Though February is the shortest month of the year, it’s packed with amazing events, most of which are dedicated to England’s LGBT community.
LGBT History Month is a month-long annual event that celebrates the history and achievements of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. Different countries celebrate it in different months, but in Britain that honour falls on February.
This year England is celebrating the anniversary of the Representation of the People Act, which gave women over 30 the right to vote (men could vote at 21). It received Royal Assent on February 6th 1918. Many of the campaigners were bisexuals and lesbians, two of whom (Ethel Smythe and Emmeline Pankhurst) have enjoyed coverage during other Pride months.
This year’s topic is Geography: Mapping the World, and it celebrates a couple of anniversaries. The first one, the 30th anniversary of the passing of Section 28, which prohibited local authorities from disseminating materials that ‘promoted homosexuality’ in schools, is rather sombre.
Plus, Harvey Milk, the USA’s first out-gay elected councillor was shot 40 years ago on the other side of the Atlantic. But on a rather happier note, the rainbow flag celebrates its 40th birthday, even if its creator, Gilbert Baker couldn’t live to see it, having passed away last year. Lastly, this year marks the 20th anniversary of Sarah Waters’ classic Tipping the Velvet.
Educational charity Schools OUT UK has been a partner of the event since 2016, when it produced their Official Guide to LGBT History Month. It printed 35,000 copies of the publication into every secondary school in the UK, as well as community spaces, charities and businesses.
A similar educational event will be held in Birmingham on Saturday. OUTing the Past will feature an afternoon of talks and presentations on LGBT history, shared by people who have actually lived through those times. Tickets can be found here. For more information about the event, click here. Pair it with the ongoing ‘Coming Out – Sexuality, Gender and Identity’ Arts Council Collection exhibition taking place in the museum for a lovely day of reflection and learning.
A series of Cultural Conversations will take place in London, which will aim to find out what LGBT residents want to see in terms of arts and culture in different boroughs. The first one will take place in Vestry House Museum in London on Saturday, February 24th.
Before the discussion kicks off, there will be two talks. Creator of the Pansy Project, Paul Harfleet will talk about how his project has developed, and Joan Burnett will share her experiences building Liverpool Pride, which grew from a grassroots reaction, to a local hate crime, before becoming a large scale public event that has become part of the city’s cultural calendar.
To register, visit the Eventsbrite page here.
> Borislava Todorova
LGBT History Month
