Blog: Their, Her and History
A blog commemorating the final week of LGBTQ+ History Month.
We have had a truly fabulous time this fine February for LGBTQ+ History Month. Despite the ongoing trials and tribulations we face globally and locally, we have made sure our rainbows continue to shine brightly in honouring the LGBTQ+ pioneers of our past. February is a specific month chosen for us to pay extra homage to the amazing and diverse queer history that precedes us, however, our community has proven that ground-breaking queer history happens all year round! Let’s take a whistle stop tour of trailblazing LGBTQ+ history from each month to see just how magnificent we have always been, starting with our upcoming celebrations:
March: Don’t be a drag, be a McQueen
Alexander McQueen was known for unusual patterns, out of the box imagery and unique influences in his creations
On the 17th March 1969, Alexander McQueen was born in 1969 in Lewisham, London. McQueen went on to be of the most influential and famous fashion designers, known for his avant garde, high fashion creations sported by other celebrity icons including Drew Barrymore, SJP, Michelle Obama and, of course, Lady Gaga who performed an emotional tribute to him at the 2010 BRIT awards after his death in February 2010. Sir Peter Blake named McQueen as among his selection of British cultural icons in 2012, and we as a queer community honour him for the magic of his creativity as an openly gay artist.
Harvey Milk’s story was adapted into the box office hit film ‘Milk‘ winning Sean Penn an Oscar for Best Actor for his role playing Milk
April: Stamp of Approval
In 2014, Harvey Milk became the first-ever openly gay elected official to be featured on a US stamp. As a politician and the first-ever openly gay man to be an elected official in California, he grew fame across the globe for his work in pioneering LGBTQ+ equality, for example fighting against and subsequently defeating Prop. 6 (also known as the Briggs Initiative, a failed attempt to ban gay and lesbian people from working in California’s public schools).
May: Pioneer Pilot
Roberta Cowell had a clothing business, a racing car engineering business and was also a Grand Prix racing driver - all of which she was stripped of when she went public with her transition by 1954
Roberta Cowell was a trans woman and World War II veteran who served in the RAF. She was also a prisoner of war captured by German troops for 5 months in 1944. Post-war, she began suffering symptoms of depression and, whilst in treatment with a psychiatrist, began to identify she was a woman. On the 15th May 1951, she became the first trans woman to receive gender confirmation surgery in the UK. Given the nature of this type of surgery during the 50s, the procedure was still regarded as experimental, however thankfully it was a success. Despite her multiple career ventures being halted due to her openly trans identity, she saw great achievement in sharing her story of discrimination and hardship to magazines and in her biography.
June: Strong as Stone
Stormé Delarverie, Marsha P. Johnston and Sylvia Rivera - 3 gender non-conforming drag artists and heroes of Stonewall plus many more. Johnston is know for having thrown a shotglass during the start of the police raid which ignited the initial uprising, now referred to as “the shotglass heard around the world”
On the night of June 28th 1969, there was yet another police raid on the patron of the Stonewall Inn, New York. A regular occurrence at establishments that queer people frequented and, as a result, this evening was the final straw for the LGBTQ+ people dancing and socialising. This caused subsequent spontaneous protests known as The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising/rebellion) from members of the LGBTQ+ community in response to the targeted attacks by the police at this time. Influential people we hear about from these events were Stormé Delarverie, Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P Johnston, and many, more. This reaction to what occurred at Stonewall is also referred to as the spark for the first series of Pride marches, now a global phenomenon with Pride parades held in over 59 countries today.
Since the first UK Pride in London 1972, there are now between 150 - 200 different Pride marches, parades, festivals and/or events across the UK every year - and growing!
July: Stride of Pride
Here in the UK, we are incredibly lucky to be able to participate in Pride marches legally and with some guarantee of safety. The 1st July 1972 saw the UK’s very first official Pride event held in London – this date was chosen as the closest Saturday to the anniversary of the uprising at Stonewall. There were approximately 2000 participants during this event in London and “Pride” has continued to grow across the country, now arranged by several individual organisations and even in rural areas such as the Scottish Highlands and small towns.
August: A Trust, Worthy
The Terrence Higgins Trust has received support and endorsement from celebrities including Stephen Fry and Annie Lennox for their HIV awareness and other sexual health education programmes
After being one of the first people in the UK to die of an AIDS-related illness at the age of 37 in July 1982, Terry Higgins’ partner and friends wanted to honour him and help others affected by the struggles of HIV & AIDS. They created the “Terrance Higgins Trust” naming the trust after Terry, as their aim was that they “hoped to personalise and humanise AIDS in a very public way”. In August 1983, the trust was reborn as a formal organisation with a constitution and a bank account, and they continue to do fantastic education and outreach work.
September: Who Wants to Live Forever?
With family roots in Asia and Africa, as well as a British music and queer legend, Mercury is still an icon for many across the world both for LGBTQ+ people and allies
On the 5th September 1946, the one and only King of ‘Queen’ was born. Freddie Mercury widely regarded even out with the LGBTQ+ community as one of the greatest artists of all time. On stage, his electric performance style is still unmatched, while offstage he was known for his quick-witted one-liners such as “I don't want to go to heaven. Hell is much better. Think of all the interesting people you're going to meet down there!” and “I dress to kill, but tastefully”. Mercury sadly passed away from complications resulting from AIDS after keeping his illness private until the final days before his death. He is one of the many shining stars of the queer community who gave us all the confidence to be our fabulous, flamboyant selves.
The official NCOD logo was designed by gay artist and legendary queer icon Keith Haring
October: I’m Coming Out!
The very First National Coming Out Day is celebrated in America on 11th October 1988. The initial idea was founded by LGBT activists, including psychologist Robert Eichberg and political leader & activist Jean O'Leary. At this time, there was a swell of anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes and rhetoric and they wanted to find a way to combat this without retaliation or negative action. This led to the establishment of National Coming Out Day, a day of commemoration and celebration. October 11th was chosen because it was the one-year anniversary of the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
November: Bride, You May Now Kiss …. the Other Bride
Peter McGraith and David Cabreza were one of the first couples to make their civil partnership legal marriage after the changes in England & Wales in 2014. They had been together for 17 years before finally being able to be husbands ❤️
In November 2004, the Civil Partnership Act 2004 was passed by the Westminster Parliament, coming into effect on the 5th December 2005. and came into effect on December 5th 2005. Under this new Act, same-gender couples could register with a civil partnership and, whilst not the same as a marriage, has almost the same legal rights and obligations. Gay marriage has since been passed in Scotland and the rest of the UK since 2013/14 with this Act in 2004 being the first step towards marital equality.
December: Blood-y Good Job!
GB4B is a Scottish based charity in memory of Patrick Smith - an amazing, proud gay man who regularly gave blood. We interviewed the founder of the charity on our queer Monday night programme “The In/Out Crowd“
Even in recent years, historic change is happening for our community. In December 2020, the government relaxed the rules relating to blood donation for gay and bisexual men in, what was known as, a “landmark change” against anti-gay discrimination. The new criteria focuses on the behaviour of individual people as opposed to the previous blanket ban on any men who had had sex with men in the last three months.
Dick Leitsch (pictured above) and the Mattachine Society also helped challenge other discriminatory policies as well as denial of bar service including plain clothes police activity where officers would dress out of uniform and enter venues attended by gay men. This often tricked gay men into breaking the law by approaching the officers for conversations surrounding romance or sex
January: LGBTQ+ Rights “Matta”
On the 10th January 1953, around 30 people attend the very first meeting of the “Mattachine Society”, which was one of the first LGBTQ+ rights organisations to be born in America. They held regular meetings after this and 3 members even initiated the famous “Sip-In” – using the model of then “Sit Ins” began by the Civil Rights movement, Dick Leitsch and 2 friends went on a mission to various bars only to be denied service in order to prove that there was widespread discrimination against gay people who tried to attend mainstream venues: “The State Liquor Authority denied the discrimination claim, responding that the decision to serve or refrain from serving individuals was up to bartenders. Soon after, the Commission on Human Rights got involved, claiming that homosexuals had the right to be served in bars, and the discriminatory policy by the State Liquor Authority no longer viewed homosexuals as “disorderly.” Afterwards, gay patrons were allowed a freedom that they hadn’t experienced before.”
February: Schools Out … And Proud!
Schools Out UK offer education and training for teachers as well as holding LGBTQ+ History festivals and working with the Scottish Government to bring about change for queer youth
In February 2005, the organisation Schools Out UK initiates the first LGBT+ History Month. This event has been running ever since with the aim of raising awareness of our history, and also address oppression and prejudices against queer people today.
And this is why we celebrate LGBTQ+ freedom here and across the world. We always wish to extend support to our fellow community members where they are not so lucky to have the freedom to be out and proud and hope that our continued efforts for not only tolerance but celebration accelerate queer liberation for all.
For support for any issues relating to what you’ve read from us today, or to find out more about help you can give to someone you know, here are some organisations and charities that can help:
For young people based in Scotland: https://www.lgbtyouth.org.uk/
For 18+ based in Scotland: https://pinksaltire.com/
Counselling service for LGBTQ+ people based in Fife: https://pinksaltire.com/pink-saltire-counselling/
General support for LGBTQ+ mental health across UK: https://mindout.org.uk/
Telephone helpline for LGBTQ+ people who need a voice to talk to: https://switchboard.lgbt/
#TalkItOut