Wilson, who was made a dame in 2008, has never avoided writing about challenging and dark issues. Most of her books, some of which address topics like suicide, mental health, and domestic violence, are aimed at children between the ages of seven and 12. Consequently, her storylines have often been controversial, but Wilson defends them. “People say there is sex and drugs in my books, but there isn’t any,” she says, adding that her stories stem from a desire “to show what life is like for children who are a bit outside the system and feel they don’t belong and are unhappy for some reason.”

She believes these stories “would be comforting for those children, but also help all the other kids understand why these kids might be a little bit difficult or whatever.” While the characters in ‘Think Again’ aren’t influenced by Wilson’s own life, some earlier characters experience similar situations to those she faced as a child. “I didn’t have that happy a life as a child - I was brought up on a council estate and I did used to think that the children in books were nothing like me and my friends. Parents never seemed to have any ugly rows in children’s books, which in my experience, they certainly did.”

Wilson also made a promise to herself as a child to write about these issues if given the chance. “When I was 12 I wrote in a diary that if I ever wrote children’s books I would put all that in because I thought it's very much part of life.”

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