“It took me a long time to accept myself” Daria Kasatkina discusses her heartbreaking struggles in Russia after coming out as gay

Russian No.1 Daria Kasatkina is fighting back at claims made about her sexuality. Kasatkina came out as gay recently at the end of July when she talked about her sexual orientation in a Youtube video with Russian blogger Vitya Kravchenko. Since then, Daria Kasatkina has been extremely vocal about her struggle with coming out and LGBTQ+ rights.

Kasatkina has received much criticism from Russia with people saying that she is being ‘influenced’ by the western communities. The Russian is currently in a relationship with former figure skater Natalia Zabiiako. Recently, she talked with Ksenia Sobchak about growing up in a conservative Russia and what surprised her when she finally came out.

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You start hiding, leading a double life: Daria Kasatkina talks about her struggles before coming out

World No. 9, Kasatkina opened up about conservative claims that were made about her new revelation. She said, “I honestly prepared for the worst. I thought it would be dark, knowing our mentality. But in the end, I was surprised how everything turned out. How cool. Not everything is as bad as I thought.”

Daria Kasatkina further added, “I grew up with no gay boys or lesbian girls around me. Nothing affected me. The maximum that happened was the Tatu group (Russian music group). I don’t think orientation can be promoted at all. It’s either this or that. Nothing influenced me, but I still like girls in the end.”

Kasatkina also discussed how she felt about societal pressures. She commented, “It took me a long time to accept myself because society is pressing. Even if you begin to understand something, you think that it is something wrong. You begin to suppress it yourself, through force to meet with those whom you do not want to meet. It doesn’t make you feel any better, just disgusting. And at some point, you already cease to understand who you are. Not so long ago, I came to the conclusion that I do not care at all.

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