LGBTQ+ History Month 

about // events // icons // lgbtq+ books // societies

About

LGBTQ+ History Month is held annually to celebrate the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community, including lesbian, transgender, and all others along their sexuality and gender journeys. The month not only celebrates but also provides a space for acknowledgment, reflection, and healing from past injustices and a focus on influential movements and figures in queer civil rights.

LGBTQ+ Icons

Just to name a few... Explore our curated LGBTQ+ Icons list. 

Hover over each image to learn more.

 
polaroid

The transgender ex-GI underwent a year and a half of hormone treatment and gender re-assignment surgery back in 1952. When Christine returned from surgery in Denmark it opened up the conversation on gender identity. Christine was the first person to become widely known in the United States for this and used the spotlight to advocate for transgender people.

polaroid

With stigma still surrounding professional athletes coming out, we thought it important to include Great Britain’s most successful female boxer of all time. She is a powerful icon as she’s the first British boxer to defend their Olympic title for 92 years and she is openly bisexual.

polaroid

A sports presenter and broadcaster, Clare Balding is openly gay. She has been praised for her work in sports journalism and has been an advocate for LGBTQ+ visibility in the sports world.

polaroid

Sir Ian McKellen came out during a radio debate discussing the harmful Section 28 in 1988. He then went on to co-found the charity Stonewall in 1989. Ian remains a gay rights activist in the fight against homophobia. Many will know him for his appearances on stage and on screen in films series such as The Lord of the Rings and X-Men. He has been openly gay since 1988.

 
 
 
 
 
 
polaroid

An actor and singer, Billy Porter gained widespread recognition for his role in the TV series "Pose" and for challenging gender norms with his bold and glamorous fashion choices. Porter is a HIV activist following his diagnosis in June 2007.

polaroid

As one of the greatest gay filmmakers of the late 20th century, Derek Jarman was a master of combining activism with art. His filmmaking debut Sebastiane – released in 1976 – was one of the very first British film to depict positive imagery of gay sexuality. But it was his 1986 classic Caravaggio that he is most remembered for. Starring Tilda Swinton is was revolutionary for its time, unashamed of its explicit depictions of same-sex love.

polaroid

Munroe is an English model and activist. She has been a campaigner for transgender and black rights. Munroe has found herself in the headlines time and time again as companies were too frightened to work with someone who was an activist with an opinion. This highlighted how many companies were being tokenistic in their approach to equality and has set a precedent for effective work with activists.

polaroid

Although his early work pre-dates the modern Pride movement, the late Antony Grey was widely regarded as Britain’s first gay rights activist. The former press officer for the British Iron and Steel Federation started
volunteering for the Homosexual Law Reform Society (HLRS) in 1958, which campaigned to change laws that criminalised gay men.

 
 
 
 
 
polaroid

If you have seen the film Pride, you will know all about Mark Ashton and the part he played in forming Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners. The LGSM groups supported the National Union of Mineworkers during the year long strike of 1984-1985. They raised funds to support the miners and in the end the miners’ groups were among the most outspoken allies of the LGBT community in the 1988 campaign against Section 28.

polaroid

During a time where fear of HIV/AIDS was rife and there was a severe lack of education, Princess Diana did something unheard of. She said “HIV does not make people dangerous to know, so you can shake their hands and give them a hug,” and she was pictured
in 1987 shaking hands with an AIDS patient. As the Princess of Wales she was the most famous woman in the world, she opened the first-ever AIDS ward and she educated the world.

polaroid

This American civil right activist is best know for co-founding the international Black Lives Matter movement. She has come out as queer to her family and has been recognised as one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

polaroid

Turing helped the Allies win the second world war by cracking a Nazi code. Due to his sexuality he was chemically castrated. However, Turing was voted to become the new face of the £50 which will come into circulation later on this year. The Alan Turing Law is now the informal term for the law in the United Kingdom on the Policing and Crime Act 2017 that serves as an amnesty law to pardon men who were cautioned or convicted under historical legislations that outlawed homosexual acts. Turing had been convicted of gross indency in 1952 and was only pardoned after he died in 2013.

 
 
 
 
 
polaroid

“Good afternoon, I’m Chris Smith. I’m the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury and I’m gay,” Chris Smith famously said at a rally in Rugby in November 1984. His words made him Britain’s first male Member of Parliament to come out as gay publicly and, as time went on, he used his platform to speak about issues affecting LGBTQ+ people in the UK.

polaroid

LGBT Foundation is a national charity rooted in Greater Manchester’s local community. It aims to help LGBTQ+ people increase their skills, knowledge and self confidence and is the UK’s largest health and community charity for queer people. Recently celebrating the 45th anniversary of its helpline, some of LGBT Foundation’s biggest achievements include providing 3,623 hours of counselling to 505 Talking Therapies clients from 2019-20 alone, giving out millions of free condom and lube sachets, and working with schools to make them safer for LGBTQ+ students.

polaroid

Named after Terry Higgins, one of the first people to die of an AIDS-related illness in the UK, the Terrence Higgins Trust has become the country’s leading HIV and sexual health charity. It has spent the last 40 years supporting those living with HIV/AIDS, amplifying their voices and helping them achieve good sexual health. The charity has led several high profile campaigns to tackle sexual health stigma and put these important issues at the forefront of the government’s agenda.

polaroid

Founded in 1974, Switchboard began as an information and support helpline for LGBTQ+ people. In its first two decades, the helpline was an invaluable source of support for those coming out after the 1967 partial decriminalisation of male homosexuality, as well as one of information during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 80s. Today, Switchboard remains an integral resource for the LGBTQ+ community. A 24 hour safe space available over the phone, email, and online for all people to contact, individuals can discuss a range of subjects.

 
 

 

Events

LGBTQ+ Comedy Night 14 November twenty twenty four LGBTQ+ Society Comedy Night Open Mic with Debate Society as host
14th November 6pm - 9pm
The Deep End
Grab the mic and make us laugh.
Buy Tickets

 

LGBT+ Book Spotlights

This LGBTQ+ History Month Greenwich Students' Union have chosen to highlight these four books, in a bid to educate, acknowledge and reflect on LGBTQ+ history.

See below for more about each book.

For a chance to win a copy of your own click here to complete our survey about your experience with GSU's Liberation activities, and give an oppertunity to shape our work in the future. 

 

 
 

Journal of a Black Queer Nurse Book

Britney Daniels

“Can I have a white nurse?” the patient asked Britney Daniels.
“Sorry ma'am,” Britney replied, “we are fresh out of white nurses.”
Britney Daniels is a Black, masculine-presenting, tattooed lesbian from a working-class background. For the last five years, she has been working as an emergency-room nurse. She began Journal of a Black Queer Nurse as a personal diary, a tool to heal from the day-to-day traumas of seeing too much and caring too much.

buy me here

Transition Denied -Confronting the Crisis in Trans Healthcare

Jane Fae

Trans people in the UK currently face widespread prejudice and discrimination, from how they are
described in the media to the lack of healthcare support they receive. This institutional bias is illustrated by the tragic case of Synestra de Courcy, who died following neglect and rejection from the NHS, leading her to sex work to fund her transition and dangerous self-medication.

buy me here

Where We Go From Here

Lucas Rocha translated by Larissa Helena from Spanish

Ian has just been diagnosed with HIV. Victor, to his great relief, has tested negative.Henrique has been
living with HIV for the past three years. When Victor finds himself getting tested for HIV for the
first time, he can't help but question his entire relationship with Henrique, the guy he has-had been dating. See, Henrique didn't disclose his positive HIV status to Victor until after they had sex, and even though Henrique insisted on using every possible precaution, Victor is livid. That's when Victor meets Ian, a guy who's also getting
tested for HIV. But Ian's test comes back positive, and his world is about to change forever. Though
Victor is loath to think about Henrique, he offers to put the two of them in touch, hoping that perhaps Henrique can help Ian navigate his new life. In the
process, the lives of Ian, Victor, and Henrique will become intertwined in a story of friendship, love, and stigma-a story about hitting what you think is rock bottom, but finding the courage and support to
keep moving forward.Set in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this utterly engrossing debut by Brazilian author Lucas Rocha calls back to Alex Sanchez's Rainbow Boys series, bringing attention to how far we've come with HIV, while shining a harsh light on just how far we have yet to go.

buy me here

Are you this? Or are you this?

Madian Al Jazarah

When Madian Al Jazerah came out to his Arab parents, his mother had one question. ‘Are you this?’ she asked, cupping her hand. ‘Or are you this?’ she motioned with a poking finger. If you’re the poker, she said, you aren’t a homosexual.

For Madian, this opposition reveals not who he is, but patriarchy, power, and society’s efforts to fit us into neat boxes. He is Palestinian, but wasn’t raised in Palestine. He is Kuwaiti-born, but not Kuwaiti. He’s British-educated, but not a Westerner. He’s a Muslim, but can’t embrace the Islam of today. He’s a gay man, out of the closet but still living in the shadows: he has left Jordan, his home, three times in fear of his life.

Madian has searched for acceptance and belonging around the world, joining new communities in San Francisco, New York, Hawaii and Tunisia, yet always finding himself pulled back to Amman.

This frank and moving memoir narrates his battles with adversity, racism and homophobia, and a rich life lived with humour, dignity and grace.

buy me here

borrow me in the library

 

Get Involved Year Round

Discover LGBT+ Societies on your campus and get involved year round.

Click on the images to learn more about both our Greenwich based and Medway based LGBTQ+ societies.