Watching Bermuda’s drag queen performer Mark Anderson strut his stuff in heels and sequinned dresses one would assume he was the most confident gay man around.But Mr Anderson, also known as ‘Sybil Barrington’, told The Royal Gazette growing up gay in Bermuda was a heart-wrenching and traumatic experience.He said he first recognised he was gay at the age of nine. Even though he “didn’t fully understand” what it meant, he felt isolated like he was “the only person in the world going through this”.He fully accepted being gay at 14 years old, but said of that time: “I hadn’t come out and fully accepted and dealt with my sexuality.”He said he was grappling with a lot of issues during his teenage years including discovering the identity of his biological father. He also went through a period of physical abuse and was molested by a male figure in that time.“With all this trauma I was going through I still had no one to talk to. At that time I couldn’t even talk to my mother about it or my closest family members because everything at that time was taboo.”He said he had to fight to do the simplest things, like going home from school, because the boys used to pick on him. “I had to walk the long way home just to avoid getting in a fight.”He regrets that he was labelled a troublemaker and wasn’t able to go to his high school of choice growing up. He also regrets that he had no one to talk to.Mr Anderson is hosting Sybil’s Dynamic Female Impersonators event next Friday and Saturday at City Hall. He hopes the event will help people focus on some of the issues that need to be addressed concerning the gay, bisexual and transgender community.He believes the Island needs professional counsellors that can deal with sexual identity issues. “This is something that I came across when I was living in the good old USA and stumbled upon the ‘Gay and Lesbian Community Centre’ in Manhattan.“They had counsellors that could deal with sexual identity issues and counsellors that could deal with the parents of a child to help them understand the lifestyle of their son and daughter.“They have every avenue for a person dealing with sexual identity crisis,” he said.Mr Anderson said he was upset that he wasn’t able to deal with the issue in his own country, but said the counselling helped him to address past hurts.“They got right into [my problems] and were able to pull out everything and that is why I am a strong person today.“I see these children today and they’re very angry, and I am talking about the gay and lesbian children today, and most of them want to talk to me. And I let them know I can’t talk to them all because they are minors and under-age.“This Country would make it seem like I am trying to influence or encourage them to be gay and that is not the case.”He encourages young people to go to the Anglican Church for help. He believes that body is “more loving, caring and understanding towards the gay community and more sympathetic”.He said he is only willing to talk to young people if their parents are present the problem is many parents are not accepting of the gay or lesbian lifestyle.Mr Anderson said he knows of two gay children who are homeless because their parents kicked them out.“Right now we have children that are running away; going to someone else’s country just to be who they are and that is sad.“I am fighting for the community because no one fought for me and I just feel someone has to fight and make a stand.“That is why everything I am doing today is fighting for that little child that is going to be born tomorrow. I am trying to make it easier for them.”