Since 2005 LGBT+ History Month has taken place every February, to provide a dedicated space to celebrate the rich and varied history of the LGBTQ+ community and to raise awareness of, and combat, anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice.
This year’s theme - Activism and Social Change - specifically celebrates LGBTQ+ activists throughout history, who have been at the forefront of creating social change to advance society for everyone. Here, Professor Rebecca Jennings, Vice-Dean (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) in the Faculty of Social & Historical Sciences, reflects on this year’s theme:
In his 2007 book, The World We Have Won, British sociologist, former member of the Gay Liberation Front (and UCL History alum), Jeffrey Weeks, argued that in the sixty years between 1945 and 2005, Britain had gone from being one of the most intolerant, oppressive and tightly controlled Western democracies to one of the most liberal, having equalised the age of consent and introduced civil partnerships - and subsequently same-sex marriage. Activism by LGBTIQ+ people has played a key part in precipitating that shift, challenging negative social attitudes toward gender and sexual non-conformity and advocating for equal rights. The Sexual Offences Act 1967, which decriminalised sex in private between consenting homosexual men over the age of 21, came at the end of a decade of lobbying by groups such as the Homosexual Law Reform Society. In the decades after 1970, trans activists such as Mark Rees and the lobby group, Press for Change, utilised the European Court of Human Rights and other legal avenues to obtain legal recognition and rights, including the Gender Recognition Act 2004.
LGBTIQ+ people have also driven social change through activities beyond what we might typically consider to be ’activism’, however. In the 1950s and 1960s, butch lesbians pushed the boundaries of post-war ideas of gender and sexuality when they travelled on the tube or walked down the street dressed in men’s suits and tie, with cropped hair, risking verbal and physical abuse from passersby. Teenagers who came out to their parents as gay in the 1980s pushed back against the homophobic rhetoric of Section 28 and tabloid coverage of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, claiming the right to be themselves. Since the 1970s (and before) LGBTIQ+ parents have changed our understanding of what constitutes ’family’ by seeking access to reproductive technologies, claiming the right to custody of their children and turning up at school parents’ evenings as a same-sex couple. Through the small, but radical, daily act of insisting on the right to exist, LGBTIQ+ people have precipitated considerable social change.
This is, however, as Jeffrey Weeks put it nearly twenty years ago, an ’unfinished revolution.’ There is much still to be done, from advocacy for trans inclusive healthcare to exploring the intersections of racism and homo/bi/transphobia which impact queer and trans people of colour today.
Book recommendations
UCL Library Services are compiling a list of book recommendations from across the UCL community to celebrate LGBT+ History Month. The book(s) you recommend don’t have to follow the national theme - we’re looking for books that celebrate LGBTQ+ life, culture and creativity in all’its beauty and diversity. Nominate your books here !You can also take a look at last year’s LGBT+ History Month book recommendations (on the theme of Medicine #UnderTheScope).
Events
This webpage will be updated with additional events as they are announced, so please do check back! If you are hosting a UCL event for LGBT+ History Month that you’d like to add to this page, get in touch with us.13 January - 27 February: Common Ground by James Berrington, at UCL East
An installation of work by James Berrington invites us to contemplate a single woodland scene, and to consider the role of nature in shaping our mental health, identity and sense of self. Find out more about Common Ground .4 February, 6-8.30pm: The reality of queer homelessness
We are excited to show Stonewall Housing’s powerful documentary exploring homelessness within the queer community through the spotlight of faith and culture. Sign up to attend the screening on Eventbrite.11 February, 1-2pm: Lunch Hour Lecture: ’Cancel culture’ in queer and trans online worlds
Online/open to all. Dr Kata Kyrölä explores what happens when conflict or disagreement arises within queer and transgender communities online. Register for the Lunch Hour Lecture.11 February, 6-8pm: In conversation with James Berrington
An evening of conversation about Common Ground, an installation of work by artist James Berrington at UCL East. James will talk about how nature shaped his art practice, mental health and sense of self. Sign up to attend ’In conversation with James Berrington’ on Eventbrite.12 February, 6-8pm: SCCI Cinema Club presents: Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman
Join us for a very special edition of SCCI Cinema Club for LGBT+ History Month. ’The Watermelon Woman’ is a genre-bending cult classic and the first US feature film directed by an ’out’ Black lesbian. Sign up to attend the screening of Watermelon Woman .13 February, 12-1pm: SHS staff annual LGBTQ+ coffee and chat
Rebecca Jennings, Vice-Dean EDI will be facilitating a conversation as part of our SHS LGBTQ+ celebrations. Bring your lunch, tea and coffee will be provided. Venue: Room B06, Drayton House.UCL’s Staff Equalities networks include networks for LGBTQ+ staff members, including the LGBTQ+ Equality Steering Group.
qUCL - this university-wide initiative brings together UCL staff and students with research and teaching interests in LGBTQ studies, gender and sexuality studies, queer theory and related fields.
"A History of Gaysocs" - a UCL Special Collections blogpost looking at the internal documents shedding light on the history of LGBTQI+ student life at UCL.
UCL LGBTQ+ Implementation Plan
In late 2023, as part of UCL’s commitment to creating an inclusive and nurturing environment for our staff and students, we launched an institutional LGBTQ+ action plan based on extensive work by UCL’s Equality Implementation Group (LEIG). Find out more and read the plan here.- University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT (0) 20 7679 2000
