What is LGBT+ History Month?
In 1988 the Conservative Government under Margaret Thatcher passed a piece of legislation that has become known as “Section 28”(In full, it is ‘Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988’). Section 28 forbade schools and councils from “promoting the teaching of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”. Homosexuality might have been legal, but Section 28 signalled to everyone that, in the government’s eyes, it was still something shameful- something to be suffered only so long as it was kept from public view and something that was not to be spoken of. Thatcher herself touted the legislation as a means of protecting the nation’s children from the “moral wrongness” of homosexuality. In practice, it isolated many young LGBTQ+ people from both a sense of understanding themselves and a sense of community and it allowed, even encouraged, bigoted and anti-queer sentiments to flourish. Section 28 was repealed in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 2003 by the Labour Government under Tony Blair (Scotland’s Parliament, established in 1999, had already repealed the act in November 2000).
In 2005, LGBT History Month was established. a declaration to all that, however many closets we may have hidden or been shoved in throughout the ages, our existence – then and now- is uncontrivable fact.
LGBTQ+ People in the Past
It is important to remember that we cannot always know how figures from the past might identify, if they were alive today.
The further back we go, the more unclear such things can become- and not only because evidence is naturally lost to the passage of time. Afterall, “LBGT” (and related versions of the acronym) weren’t popularised until the 1990s.“Gay” only came to mean “homosexual” in the 1970s. The word homosexual wasn’t used until around the late 1800. And of course, the stark reality is that acting on (male) homosexual desire was illegal in parts of the U.K as recently as 1982.
The Sexual Offences Act 1967, passed by Harold Wilson’s government, legalised homosexuality. But it did so in England and Wales only. Homosexuality remained a criminal offence in Scotland until 1980, and in Northern Ireland until 1982. Even taking the earliest possible date, that’s a mere 58 years in which being openly gay or otherwise queer has been legal. Not necessarily safe, not necessarily socially permissible- merely not criminal It’s been less than two centuries since homosexuality ceased to punishable by death in the United Kingdom. In short many people who might, in today’s society, identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community would in their own time
- different understandings of sexuality and, to a lesser extent, gender than we do and,
- risked both social disgrace and criminal charges should evidence of their queerness become public
Still, even where secrecy was paramount for safety there can be traces. There have always been those willing to risk death rather than hide themselves away- and those who possessed enough rank or wealth or both to avoid the worst consequence of openness, at least for a time. There are those in whom, from traces of what is there, or from the shape of what isn’t, we can a see a shadow of kinship: a shade of probably, of arguably, of possibly one of us.
Each year, LGBT+ History Month tries to pull some of the shadows into the spotlight. A theme is selected and figures connected with it from across the UK’s history are chosen to underscore the queer presence intertwined with the subject.
This year’s theme is Activism and Social Change. The people chosen to represent this, from least to most recent, can be found below- as well as some starting points for learning more about their lives, times, or causes.
Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797)
Olaudah Equiano was a significant figure in late Georgian England. Based on some passages in his writings- he talks of particular intimacies with other men, and of struggling consistently with some kind of unspecified sin- Equiano may have been bisexual. As a child, he was abducted into slavery from Esseka (a village in what is now southern Nigeria) and transported to the Colony of Virginia . Equiano was able to gain his freedom in 1766, around the age of twenty-one. He settled in London around 1777 and rapidly became involved in the abolitionist movement. The abolitionists were pushing for the abolition of the Slave Trade; Equiano’s personal experiences were extremely valuable in advancing the cause. He became a prominent figure in London. In 1783, Britain lost the Revolutionary War. Many African Americans, former slaves, had been evacuated from America along with the British troops and many of these were settled in London- but making a new life was difficult. Equiano became heavily involved in aiding London’s growing Black community, becoming something of a leader and a spokesperson.
His memoir, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, was published in 1789. It was a best seller, caused a huge swell of public support for abolition, and was amongst the first examples of a genre now known as Slave Narratives. Equiano also campaigned for democratic reform and was involved with United Irishmen (an association formed to secure representative government in Ireland). In 1792, Equiano married a woman named Susannah Cullen; they had two daughters. Equiano died in 1797.
Resources
“The Classic Slave Narratives”, ed. Henry Louis Gates (Cyncoed Main Shelves 326.924 GAT)
Black Abolitionists in Ireland
Octavia Hill (1838-1912)
In all probability, Octavia Hill was a lesbian. She never married, and for nearly half her life lived with a woman named Harriet Yorke who, on dying herself in 1930, was buried with Hill as a spouse might be. Born into a wealthy Victorian family in Cambridgeshire, Hill was one of the most prominent social reformers of her day, and Co-founder of the National Trust.
With the backing of, and some funding from, John Ruskin (Humanitarian, Aesthete, and Art Critic), Hill- feeling that government efforts were failing the tenants of London’s slums- took on the challenge of finding ways to provide cheap, clean housing for the poorest of society. Insisting on the importance of access to nature, and on the necessity of schooling and activity for children, what started in 1865 with the management of three cottages grew into a network of fifteen separate housing schemes, with Hill responsible for around 3,000 tenants by 1874. In 1877, following a serious bout of illness on Hill’s part, Harriet Yorke moved in with her as her companion. The two women established a cottage outside of London where they could go to get away from Hill’s work.
Resources
“Octavia Hill and the Social Housing Debate: Essays and Letters by Octavia Hill” ed. Robert Whelan (Llandaff Main Shelves 327.172082 DEW)
Octavia Hill, Social Activism, and the Remaking of British Society
Annie Kenney (1979-1953)
Annie Kenney was a leading figure of the Suffragette Movement and may have had affairs with fellow suffragettes Mary Blathwayt, and Christabel Pankhurst.
Kenney was born in Yorkshire and from the age of thirteen was working full time in a cotton mill. As a child, she lost a finger in an accident involve the mill machinery. In spite the need to work curtailing her formal education, Kenney pursued a course of self-study to build upon the basic education she had received. She was also involved in the activities of local trade unions. At the age of twenty-six, she joined the Woman’s Social and Political Union. This led her to meet Christabel Pankhurst, and Christabel’s mother Emmeline- the founder of the Suffragette Movement. Kenney was frequently arrested for militant actions carried out as part of the Suffragette cause and in prison, went on hunger strikes. Women aged thirty or over were granted the right to vote in 1918. In the same year, Kenney married a man named James Taylor. They had one child together.
Resources
“The Suffragette Movement: An Intimate Account of Persons and Ideals”, by Sylvia Pankhurst (Cyncoed Main Shelves 324.623 PAN)
Annie Kenney and the Politics of Class in the Woman’s Social and Political Union
Ivor Cummings (1913-1992)
Ivor Cummings was a gay man, and openly so- even before the decriminalisation of homosexuality. He was worked as a British Civil Servant and was the first black official in the British Colonial Office (the government department responsible for the oversight of many, but not all, overseas territories held by Britain at that time). By 1948, Cummings was the second most senior officer in the Colonial Office’s welfare department. This led to his becoming responsible for organising the welcome, resources, and accommodation that would be needed for African-Caribbean migrants coming over to Britain on the Windrush. In spite of a very limited timeframe and a Parliament with attitudes ranging from apathetic to hostile, Cumming’s tenacity and coordination with multiple other branches of government allowed him to pull off a logistical coup and secure immediate, albeit temporary, accommodation and provisions for the Windrush arrivals. He continued to work closely with that community, helping its’ members to find jobs and more permanent addresses. His work earned him the epithet “Father of the Windrush Generation.”
Resources
“Homecoming: Voices of the Windrush Generation” by Colin Grant (Llandaff Main Shelves 941.004969729 GRA)
Black London: The Imperial Metropolis and Decolonization in the Twentieth Century
Charlie Kiss (1965-2022)
Charlie Kiss was the first trans man to stand for the UK’s Parliament. An activist, trade unionist, and trans pioneer, Kiss was involved with and arrested at anti-nuclear protests at RAF Greenham Common. These were protests against the government’s decision to allow cruise missiles to be stored at the airbase.
Following university, Kiss campaigned against poor working conditions and the culture of racism and sexism present in the Printing Industry- the sector he was working in at the time. In 2015, Charlie stood for election as the Green Party Candidate for Islington South and Finsbury. This marked the first time that a trans man had stood for election to the House of Commons , and though he was not successful, he did net the Green Party their record number of votes in that seat. In the same year, Kiss organised a panel on gender diversity, and discrimination faced by trans, intersex, and non-binary people at the Green Party annual conference. The panel has been credited with encouraging the Green Party to formally adopt trans-inclusive policies.
Resources
“Women for Peace: Banners from Greenham Common” by Charlotte Dew (Llandaff Main Shelves 327.172082 DEW)
Representation and Rights: The Impact of LGBT Legislators in Comparative Perspective