in favour of gay marriage beginning in December 2013. Her blog posts on support for same-sex marriage were widely read and received a mixed response - many LGBT Christians expressed their gratitude and shared their own stories of faith and sexuality, but some of her social media followers expressed disapproval, even 'quite vitriolic and quite personal' criticism. However, in response to the discussions she'd started in the church about sexuality, she received a nomination for the 2014 National Diversity Awards in the category of "Positive Role Model Race, Faith & Religion". (She did not end up on the shortlist for that year.) In August 2014, Beeching announced she is a lesbian. In November 2014, she was awarded third place in The Independent on Sunday'''s 2014 Rainbow List (a feature highlighting influential LGBT persons). As of mid-2015, Beeching is a regular television and radio commentator on issues related to ethics, technology, women, Christianity, music and social media. In June 2018, she published "Undivided", a memoir about her faith and sexuality, with HarperCollins. Beeching also enjoys a large Twitter following (over 50,000 people in August 2014 and over 64,000 as of June 2017). Personal life and education Beeching grew up in Canterbury, where she attended the youth group at St. Mary Bredin Anglican church. She was enrolled in Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School from ages 11 to 18, and in her early teens she found it extremely difficult to reconcile her conservative Christian faith with her attraction to her peers at school. She moved to Oxford in 1997 to attend the University of Oxford, where she obtained a BA in 2000 and an MA in 2001, both in theology. In 2009 she was diagnosed with linear scleroderma morphea, for which she underwent 18 months of chemotherapy. Beeching moved to central London in December 2012. As of February 2013, she was pursuing a PhD in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University, with religion, technology, "online connectivity," and ethics as her topics of focus. In June 2014, Beeching announced that she had changed her PhD focus topic to Christianity and sexuality. Shortly after she announced her sexual orientation, an interviewer wrote that her new PhD focus is specifically Christianity and same-sex marriage, she continues to identify as an Evangelical Christian who is member to the Church of England. Since the publication of her memoir, Beeching has received an onslaught of vitriol