Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit was published in 1985. The author Jeanette Winterson (then only 26 years-old) told a story of love, faith, forgiveness, conflict and courage. It captivated audiences and captivated me.

I read it in 1992. I was 12 years-old and those were the days of Section 28.

There were no books in schools that talked about lesbians but there was a section in Cardiff Library for “gay books” and I would go after school and sit and read.

Oranges blew my mind. It told a rare story of love between women and described the joy and beauty of faith and forgiveness. It reignited my love for the Bible.

But it also showed how faith communities can harm LGBT people. The main protagonist, Jess, is subjected to what we would now call conversion therapy. I am struck now, as I was then, that there is an unequivocal difference between spiritual guidance for LGBT people, and coercive control and abuse delivered in the name of God. As a lesbian, and a Christian, I learnt at a young age how to spot the difference.

Jess goes to Oxford to study English Literature and I don’t think it’s an accident that I did the same. The first in my family to contemplate such a thing, I read everything from Beowulf to Virginia Woolf and loved it. But it’s Winterson who captured and kept my heart all those years ago. And I’ll be forever grateful.