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: Interesting History... Did you Know...  ( 27928 )
Vaughan
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Reborn by her Master like larva to a Butterfly...
« #45 : October 31, 2020, 12:15:31 PM »

Her kisses left something to be desired ... mmm ... the rest of her.
zuzannah
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« #46 : November 09, 2020, 06:39:21 AM »
Did you know that on this day in 1989 East Germany lets the Berlin Wall come down.
JessiCapri
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« #47 : November 12, 2020, 01:13:37 PM »


THE KISSING CASE

On this date, October 28, 1958, two Black boys, 7-year-old James Hanover Thompson, and 9-year-old David "Fuzzy" Simpson, were among a group of children in Monroe, North Carolina, none more than 10, none younger than 6, were playing as young children do without much pattern or apparent direction.  Most of the children were white.

 One of the girls, Sissy Sutton, kissed Hanover on the cheek.  When her mother overheard relaying the day’s events to her sister, she became livid. She called the other white parents, armed herself, gathered some friends, and went out looking for the boys.  She intended to kill them. 
Mrs. Sutton went to Hanover’s home with her posse, not only to kill the boys but to lynch the mothers.  They arrived almost at the same time as six carloads of police -- nearly the entire police force of Monroe.  Fortunately, no one was at home.
 
Later that afternoon, a squad car spotted the two boys pulling a little red wagon filled with pop bottles.  The police jumped from the car, guns drawn, snatched the boys, handcuffed them, and threw them into the car.  One of cops slapped Hanover, the first of many beatings he would endure. 

When they got to the jail, the boys were beaten unmercifully.  They were held without counsel and their mothers were not allowed to see them.
For several nights the mothers were so frightened that they didn’t sleep in their own house.  Gunmen in passing cars fired dozens of shots into the Thompson home.  They killed Hanover’s dog.  Both women were fired from their jobs as housekeepers.  Mrs. Thompson was evicted from her home.  The Klan held daily demonstrations outside of the jail.

On November 4, 1958, six days after taking the boys into custody, local authorities finally held a hearing.  The boys had still not seen their parents, friends, or legal counsel.  At the hearing, the judge found the boys guilty of three charges of assault (kissing) and molestation.  He ordered that the boys be incarcerated in an  adult facility for black prisoners, and told the boys that if they behaved, they might be released at age 21.

The state NAACP director didn’t want anything to do with the 'sex case' as he called it.  Roy Wilkins, of the national NAACP, also declined to get involved.  Eventually, it was the communists, the Socialist Workers’ Party, that came to the rescue.

Joyce Egginton, a reporter for the London News-Chronicle traveled to Monroe, she sneaked into the prison where the boys were held, under the pretense of being a social worker.  She also sneaked in a camera.  On December 15, 1958, a front page picture of Hanover and Fuzzy in the reformatory, along with an article, appeared all over Europe.
 
News organizations in England, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, Spain, all carried the story. The United States Information Agency received more than 12,000 letters expressing outrage at the events.

An international committee was formed in Europe to defend Thompson and Simpson. Huge demonstrations were held in Paris, Rome and Vienna and in Rotterdam against the United States.  The U.S. Embassy in Brussels was stoned. It was an international embarrassment for the U.S. government.

 In February, North Carolina officials asked the boys' mothers to sign a waiver with the assurance that their children would be released. The mothers refused to sign the waiver, which would have required the boys to admit to being guilty of the charges.

Two days later, after the boys had spent three months in detention, the governor pardoned Thompson and Simpson without conditions or explanation. The state and city never apologized to the boys or their families for their treatment.
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« #48 : November 12, 2020, 01:20:30 PM »


Paparazzi surrounds Governor Bill Clinton’s cat in Arkansas, 1992

Meet Socks the cat, the "first pet" of the White House back in the 1990s. This political animal adopted by Governor Bill Clinton was the most popular purry friend in the 1992 presidential race.

As the First Pet, Socks lived the grandeur life. He had his own video game, he was on the children’s version of the White House website, and he anwered mails. Of course, the Republicans were enraged. They questioned how much of the taxpayers' money was being allotted on the person answering letters to children under the guise of a cat.
« : November 12, 2020, 01:54:33 PM JessiCapri »
JessiCapri
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« #49 : November 14, 2020, 10:43:20 PM »


“Since her death in 1979, the woman who discovered what the universe is made of has not so much as received a memorial plaque. Her newspaper obituaries do not mention her greatest discovery. […] Every high school student knows that Isaac Newton discovered gravity, that Charles Darwin discovered evolution, and that Albert Einstein discovered the relativity of time. But when it comes to the composition of our universe, the textbooks simply say that the most abundant atom in the universe is hydrogen. And no one ever wonders how we know.”
— 
Jeremy Knowles, discussing the complete lack of recognition Cecilia Payne gets, even today, for her revolutionary discovery. (via alliterate)

OH WAIT LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT CECILIA PAYNE.

Cecilia Payne’s mother refused to spend money on her college education, so she won a scholarship to Cambridge.

Cecilia Payne completed her studies, but Cambridge wouldn’t give her a degree because she was a woman, so she said to heck with that and moved to the United States to work at Harvard.

Cecilia Payne was the first person ever to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy from Radcliffe College, with what Otto Strauve called “the most brilliant Ph.D. thesis ever written in astronomy.”

Not only did Cecilia Payne discover what the universe is made of, she also discovered what the sun is made of (Henry Norris Russell, a fellow astronomer, is usually given credit for discovering that the sun’s composition is different from the Earth’s, but he came to his conclusions four years later than Payne—after telling her not to publish).

Cecilia Payne is the reason we know basically anything about variable stars (stars whose brightness as seen from earth fluctuates). Literally every other study on variable stars is based on her work.

Cecilia Payne was the first woman to be promoted to full professor from within Harvard, and is often credited with breaking the glass ceiling for women in the Harvard science department and in astronomy, as well as inspiring entire generations of women to take up science.


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« #50 : November 18, 2020, 08:39:52 PM »


“The American fascists are most easily recognized by their deliberate perversion of truth and fact. Their newspapers and propaganda carefully cultivate every fissure of disunity .…They claim to be super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. They demand free enterprise, but are the spokesmen for monopoly and vested interest. Their final objective toward which all their deceit is directed is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection.”

Vice President Henry A. Wallace, April 9, 1944.
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« #51 : November 20, 2020, 06:04:17 PM »


It is also said he ran out of toilet paper.
JessiCapri
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« #52 : November 25, 2020, 09:03:55 PM »


"Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones.

But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal.

A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts, Mead said."

We are at our best when we serve others. Be civilized.

JessiCapri
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« #53 : November 25, 2020, 09:08:04 PM »



The original Gerber baby is 94!
Soniaslut
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« #54 : November 26, 2020, 12:34:51 PM »
On this day  :  1476 – Vlad the Impaler defeats Basarab Laiota with the help of Stephen the Great and Stephen V Báthory and becomes the ruler of Wallachia for the third time.

Vlad III, most commonly known as Vlad the Impaler (Romanian: Vlad Țepeș) or Vlad Dracula (drækjələ; Romanian: Vlad Drăculea 1428/31 – 1476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death. He is often considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian history and a national hero of Romania.

He was the second son of Vlad Dracul, who became the ruler of Wallachia in 1436. Vlad and his younger brother, Radu, were held as hostages in the Ottoman Empire in 1442 to secure their father's loyalty. Vlad's father and eldest brother, Mircea, were murdered after John Hunyadi, regent-governor of Hungary, invaded Wallachia in 1447. Hunyadi installed Vlad's second cousin, Vladislav II, as the new voivode. Hunyadi launched a military campaign against the Ottomans in the autumn of 1448, and Vladislav accompanied him. Vlad broke into Wallachia with Ottoman support in October, but Vladislav returned and Vlad sought refuge in the Ottoman Empire before the end of the year. Vlad went to Moldavia in 1449 or 1450, and later to Hungary.

Relations between Hungary and Vladislav later deteriorated, and in 1456 Vlad invaded Wallachia with Hungarian support. Vladislav died fighting against him. Vlad began a purge among the Wallachian boyars to strengthen his position. He came into conflict with the Transylvanian Saxons, who supported his opponents, Dan and Basarab Laiotă (who were Vladislav's brothers), and Vlad's illegitimate half-brother, Vlad the Monk. Vlad plundered the Saxon villages, taking the captured people to Wallachia where he had them impaled (which inspired his cognomen). Peace was restored in 1460.

The Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed II, ordered Vlad to pay homage to him personally, but Vlad had the Sultan's two envoys captured and impaled. In February 1462, he attacked Ottoman territory, massacring tens of thousands of Turks and Bulgarians. Mehmed launched a campaign against Wallachia to replace Vlad with Vlad's younger brother, Radu. Vlad attempted to capture the sultan at Târgoviște during the night of 16–17 June 1462. The sultan and the main Ottoman army left Wallachia, but more and more Wallachians deserted to Radu. Vlad went to Transylvania to seek assistance from Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, in late 1462, but Corvinus had him imprisoned.

Vlad was held in captivity in Visegrád from 1463 to 1475. During this period, anecdotes about his cruelty started to spread in Germany and Italy. He was released at the request of Stephen III of Moldavia in the summer of 1475. He fought in Corvinus's army against the Ottomans in Bosnia in early 1476. Hungarian and Moldavian troops helped him to force Basarab Laiotă (who had dethroned Vlad's brother, Radu) to flee from Wallachia in November. Basarab returned with Ottoman support before the end of the year. Vlad was killed in battle before 10 January 1477. Books describing Vlad's cruel acts were among the first bestsellers in the German-speaking territories. In Russia, popular stories suggested that Vlad was able to strengthen central government only through applying brutal punishments, and a similar view was adopted by most Romanian historians in the 19th century. Vlad's reputation for cruelty and his patronymic inspired the name of the vampire Count Dracula.

Source : Wikipedia
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« #55 : December 01, 2020, 09:59:43 PM »


Newly discovered rock art in the Colombian Amazon. These elaborate paintings are 12,500 years old and stretch along eight miles of remote cliff face. There are tens of thousands of images. This picture shows an arrangement of images as an organized story, much like an Egyptian hieroglyph and very different from other ancient rock art. Researchers say it will take years, maybe decades to record, photograph, and study it all.
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« #56 : January 18, 2021, 08:18:49 AM »
JessiCapri
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« #57 : February 02, 2021, 07:57:49 PM »
It's that time of year again.

Simple question.... do you know who Frederick McKinley Jones was without Googling the name?

Probably not. Frederick McKinley Jones was an inventor who made major improvements to the refrigeration systems in trucks, that allowed them to haul meat and frozen foods long distances.

Without his nearly two dozen patents, you would not be able to shop at grocery stores today for perishable goods.
He was also a veteran, having served in World War 1 as a mechanic.

Why do I bring this up? Because he is one of hundreds of important black figures in American history, having been born to a white father and a black mother in a time in which it was not legal for them to be together.

His achievements and inventions are still, to this very day, impacting your every day life. And if you are being totally honest with yourself, you likely had zero idea who he was before reading this post.

And THAT is why February is Black History Month. Hundreds of black Americans helped build today's country, and their stories aren't taught in schools. You've never heard of most of them.

Do yourself a favor today, and Google "Important black figures in American history" and learn the stories of Hiram Revels (absolutely fascinating), or Thurgood Marshall Jr., or Collette Colvin, or Jane Bolin... amazing people who accomplished amazing things when the society they lived in had actual laws telling them they were not allowed.

And happy Black History Month.
Soniaslut
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« #58 : February 03, 2021, 05:41:20 PM »
This post has had to be split into 2 parts because of its length

Part One


A little LGBTQ history - a few snippets

The Buggery Act of 1533, passed by Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII, is the first time in law that male homosexuality was targeted for persecution in the UK. Completely outlawing sodomy in Britain – and by extension what would become the entire British Empire – convictions were punishable by death.




It was not until 1861 with the passing of the Offences Against the Person Act, that the death penalty was abolished for acts of sodomy – instead being made punishable by a minimum of 10 years imprisonment.

The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 however, went a step further once again, making any male homosexual act illegal – whether or not a witness was present – meaning that even acts committed in private could be prosecuted. Often a letter expressing terms of affection between two men was all that was required to bring a prosecution. The legislation was so ambiguously worded that it became known as the ‘Blackmailer's Charter’, and in 1895, Oscar Wilde fell victim.








Female homosexuality was never explicitly targeted by any legislation. Although discussed for the first time in Parliament in 1921 with a view to introducing discriminatory legislation (to become the Criminal Law Amendment Bill 1921), this ultimately failed when both the House of Commons and House of Lords rejected it due to the fear a law would draw attention and encourage women to explore homosexuality. It was also assumed that lesbianism occurred in an extremely small pocket of the female population.

In the post-war period, transgender identities started to become visible. In 1946 Michael Dillon published Self: A Study in Endocrinology. The book, which in contemporary terms could be described as an autobiography of the first transgender man to undergo phalloplasty surgery, recounted Dillon’s journey from Laura to Michael, and the surgeries undertaken by pioneering surgeon Sir Harold Gillies. Dillon wrote: ‘Where the mind cannot be made to fit the body, the body should be made to fit, approximately at any rate, to the mind.’

In May 1951 Roberta Cowell, a former World War II Spitfire pilot, became the first transgender women to undergo vaginoplasty surgery in the UK. Cowell continued her career as a racing driver and published her autobiography in 1954.

Meanwhile, a significant rise in arrests and prosecutions of homosexual men were made after World War II. Many were from high rank and held positions within government and national institutions, such as Alan Turing, the cryptographer whose work played a decisive role in the breaking of the Enigma code. This increase in prosecutions called into question the legal system in place for dealing with homosexual acts.

The Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution, better known as the Wolfenden Report, was published in 1957, three years after the committee first met in September 1954. It was commissioned in response to evidence that homosexuality could not legitimately be regarded as a disease and aimed to bring about change in the current law by making recommendations to the Government. Central to the report findings was that the state should focus on protecting the public, rather than scrutinising people’s private lives.





It took 10 years for the Government to implement the Wolfenden Report’s recommendations in the Sexual Offences Act 1967. Backed by the Church of England and the House of Lords, the Sexual Offences Act partially legalised same-sex acts in the UK between men over the age of 21 conducted in private.  Scotland and Northern Ireland followed suit over a decade later, in 1980 and 1981 respectively. The Sexual Offences Act represented a stepping stone towards equality, but there was still a long way to go.

In 1966 The Beaumont Society was set up to provide information and education to the general public, medical and legal professions on ‘transvestism’ and encourage research aimed at a fuller understanding. The organistaion is now the UK’s largest and longest running support group for transgender people and their families.

In the wake of the Stonewall Riots in New York in June 1969 over the treatment of the LGBT community by the police the UK Gay Liberation Front was founded (GLF) in 1970. The GLF fought for the rights of LGBT people, urging them to question the mainstream institutions in UK society which led to their oppression. The GLF protested in solidarity with other oppressed groups and organised the very first Pride march in 1972 which is now an annual event

It took 10 years for the Government to implement the Wolfenden Report’s recommendations in the Sexual Offences Act 1967. Backed by the Church of England and the House of Lords, the Sexual Offences Act partially legalised same-sex acts in the UK between men over the age of 21 conducted in private.  Scotland and Northern Ireland followed suit over a decade later, in 1980 and 1981 respectively. The Sexual Offences Act represented a stepping stone towards equality, but there was still a long way to go.

In 1966 The Beaumont Society was set up to provide information and education to the general public, medical and legal professions on ‘transvestism’ and encourage research aimed at a fuller understanding. The organistaion is now the UK’s largest and longest running support group for transgender people and their families.

In the wake of the Stonewall Riots in New York in June 1969 over the treatment of the LGBT community by the police the UK Gay Liberation Front was founded (GLF) in 1970. The GLF fought for the rights of LGBT people, urging them to question the mainstream institutions in UK society which led to their oppression. The GLF protested in solidarity with other oppressed groups and organised the very first Pride march in 1972 which is now an annual event..



When the GLF disbanded in late 1973 the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE), based in Manchester, led the fight for equality by legal reform. Age of consent equality however, did not come until 2001 in England, Scotland and Wales, and 2009 in Northern Ireland.

The fight for sexual equality however, was far from over. Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, introduced by the Conservative Government under Margaret Thatcher, banned local authorities from ‘promoting homosexuality’ or ‘pretended family relationships’, and prohibited councils from funding educational materials and projects perceived to 'promote homosexuality'. The legislation prevented the discussion of LGBT issues and stopped pupils getting the support they needed. Section 28 was repealed in 2003, and Prime Minister David Cameron apologised for the legislation in 2009.

In 2004 the Civil Partnership Act 2004 allowed same-sex couples to legally enter into binding partnerships, similar to marriage. The subsequent Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013 then went further, allowing same-sex couples in England and Wales to marry; Scotland followed suit with the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014. Northern Ireland enactment the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019, making same-sex marriage legal on 13 January 2020.

The Gender Recognition Act 2004, which came into effect on 4 April 2005, gave trans people full legal recognition of their gender, allowing them to acquire a new birth certificate – although gender options are limited to ‘male’ or ‘female’. Between July and October 2018 the UK Government consulted the public on reforming the Act. As of 1 September 2020 no report from the consultation has been published.

The Equality Act 2010 gave LGBT employees protections from discrimination, harassment and victimisation at work. The legislation brought together existing legislation and added protections for trans workers, solidifying rights granted by the Gender Recognition Act.

The LGBT community continues to fight for equality and social acceptance.


Many thanks for source materials to :
Rob Field, Steven Dryden and The British Library
Soniaslut
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« #59 : February 03, 2021, 05:41:33 PM »
This post has had to be split into 2 parts because of its length


Part Two


A little LGBTQ history - a few snippets



Arena Three: Britain’s first lesbian magazine
In 1958 the Homosexual Law Reform Society (HLRS) was founded in the wake of the Wolfenden Report, published on 4 September 1957. The society launched with a series of high profile advertisements in national newspapers and became a beacon for many socially isolated men and women, who were now able to make contact with each other and start to build communities.
In 1963 Antony Grey, the HLRS’ secretary from 1962 to 1970, was contacted by Esmé Langley, who sought advice about setting up a magazine for lesbians. Through the networks of HLRS, Langley made contact with future contributors Cynthia Reid, Julie Switsur and Patricia Dunckley. The Minorities Research Group (MRG) was formed later that year and its first task was to create the first periodical for lesbians published in Britain.

In spring 1964 the first issue of Arena Three was published, achieving just this. In it, the agenda of the MRG was set out:

"To conduct and to collaborate in research into the homosexual condition, especially as it concerns women; and to disseminate information and items of interest to universities, institutions, social and education workers, writers, poets, editors, employers and, in short, all those genuinely in quest of enlightenment about what has been called 'the misty, unmapped world of feminine homosexuality.'



The majority of subscribers were lesbians, although the periodical was also read by bisexuals, gay men and professionals with an interest in homosexuality. The readership was predominantly middle-class, due to it being advertised in periodicals like the New Statesman, and like many early periodicals for the LGBTQ community at the time, Arena Three was only available via mail order. In December 1964 however, News of the World published an article on Arena Three introducing it to a working-class readership.

Despite this, access to Arena Three was far from easy for many women. Prompted by warnings from the HLRS about the potential legal implications of married women reading the publication, the original founders of Arena Three set in place a requirement for married women to obtain written consent from their husbands as part of their subscription requests.

In the first year, the core members of the MRG wrote much of the content, but as the readership grew, so did its contributors. Clare Barringer led the book review section and Lorna Gulston contributed articles on lesbian history. The letters pages were by far the most popular section, providing a forum where women could make contact with each other around the country – as well as crucially, finding others in their own hometown.

The social function of Arena Three cannot be understated, with demand for meetings and events evident from the very earliest issues. The first meeting took place at the Shakespeare’s Head pub on Carnaby Street, London, in May 1964. These meetings were held monthly and usually began with a discussion or talk, before opening out into a more social affair.

The meetings themselves generated debate about lesbian identities and consensus was often hard to come by. On top of this, the presence of ‘butch’ lesbians at these meetings – who dressed in men’s suits and styled their hair with Brylcreem – made venue owners suspicious as spaces were usually booked for ‘women only’ meetings.

One of the early meetings addressed this issue head on by tabling a motion for discussion: ‘That this house considers the wearing of male attire at MRG meetings is inappropriate’. The vote went against the motion, by 28 to 25, with six abstentions – meaning full 'butch' attire continued to be allowed at MRG meetings. However, a tone was set that ‘butch’ lesbians were not welcome in the MRG community.

The ‘butch’ identity was also evident during this period at the lesbian club The Gateways in Chelsea, London. In its early years Arena Three was critical towards the lesbian bars and clubs of the time, despite many of its founding members being regulars on the scene. Some scholars have suggested that there was a class dimension to the hostility towards butch lesbian identities.

The nature of lesbian identities was regularly discussed in Arena Three. Married lesbians and lesbian mothers were a minority within the readership, but they existed. Their experiences and the issues they faced were explored in several articles which ultimately revolved around questioning the societal and family pressure for women to marry and have children. These articles often generated discussion that would later be magnified by the emergence of the Women’s Liberation Movement in the early 1970s.

Researchers also contacted Arena Three in order to interview and collect information from its readership. These relationships were often problematic however, especially if researchers’ findings conflicted with the views of the MRG.

The rocky relationships also extended to media interactions with the MRG and Arena Three. In 1967 several members of the MRG appeared in the BBC-produced Man Alive series in a programme exploring female homosexuality in light of the Sexual Offences Act passing into law, partially decriminalising homosexuality. However, the MRG was critical of the programme owing to its focus upon participants with a ‘butch’ identity. So while the MRG welcomed discussion in the media, it was often contingent on representations conforming to its own notion of lesbian identity.

The final issue of Arena Three was published in July 1971, owing largely to factions and conflict over administration and finances within the main organising body of the MRG. From the ashes though, a new publication called Sappho was born, with the first issue being published in April 1972. Sappho had a progressive feminist voice which was in keeping with the convergence of the ideas of gay liberation and women’s liberation in the early 1970s.




Sappho would be the dominant means by which a lesbian feminist voice was developed in the UK until its final issue was published in 1981.

The HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s put gay sex under the full spotlight of public debate, inflaming longstanding prejudices and birthing new myths and misconceptions about gay men in particular. For a time, it was reported as a ‘gay plague’.

The public policy response to HIV/AIDS is widely held to be a success. Then-Health Secretary Norman Fowler succeeded in convincing Thatcher’s government to go ahead with an unprecedented health information campaign. In 1986/87, a leaflet drop to every household in the UK along with a remarkably stark TV campaign (featuring the famous John Hurt narrated ‘Tombstone’ ad) formed the world’s first major government-sponsored AIDS awareness drive. The strategy risked stoking fears in its attempt to raise understanding, but ultimately new diagnoses fell by a third and plateaued for the remainder of the century.

Local Government Act 1986 – Section 28

In 1988, Parliament amended the Local Government Act 1986. Section 28 prohibited local authorities from ‘intentionally promoting homosexuality’ or the ‘teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship’. It stayed on the statute books for 15 years and became another rallying point for the LGBTQ movement, with key moments including:

Sir Ian McKellen coming out in a Radio 3 debate on the issue
Three lesbians abseiling into the House of Lords during debate on the ruling
four campaigners invading the BBC studios the day before the section became law, while Sue Lawley read the news.
Clause 28 was eventually repealed in 2003. In 2009, then-Leader of the Conservative Party David Cameron, despite having opposed the 2003 repeal, issued a historic apology for the policy.

The acceleration of legislative changes since the turn of the century makes it tempting to believe in a linear story of irreversible social progress. For the current generation, the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013 might appear as a definitive closing act, without the context of the battle to get there.

And this is why it still matters; why the 2017 year of commemoration – marking 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality – was so essential not just for the LGBTQ community but for anyone concerned for the state of civil rights today. It is why the Pride movement is as important and relevant as it ever has been – offering a reminder, not just of the battles waged and ultimately won, but of the ever-shifting nature of the battleground itself.

The ‘big-ticket’ legislative changes (same-sex adoption, marriage, gender recognition) might have been won, but policy debates are still being fought on inequalities that remain. Regrettably, Northern Ireland still does not have equal marriage.

In July 2017, the UK Supreme Court ruled in favour of John Walker, who sought equal spousal pension rights for his same-sex partner. Walker challenged an exemption in the Equality Act 2010 that allowed firms to exclude same-sex partners from providing pensions prior to the introduction of Civil Partnerships in 2005. Earlier in that same year, the Policing and Crime Act pardoned historic offences of gross indecency (known as the ‘Alan Turing law’) for consensual sexual activity between gay men.

And there remain continuing points of contention in how broader public policy is implemented. For example, guidelines on blood donation have been changed to enable gay men to donate three months after having last had sex, compared with 12 months previously. The Government has also signalled its intention to consult on proposals that would make it easier for transgender people to choose their sex legally, removing the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria and making the transitioning process less bureaucratic. This follows 2017’s first ever national LGBT survey carried out by the Government.

Prime Minister Theresa May acknowledged that ‘when it comes to rights and protections for trans identifying people, there is still a long way to go.’ In areas such as the rights of transgender prisoners, this is literally a matter of life and death, starkly illustrated by two high profile suicide cases in 2015.

John Walker’s successful legal challenge to the UK Government was ultimately made possible by EU equal employment rights. The UK’s decision to leave the EU (and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice) therefore raises the need for vigilance over the ongoing protection of hard-won LGBTQ protections. The newfound influence of the Democratic Unionist Party in determining the balance of UK Parliament is an early indicator of the risks. Many in the LGBTQ community have been appalled by the UK Government’s willingness to enter into a formal agreement with a party that has repeatedly blocked equal marriage in Northern Ireland and which is notorious for expressing anti-LGBTQ sentiment.

The sudden volatility in the United States’ political landscape is a cautionary example. After one of the most remarkable shifts in public opinion in US history – from a 68/27 split against equal marriage in 1994 to a 60/37 split in favour of equal marriage by 2015 – the LGBTQ community suddenly faces a Vice President with links to ‘gay cure’ therapy, a President attempting to ban transgender service in the military, and an Attorney General whose stated position is that anti-LGBTQ discrimination on the grounds of religious freedom is legal under federal law.

Furthermore, the lifetime appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court vacancy tilts the balance of the seven Supreme Court judges in favour of social conservatism. The current experience of the US is a timely reminder for the UK that the victories won over the past 50 years are far from immutable.

Access to public services (and the social impact of growing up LGBTQ)

There is also a very live challenge in ensuring that LGBTQ are able to access the public services they need and are entitled to. That’s often not about addressing active or intended discrimination, but more about ensuring that the lived experiences of LGBTQ people are understood by service providers. According to LGBT Foundation statistics, LGBTQ people are:

- twice as likely to experience suicidal thoughts or attempt suicide
- two to three times more likely to experience depression
- seven times more likely to engage in some form of substance abuse and far more likely to have an eating disorder.

In addition, over half of young gay people have self-harmed (compared to somewhere between 1 in 10 and 1 in 15 for young people generally).

Former Attitude editor Matthew Todd has written eloquently on this:

What’s wrong is not our sexuality, but our experience of growing up in a society that still does not fully accept that people can be anything other than heterosexual and cisgendered (i.e. born into the physical gender you feel you are). It is the damage done to us by growing up strapped inside a cultural straitjacket – a tight-fitting, one-size restraint imposed on us at birth – that leaves no room to grow. It makes no allowances for the fact that, yes, indeed, some people are different and we deserve – and need – to be supported and loved for who we are, too.

Despite the extraordinary advances made since 1967, it is clear the experience of growing up LGBTQ in the UK can still be traumatic and create long-term health and behavioural issues. It is to be hoped that the long-term impact of recent advances will be an improvement in the shocking figures currently reported. But there remains an immediate and pressing set of issues for LGBTQ people in the UK and every aspect of public service provision needs to be sensitive to these.


Many thanks for source materials to :
Rob Field, Steven Dryden and The British Library

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