Jane Fonda: ‘Gay men identify with my life story’

Jane Fonda has spoken of her surprise that gay men identified with her life story.

The actress released her memoir, My Life So Far, in 2005, and found that gay men related to what she had to say.

Speaking to Out magazine, she said: “When I wrote my memoir, which I assumed was mostly a woman’s story that would be appreciated by women, what really struck me is how many men – especially gay men – really responded to it.”

She added that gay men relate to the feeling of exclusion that she has often felt over the years.

The 76-year-old – who worked with gay politician Harvey Milk in the 1970s – also said: “I was kind of a straight activist for the gay struggle.”

Fonda recently released a self-help book for teenagers, which included a chapter on sexual identities.

“It was really important to me and I had a lot of gay friends and trans friends edit for me, because after living in Georgia and seeing the tremendous pain – it’s such a homophobic place – and kids who kill themselves, it was very important to me to get it right,” she said.

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