Jess Hope Clayton
Digital journalist and content creator for Hansh Dim Sbin
Pronouns: She/Her
Favourite film: Monsters Inc. It was my favourite when I was a kid and I’ve never liked a film more since!
First LGBTQ+ film/one that had a big impact on you: Pride was so impactful for me.
Combining 2 campaigns that are close to my heart, the miners strike and LGBTQ+ activism.
Where you are from originally and where you are living now: I’m originally from the Rhondda Valley, but now I live in Roath which is beautiful, but I do miss the mountains.
Languages spoken: Welsh and English
Favourite restaurant/type of food: Italian food! Pasta is the way to my heart
Three short descriptions of you: Digital Journalist, Content Creator, Shower Singer
It’s a privilege to be a part of the Pink Portraits revisited. Being able to stand alongside such influential members of the LGBTQ+ community is so inspiring to me. Thinking back, a lot of my struggles when coming to terms with my sexuality stemmed from a lack of representation, one of the reasons I am grateful to be a content creator for Hansh Dim Sbin, where I can discuss these underrepresented topics. And when anyone asks why I talk so often about being gay and about the community, it’s because for 19 years I couldn’t, so now I will never stop! So for me, it’s exciting not only hitting the milestone of being a part of an Iris Prize project so early on in my career, but even if for one person, when they walk past a poster of a femme-presenting lesbian woman from the valleys, or any of the other 9 Pink Portraits, they challenge their perception of what gay ‘looks like’ or allows them to help better understand their identity, I’d be over the moon. Diolch yn fawr, mae’n fraint!
Pink Portraits Revisited is produced by the Iris Prize and supported by Cardiff University, University of South Wales and Ffotogallery.