A Timeline of Lesbian Rights & History UK 1480 - 2020s

1480:
Two Women (Lesbian Lovers?) Buried Together In Etchingham, England

1480 - Brass Memorial of Agnes Oxenbridge and Elizabeth Etchingham: On the floor of the side aisle of The Assumption of Blessing Mary and St. Nicholas Church, in the small village of Etchingham, England, there is a brass memorial from 1480, commemorating two women buried together: Elizabeth Etchingham (died 3 December 1452) and Agnes Oxenbridge (died 4 August 1480). A Latin inscription under Elizabeth Etchingham identifies her as the first-born daughter of Thomas and Margaret Etchingham, died on December 3, 1452. The inscription under Agnes Oxenbridge identifies her as the daughter of Robert Oxenbridge, died August 4, 1480, and asks for God’s mercy upon them. Elizabeth was in her mid-twenties when she died, while Agnes died almost three decades later when she was in her mid-fifties.

Hmmm... could they be lesbians? They defo weren't mother and daughter. When Agnes died, it was abnormal that she be buried not in her own family's Oxenbridge mausoleum but rather with Elizabeth in the Etchingham’s church. Both women must have requested to be buried together and both families must have considerately agreed for it to happen.

In the brass etching:

• Unmarried - They are identically dressed. Elizabeth, on the left, is depicted with loose hair flowing down to her hips while Agnes, on the right, is considerably larger than Elizabeth, and her hair is tightly coifed, but not covered. The difference in height and hair styles most likely reflects their age difference at death. The lack of a head covering on either woman suggests that they were unmarried.
• "Special" relationship - Agnes and Elizabeth appear to be in motion towards each other, with their skirts spread backwards and their bodies angled forward and, they are looking into each other’s eyes. The specially designed brass memorial romantically suggests that the space between them was finally ended by death. Check out Remembering Elizabeth Etchingham and Agnes Oxenbridge by Judith M. Bennett

1586:
First Scottish Sapphic Poem!

1586 - Poem 49, a Sapphic love poem written in Scots, which appears in the Maitland Quarto manuscript (containing 95 poems) is one the earliest known instances of sapphic poetry in Europe, since Sappho herself. Although anonymous, research suggests the Poem 49 was most likely written by Marie Maitland, a daughter of Sir Richard Maitland of Lethington (East Lothian, Scotland).

Though the author of Poem 49 is anonymous the poem is unambiguously written in the voice of a woman and is addressed to another woman: praising the bond between two women in a way that is homoerotic rather than platonic. Check out an in-depth interpretation (and partial translation) of Poem 49. Good luck reading it in Scots!

3e weild me holie at 3our will [Ye govern me wholly at your will] and raviss [ravish] my affectioun...

Poem 49 of the Maitland Quarto Manuscript read by Ashley Douglas.

1649:
Lesbian Tried As A Witch In Scotland

Agnes Mitchell and Maud Galt - in September 1649, Agnes Mitchell, lodged a complaint against her employer, Maud Galt of Kilbarchan (Scotland), at a Kirk Session when she accused her of... "abusing ane of hir servants with ane peis of clay formed lyk the secreit member of ane man". Agnes presented a clay phallus (17th-century sex-toy) as evidence which Maud allegedly used on her. Agnes described multiple instances in which Galt allegedly attempted to rape several servants, and also the servants of her neighbours. Two neighbours testified and several victims also reported "suffering misfortune" from Galt.

The Privy Council abandoned the sexual assault charge and decided to investigate the case under the charge of witchcraft. Historian Julian Goodare, is of the opinion that Galt's case demonstrated that "the shocked authorities found the idea of witchcraft easier to cope with than lesbianism." No further legal action in regards to Maud Galt is recorded and Galt eventually died in 1670.

1682:
A Female Same-sex Marriage Is Annulled

Arabella Hunt and her husband James Howard - on 12 September 1680, Arabella Hunt (a St James's Palace soprano and lutenist) married James Howard at St Marylebone Parish Church. By the end of the first year of marriage Arabella brought a case against her husband at the Consistory Court of London. Arabella sought an annulment from James stating that James was not a... man, but a woman called Amy Poulter (née Gomeldon). Moreover, Arabella claimed her "husband" was an hermaphrodite. James/Amy was examined by five midwives who determined she was a 'perfect woman in all her parts'. And to top of it off, at the time of their marriage, James/Amy was already married to a man called Arthur Poulter, who had only recently died. Eventually the marriage was annulled on 15 December 1682, on the basis that two women could not legally marry each other.

The case received much tabloid press and it is believed Amy Poulter committed suicide soon after. Arabella's fame, however, continued to go from strength to strength as the muse of Henry Purcell and Dr John Blow who wrote operas inspired by her magnificent soprano. Forgive me... I am a bit confused... Arabella never married and it is believed she had affairs with Aphra Behn (an English playwright), Nell Gwyn (an English actress and mistress of Charles II) and numerous women courtiers.

1707:
Lesbian Marriages In Cheshire Church Books?

Apparently there are two unfathomable entries from the marriage register of the parish of Taxal, Cheshire which may indicate two lesbian marriages which was discovered in 2017, in the Cheshire Archives, during a heritage lottery-funded project "From Prejudice to Pride":

• 1707: Hannah Wright and Anne Gaskill - Parish of Prestbury. 4th September 1707.
• 1708: Ane Norton and Alice Pickford - Parish of Prestbury. 3rd June 1708.

1710: Another example of a possible sapphic relationship documented in a religious building is that of Mary Kendall (1677 – 1710) who was buried in the chapel of St John the Baptist in Westminster Abbey, London. Mary Kendall's monument, depicts a kneeling alabaster figure of Mary Kendall with an inscription, written by the Dean of Westminster Francis Atterbury, reads:

" ... that close uion and friendship in which she liv'd with the Lady CATHERINE JONES; and in testimony of which she desir'd that even their ashes, after death, might not be divided: and, therefore, order'd her selfe here to be interr'd where, she knew, that excellent Lady design'd one day to rest, near the grave of her belov'd and religious mother, ELIZABETH, Countess of RANELAGH... "

Lady Catherine Jones (1672 – 1740) was an English philanthropist, who advocated women's rights and education.

1731:
"Female Husbands"

The term "female husband" to describe some one who was born as a woman, but was living as a man and who married another woman, was used in 17th Century.

• 1731: A "female husband" blackmailed - in 1731, Mary East put on masculine clothing, assumed the name of James How, and took on a small public house at Epping with another woman. At the White Horse public house at Poplar, the two women lived together as man and wife for eighteen years. James How established a very good reputation serving on parish offices, and was occasionally a foreman on juries. The secret of James How's real gender was discovered by a woman who had known her in her youth. The couple became the victims of escalating blackmail which became unbearable. James How returned to dressing as a woman and in 1766, Mary courageously prosecuted a blackmailer, William Barwick, for extorting considerable sums of money from her, for concealing her sex. William Barwick was convicted and sentenced to stand four times in a pillory (a wooden framework with holes for the head and hands, in which offenders were formerly imprisoned and exposed to public abuse) and to four years' imprisonment. Though they gave up the White Horse the ladies remained together spending 39 years to together.
• 1829: "Female husband", who successfully lived as a man without facing prosecution for 21 years - James Allen married Abigail (née Naylor) in 1808 at St Giles' Church, Camberwell, London. In January 1829, James was involved in a tragic accident whilst working in a sawpit in Dockhead - a piece of timber fell from the top of the pit and struck James' head, immediately killing him. When James' body was taken to St Thomas' Hospital it was discovered that James had a female anatomy. On identifying his body, his wife Mary said that she had no knowledge of this.

In many instances, the "female husband" was presented as having deceived the bride and was accused of defrauding her, for example:

• 1746: A "female husband" sentenced to whippings and six months imprisonment - quack doctor, Charles Hamilton married Mary Price on 16 July 1746 in Wells, Somerset. For two months, the "happy" couple travelled together, before Mary decided she had been cheated upon into believing Hamilton was a... man - Charles Hamilton was actually... Mary Hamilton.. a woman. Wife Mary reported her husband to the authorities in Glastonbury who was arrested and tried at the summer Quarter Sessions in Taunton, Somerset. According to the local newspaper report, "There was a great Debate for some Time in Court about the Nature of her Crime, and what to call it, but at last it was agreed that she should be charged with fraud." A woman dressing as a man was not illegal but apparently Charles Hamilton had deceitfully undertaken penetrative sex. Hamilton was prosecuted under the Vagrancy Act of 1744, and was sentenced to a whipping (she was publicly whipped in the four market towns of Taunton, Glastonbury, Wells, and Shipton-Mallet) and to six months imprisonment. Under the title The "female husband", Henry Fielding anonymously published a popular fictionalised account of the case.
• 1760: A wife under social pressure brought a case against her "female husband" - going by the name Samuel Bundy, Sarah Paul, married Mary Parlour in Southwark, London, in 1759. Soon after, Samuel quit his job as he had a dispute with her former employer and received financial support from Mary, who even pawned her clothes. Having had experience as a sailor Samuel found work on the Prince Frederick man of war (ship), but ran away from it for fear of his real gender being discovered. Thereafter, he found work on board a merchant ship but ran away from that to return to the Mary, whom he missed. For circa six months Mary patiently waited for the marriage to be consummated as Samuel pretended to suffer from bad distemper. Somehow neighbours caught wind of this and insisted upon "searching" Samuel to which they discovered, to their great surprise, the husband was a female. Under pressure Mary brought a case against Sarah Paul yet still showed love and friendship to Sarah by keeping her company in her confinement in Southwark Bridewell. As Mary did not appear at the trial, the magistrate discharged Sarah but ordered her man's apparel to be burned in his presence, and stipulated that she was never to appear in that character again.
• 1777: A "female husband" sentenced for money fraud - Ann Marrow was found guilty "for going in man's cloaths, and personating a man in marriage, with three different women, ... and defrauding them of their money and effects". Ann was sentenced to three months in prison, and to stand in the pillory at Charing Cross where she was pelted so severely, that she was blinded in both eyes.

A Timeline of Lesbian Rights UK: 19c

1811:
A Scottish Lesbian School Teachers Scandal

The Scottish court case Woods and Pirie vs Dame Cumming Gordon involved two teachers who were accused of having a lesbian relationship by a pupil, which became the inspiration of Lillian Hellman's 1934 play The Children's Hour.

In 1809, Miss Jane Pirie opened a fashionable and respectable girls' school in Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh with her friend and co-founder Miss Marianne Woods (1781–1870). A year later, a 16-year-old pupil, Jane Cumming told her grandmother Lady Helen Cumming Gordon that Pirie and Woods "engaged in irregular sexual practices" and "lewd and indecent behaviour" in... the SAME bed in which Jane Cumming, was supposedly sleeping. The pupil also told her grandmother that such shenanigans between the two women went on regularly both in her bed and in the bed in the next room in which another pupil, Janet Munro, slept. Mortified, Lady Cumming Gordon immediately withdrew her granddaughter from the school and persuaded the other pupils' parents to remove their daughters too. Within 48 hours, Jane and Marianne no longer had any pupils attending their school.

Denying the allegations, in 1811, Jane Pirie and Marianne Woods sued Lady Cumming Gordon for £10,000 at the Court of Sessions in Edinburgh, the highest court in Scotland, for damages, complaining that Lady Cumming Gordon had destroyed their business and damaged their reputations. In court, Jane and Marianne admitted that they often visited each other in bed to discuss the day’s events and to plan future activities for their pupils’ welfare and education and also argued, that they both suffered from rheumatism and would often massage each other's back to explain the... shaking bed. Hmm. Miss Pirie and Miss Woods lost their case - three judges believed they were innocent ­victims of malice - one, Lord Meadowbank, declared sex between women "equally imaginary with witchcraft, sorcery or carnal copulation with the devil". Four judges, however, could not conceive of a young girl concocting such a scandalous story.

Jane and Marianne appealed and on February 26, 1812, won - 4-3. Furious Lady Cumming Gordon then took the case to the House of Lords but the case was dismissed in favour of the teachers and Lady Cumming Gordon was ordered to pay compensation. With much wrangling over the restitution, the ruined school teachers eventually ended up with little more than £1,000 after paying ruinous legal costs. Nor could they escape the scandal which meant the two women could never teach in Edinburgh again. Miss Woods found a part-time teaching job in London while Miss Pirie stayed in Edinburgh and unable to find employment, was left in poverty and poor health.

1827:
One of the first Transgender Passports?

1827 - Mary Shelley (the famous English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel Frankenstein) helped arrange passports for her Scottish writer friend Walter Sholto Douglas (whose pen name David Lyndsay) and his wife Isabella to travel to France. Nothing strange in that? Walter / David was... born Mary Diana Dods. Mary needed some form of paperwork to help establish her new identity as a He.

FYI The British passport first came in to use during the reign of Henry V, in the form of a "safe conduct" document, as a means of helping his subjects prove who they were in foreign lands. The earliest reference to these documents is found in the Safe Conducts Act 1414.

1860:
The First Nursing School In The World - Founded By A ... Lesbian?

Florence Nightingale established The Nightingale School of Nursing in 1860 at St Thomas' Hospital, London - the first nursing school in the world. The School is now part of King's College, London, and known as The Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery. Was Florence Nightingale a Friend of Dorothy? Much speculation! She rebuffed at least four proposals and never married. In a memoir she states, "I have lived and slept in the same beds with English Countesses and Prussian farm women. No woman has excited passions among women more than I have".

1868:
Queer Term: Homosexual

The first known appearance of the word homosexual in print is found in a 1869 German pamphlet by the Austrian-born novelist Karl-Maria Kertbeny, published anonymously, arguing against a Prussian anti-sodomy law. However, a year earlier, on May 6, 1868, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs wrote to Kertbeny, using four new terms he had coined: "Monosexual; Homosexual; Heterosexual; und Heterogenit"

1885:
Sappho's Poems Translated Into English

In 1885, a collection of the poems of Sappho were translated and published in English by Henry Thornton Wharton as Sappho: Memoir, Text, and Selected Renderings. For sure, for male titillation, Henry did not disguise the lesbian undertones of "Ode to Aphrodite".

Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act discussed, in the British House of Commons in the early hours of 7 August 1885, "any act of gross indecency" between men, BUT, significantly did not mention women. It's a myth that Queen Victoria did not to ban lesbianism because she did not believe lesbianism. Sadly, Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act did criminalise "any act of gross indecency" between men. Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 was used to send Oscar Wilde to prison in 1895, for "committing acts of gross indecency with male persons".

1899:
Gay Conversion Therapy

Conversion therapy treatment aims to change a person's sexual orientation or to suppress a person's gender identity. It is based on on a theory that being lesbian, gay, bi or trans is a mental illness that can be "cured". In 1899, Albert von Schrenck-Notzing, a German psychiatrist, bragged at a conference that he had turned a gay man straight through 45 hypnosis sessions and, a few trips to a brothel. This kick-started horrific gay conversion therapy - e.g. electroconvulsive therapy (i.e. sending an electric current through your brain), lobotomies (i.e. brain surgery)... Needless to say, these therapies are UTTERLY unethical and harmful.

National LGBT Survey from 2017 (a National LGBT Survey which was a self-report survey of over 108,000 people who identified as LGBT and lived in the UK):

• 5% of (UK) respondents said they had been offered conversion in an attempt to "cur" them of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) in their lifetime
• a further 2% of (UK) respondents said they had undergone conversion therapy
• 4% of transgender respondents in the UK, said they had undergone conversion therapy, and 8% reported having been offered it

Two awful examples of corrective rape as a means of lesbian conversion therapy:

• 2017: Angela Paterson (19 years old) was a Christian lesbian, who worshipped in an evangelical church, The Lancing Tabernacle Church in West Sussex revealed her Pastor raped her to try to "heal" of her lesbianism.
• 2017: an unnamed British man was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court to serve more than two decades behind bars for raping his teenage daughter "to show why it would be better to have sex with men" after she confided in him that she was gay.

1914:
Gay Lily Parr Scores 108!

Scoring a whopping 108 goals, openly out Lily Parr became a legend in women's football. Lily Parr started playing as a winger for Dick, Kerr's Ladies FC. Dick, Kerr's Ladies FC was a Preston factory team formed in 1914 to boost morale amongst the female staff who had been employed to help produce ammunition for the First World War. Dick, Kerr's Ladies FC were the first women's team to wear shorts, tour the continent and the US, and raised money for charity. In June 2019, Lily Parr became the first UK female footballer commemorated with a statue which is displayed at the National Football Museum in Manchester.

1916:
"There Are No 'Men' Or 'Women' In Urania"

In 1916, a privately published feminist gender studies journal was established called Urania (from the Greek goddess Aphrodite Urania). Urania was edited by Eva Gore-Booth, Irene Clyde, Dorothy Cornish, Esther Roper and Jessey Wade. Urania challenged gender stereotypes and, revolutionary for the time, advocated the abolishment of gender, declaring "There are no 'men' or 'women' in Urania."

The 1916 Easter Rising & lesbian revolutioneers - A network of lesbians living in Dublin, who had met through the suffrage movement participated in the Easter Rising. On Easter Monday 1916, Irish nationalists launched the first armed revolt against British rule in Ireland - the most significant uprising in Ireland since the rebellion of 1798. Between Monday 24 April and Sunday 29 April, 1916, The Easter Rising took place in Dublin, and a few outposts across the country. According to the Dublin Metropolitan Police 1916 Report, the Easter Rising resulted in 429 deaths and 2,582 wounded. Fourteen of the Easter Rising's leaders were executed in May 1916.

The Easter Rising lesbians included:

• Elizabeth O'Farrell - operated as a courier and nurse. She was one of the three last women to leave the Rebel Headquarters (The General Post Office, Dublin) and it was Elizabeth O'Farrell who brought out the white flag of surrender. Elizabeth was the life long partner of Julia Grenan.
• Helena Molony - was one of the Citizen Army soldiers who attacked Dublin Castle. She was the life long partner of doctor Evelyn O'Brien.
• Julia Grenan - operated as a courier and nurse. She was one of the three last women to leave the Headquarters.
• Kathleen Lynn - operated as a chief medical officer. When Sean Connolly, who was in charge of an outpost had been mortally wounded, Kathleen found herself to be the highest ranking officer of the group of 16 men and nine women stationed there and assumed command of the outpost. She was the life long partner of Madeleine ffrench-Mullen.
• Madeleine ffrench-Mullen - worked in a first-aid tent.
• Margaret Skinnider - operated as a scout, message runner (often dressed as a boy) and sniper. She was the life long partner of Nora O'Keeffe (Irish revolutioneer and feminist).

Of the 1,784 people who were arrested by the police in Dublin during the Easter Rising, 76 were females who had short stays in prison. Citizen Army soldier Helena Molony was imprisoned until December 1916.

Airbrushed out of history

Elizabeth O'Farrell who held the white flag of surrender was incredulously airbrushed out of this historical moment. The original photograph of surrender showed Padraig Pearse (one of the leaders of the Easter Rising) surrendering to General Lowe and his son. Only on real close inspection can one see Elizabeth O'Farrell's feet next to Padraig Pearse - this was for sure, an intended frame composition by the photographer. Later Elizabeth O'Farrell's feet were literally airbrushed out of a photograph so it showed only Padraig Pearse surrendering alone. Padraig Pearse was first of the rebels to be executed, on the morning of 3 May 1916.

Based on her involvement in the Easter Rising, in 1925, Margaret Skinnider applied for a wounded pension. Margaret had been shot three times while attempting to burn down houses on Harcourt Street to try to cut off the retreat of British soldiers who had planted a machine-gun post on the roof of the University's Church. Margaret's pension application was turned down - on the grounds of being a woman?

These lesbian ladies became prominent figures in Irish Women's History... Kathleen Lynn and Madeleine ffrench-Mullen, together with many of their female comrades, founded St Ultan's hospital, the first all-female staffed hospital for infants in Ireland.

1918:
"The Cult of the Clitoris" Court Case

In 1918, with a Dutch theatre impresario, J T Grein, Anglo-Canadian dancer Maud Allan intended to reprise her sensational version of Salome (The Vision of Salome) and her "Dance of the Seven Veils", in London. Not only was Oscar's play, Salome, controversial (it had been banned during rehearsals in London due to its depiction of biblical characters which was illegal and deeply contentious), Maud danced topless; her body only covered by intricate jewellery! This time, Maud's performances in London were to be private in order to escape the censorship of the Lord Chamberlain, who had banned all of Oscar Wilde's works in the aftermath of Oscar's trial. To be a private audience member one had to apply to a: Miss Valettea of 9 Duke Street Adelphi W6.

Under the sensational headline, "The Cult of the Clitoris", in his own journal Vigilante, Noel Pemberton-Billing (a British inventor, writer and Member of Parliament) implied that Maud Allan was a lesbian and a member of a "cult" of women who loved women. Moreover, Pemberton-Billing speculated that Maud's private performances of The Vision of Salome would attract a number of high-profile homosexuals, who he claimed were named in a "Black Book". 47,000 British "sexual perverts" were said to be included in this Black Book. Pemberton-Billing believed that some of the audience would be open to being blackmailed by the German government in exchange for the Germans keeping their sexuality secret - WW1 was looming.

Maud commenced criminal proceedings for obscene, criminal and defamatory libel against Noel Pemberton-Billing and the libel case opened at the Old Bailey in May, 1918. On 4th June, 1918, the jury found Pemberton-Billing... not guilty. The "Black Book" has never been found. Check out UK National Archives and spartacus-educational.com

Though Maud (understandably) denied Pemberton-Billing's accusations, she did swing for the girls. It is thought she had a special "friendship" with Margaret Asquith who was married to Herbert Asquith, UK Prime Minister (1908 - 1916). Margaret paid for Maud's apartment overlooking Regent's Park (for twenty years?), until Herbert Asquith's death in 1928. Maud managed to stay on, in the Regent's Park and lived for tens years with Verna Aldrich, her secretary and lover who was twenty years younger than Maud and who... paid the rent!

1922:
First Woman Veterinary Surgeon UK Was ... A Lesbian!

In 1922, lezza Aleen Cust became the first woman MRCVS and first female veterinary surgeon to be recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Aleen Cust initally trained as a nurse at London Hospital. In 1894, she gave up nursing to train as a veterinary surgeon at William Williams' New Veterinary College (now known as the University of Edinburgh’s Veterinary School). She completed her studies, in 1900, and despite finishing top of her class and earning a gold medal for zoology, she was not allowed to sit the RCVS exams.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) maintained that in their regulations, the word "student" implied male student. Consequently, she was unable to gain the RCVS diploma to officially become a veterinary surgeon. Nonetheless, she still pursued a career in the veterinary field. With the passing of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act, in 1919, which stated that women could no longer be barred from any profession, the RCVS were now obliged to consider Aleen's membership. On the 21st December 1922, Aleen Cust finally was awarded her deserved diploma, becoming the first female veterinary surgeon to be recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

1931:
UK's First Lesbian Bar / Club

Though Gateways, club opened in the 1930s as a hetty club in London, during WWII it became lesbian friendly and only became an exclusively lesbian club from 1967 onwards. Clientele would be let in the green door by using a secret code at the door! Only 35ft long, the smokey windowless cellar-like room featured a bar at one end, a jukebox opposite the bar and a fruit-machine by a pillar in the centre. In 1968, the Gateways club became internationally famous when it featured as a backdrop to many scenes in the movie The Killing Of Sister George.

1940:
First Lesbian Character In Mainstream UK Cinemas?

Was movie Rebecca the first movie set in England which featured a lesbian? A housekeeper, who is clearly obsessed by deceased Rebecca, and tries to drive the new wife of her employer into madness?

1956:
Rape Is Defined In Law For The First Time

The Sexual Offences Act of 1956 included offences of Rape which was defined for the first time under specific criteria, such as incest, sex with a girl under 16, no consent, use of drugs, anal sex and "impersonation". The act was amended in 1985 and 2003.

1965:
The First Lesbians Interviewed on British Radio?

On Wednesday 31 March 1965, 12:10, on the This Time Of Day - Lesbianism, BBC Home Service radio programme, reporter Wendy Jones groundbreakingly interviewed two courageous lesbians about their lives. Was it the first Lesbians to be interviewed on British Radio? One lesbian was a psychiatrist living 'underground' and the other, a member of the Minorities Research Group who cohabited openly with her female partner. Both lesbians advocated lesbian rights at a time when their sexual orientation was seen as a "problem" to be "cured". Though the interview lasted only circa 14 minutes it would have have been a wee boost to some lesbians that felt alone. Listen to the interview at the BBC.

The first lesbians interviewed on British TV? ITV's weekly current affairs television programme "This Week - Lesbians", in 1965, attempted to answer the question ... "What is lesbianism? What causes it, "problem of homosexuality"... and can it be cured?"! The lesbians who were interviewed, emphasised the importance of love, rather than sex, in lesbian relationships, that it was a "myth" that lesbians could be recognised at first glance by "tomboy" stereotypes and that they are normal human beings like everyone else. Unlike the previous years "This Week - Homosexuals" (1964) episode, many of the lesbians interviewed showed their faces - probably because female homosexuality was not illegal. Yet those lesbians who showed their faces were still incredibly brave as they would have OUTED themselves and risked subsequent homophobia. Watch an extract of "This Week - Lesbians" on Youtube.

For reference: BBC television was launched in 2nd of November 1936 while ITV (Independent Television), the UK's third channel, first aired on 22 September 1955, at 7.15pm.

1968:
Homosexuality Is Listed As A Mental Disorder

In 1968, the World Health Organisation, listed homosexuality as a mental disorder, at the same time as the second edition of the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was published. This was crucial classification as psychologists and psychiatrists rely primarily on two classification systems and handbooks as their diagnostic and statistical tools – the DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) the primary American manual, while the ICD (International Classification of Diseases) is maintained by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Frank Marcus' play‎ The Killing of Sister George premiered at the Bristol Old Vic on 20 April 1965. The play, The Killing of Sister George, tells the tale of an aging lezza "Sister George" TV actress who lives with her young female lover. Up until 1968, British theatre was at the mercy of censorship. Under the Licensing Act of 1737 and the Theatres Act of 1843 all plays intended for public performance had to be approved and licensed by the Lord Chamberlain's Office, which was a legal requirement. This was to ban anything indecent, offensive or blasphemous being performed in theatres. Theatre censorship was particularly strict on homosexuality and the depiction of gay men and women on stage. It was made into a movie in 1968, but though I have tried re-matches, I just can't watch it.

Britain's first helpline to advise and support parents of LGB children: Parents Enquiry was founded in 1968 by Rose Robertson - a year after Homosexuality was decriminalised in the UK, in 1967, with the passing of the Sexual Offences Act. Parents Enquiry was Britain's first helpline to advise and support parents and their lesbian, gay and bisexual children. Rose Robertson ran this invaluable LGB helpline for three decades, from her Catford home in south-east London. Sweet Rose Robertson was ... S.T.R.A.I.G.H.T, straight! Yet Rose Robertson was compassionate.

In 1941, courageous Rose enlisted in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) - a British underground army that waged a secret war of espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in Nazis occupied Europe and Asia. During her wartime service, in France, she was billeted with two brave young male French Resistance agents. By accident she stumbled upon their gay relationship upon which, the gay lovers eventually revealed stories of awful family prejudice and rejection. Rose was shocked and genuinely saddened that parents could be so heartless towards their gay children. Back in London, in 1965, Rose took in two young male lodgers who she quickly sussed were lovers. Hearing that they had also suffered parent's homophobic attitudes, wishing to help, Rose was inspired to set up Parents Enquiry. Find out more about fabulous Rose Robertson.

1970s:
A Lesbian Community In Wales?

Inspired by a visit to the Oregon Women's Lands in the US, a group of British women founded a similar women's community near Lampeter in Wales. Not much in information is out there about it but one assumes it was a collective sisterhood. When I retire, if I've won the lottery I would set up a fun community in the sun for... old queers!

1971:
Anti-Permissive Society Rallies

The Permissive society in the UK - The GLF (Gay Liberation Front)interrupted The Nationwide Festival of Light with a series of demonstrations which included drag queens disrupting their rally at Westminster Central Hall on September 9th. Bravo to the drag queens for releasing mice into the audience and sounding horns. The GLF protest was funded by Monty Python's Graham Chapman! The short-lived Nationwide Festival of Light was held by British Christians who were concerned about the permissive society in the UK and in particular, homosexuality and out of wedlock sexual fun. It was supported by Cliff Richard, TV campaigner Mary Whitehouse, author Malcolm Muggeridge, Lord Longford and Bishop Trevor Huddleston. On the night of 23 September, 1971, bonfires and torches were lit on hilltops across Britain. On Septem­ber 25, 1971 tens of thousands of Christians met together on London's Trafalgar Square for the largest ever open-air gathering of Christians in British history. Cliff Richard later performed with Dana (winner of the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest with "All Kinds of Everything") at the Hyde Park rally.

Lesbian invasion - demanding recognition, lesbians invaded the platform of the 1971 Women's Liberation Conference in Skegness.

The Nullity of Marriage Act 1971 - was passed and defined valid reasons for annulment according to British law, which included and explicitly banned same-sex marriages between same-sex couples in England and Wales.

"The Important Thing is Love" (1971) - ITV produced a 50 min documentary on lesbians titled "The Important Thing is Love" in which eight brave lesbians discussed their lives, experiences and struggles with everyday homophobia ... and also discussed resources for lesbians such as the magazine Arena Three. At the end of the documentary, ITV provided lesbians with a support phone number for the Albany Trust which helped some lesbians seek advice. To illustrate how brave these interviewees were ... the next day after the documentary was aired, one of the interviewers was promptly sacked from her job and her landlord sent her a letter to vacate her flat. She, however, was a huge hit on the gay scene! Watch "The Important Thing is Love" on BFI player and read more about "The Important Thing is Love".

1974:
First Lesbian Leading Characters on British TV

BBC 2's Play Of The Week Girl featured the UK's first television lesbian leading characters and a lesbian kiss - 20 years before The Brookside Kiss! Before Girl was transmitted the controller of BBC2 gave a special warning announcement. Trumpet accolade & pull the party poppers!

LGBT+ telephone helpline launches:

• 3 March 1974: Edinburgh Befrienders (renamed Edinburgh Gay and Lesbian Switchboard). By 1984, the Switchboard had become the first LGBT+ charitable trust in Scotland and with some Women's charities who provided funding, a separate women-only line was added to the switchboard.
• 4 March 1974: London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard (renamed Switchboard (UK)). In 2020, Switchboard undertook 18,000 conversations through their phone and online service.

The Gay Teachers Association was formed in 1974. It later became Schools OUT UK which is now an education charity whose goal is to make schools and educational institutions safe spaces for LGBT communities as teachers, lecturers and trainers; as pupils and students; as parents; as teaching and learning support staff; as site-officers, catering and cleaning staff; and as headteachers, managers and governors.

Maureen Colquhoun came out as the first openly Lesbian MP. When elected as a Labour MP for Northampton North she was married in a heterosexual marriage. She left her husband for the publisher of Sappho magazine, Babs (Barbara) Todd who became her life long partner. After coming out, her party refused to support her. In September 1977, members of her constituency party's General Management Committee voted by 23 votes to 18, with one abstention, to deselect her citing her "obsession with trivialities such as women's rights". The local party chairman Norman Ashby said: "She was elected as a working wife and mother ... this business has blackened her image irredeemably" to which she replied in an article for Gay News in October 1977, "My sexuality has nothing whatever to do with my ability to do my job as an MP".

Her supporters appealed to the National Executive Committee, who agreed that Colquhoun had been unfairly dismissed owing to her sexual orientation and the vote by her constituency party was overruled in January 1978. Incredulously the Vice-Chair of the General Management Committee said he thought that many members were unwilling to work for her re-election. At the 1979 general election, she lost her seat to the Conservative Antony Marlow on an 8% swing. After losing her parliamentary seat, Maureen was elected as a Hackney councillor for Wenlock in Shoreditch and served from 1982 to 1990.

1977:
First Gay And Lesbian Trades Union Congress, UK?

The first gay lesbian Trades Union Congress (TUC) conference took place to discuss workplace rights for Gays and Lesbians?

1979:
First Gay Book Shop, UK

Gay's The Word is the UK's oldest LGBT bookshop which was established in January 1979 by a group of gay socialists as a community space where all profits were funnelled back into the business. I am such a cowardly muppet! For three years I walked past by it to get to my Uni halls of residence in Cartwright Gardens and was not brave enough to go in to it!

Supporting the community: Throughout the years Gay's the Word has has hosted many readings, signings and talks by well-known and emerging writers, biographers and historians including Stella Duffy, Armistead Maupin... As depicted in the uplifting and wonderful movie "Pride" Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners used to meet at the bookshop and collect money for the striking miners in 1984/85.

Censorship: In 1984, Customs and Excise, assumed the shop to be a porn store rather than a serious bookstore, mounted a large-scale raid and seized thousands of pounds' worth of stock. Works by Tennessee Williams, Gore Vidal, Christopher Isherwood and Jean Genet as well as the Joy of Gay Sex and Joy of Lesbian Sex were among the books seized. Directors were eventually charged with conspiracy to import indecent books under the Customs Consolidation Act 1876. Unlike the situation with the Obscene Publications Act, which governs literature published in the UK, the Customs Consolidation Act 1876 does not provide for a literary or artistic defence of titles. A campaign was set in motion and the charges were vigorously defended. A defence fund was set up and raised over £55,000 from the public. Many well-known writers also gave their support and Gore Vidal donated £3,000. Newspaper articles appeared, various MPs visited the shop and questions were asked in the House of Commons. The charges were eventually dropped in 1986.

Homophobic attacks: Throughout the decades Gay's the Word has been subjected to numerous homophobic attacks with break-ins, ransacking, robbery, windows being broken and nasty graffiti. Incredulously as recently as the 9th February 2020, Gay's the Word was broken into. Two burglars ransacked the bookshop, stole change from a charity collection tin and even more absurd... were arrested inside the store while drinking a bottle of prosecco.

In Scotland the first LGBT book shop, Lavender Menace opened in 1982, in Edinburgh. Surprisingly Wales first queer book shop opened in 2021, Paned o Gê in Cardiff. Surely this can't be right? Ireland still does not have a bricks and mortar LGBT book shop but The Outhouse LGBT Centre, in Dublin houses a LGBT library of almost 4,000 titles, both international and Irish books.

ITV's "World in Action - Gay Pride 1979", broadcasted on 2nd July 1979. 10,000 marched from Charing Cross to Hyde Park. Watch on Youtube.

1981:
AIDS + The First Lesbian Strength March, UK

AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) - on June 5, 1981, unusual symptoms of a "new pneumonia" were first reported (not yet named as AIDS) named as a GAY in the "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" (MMWR): Pneumocystis Pneumonia" (USA) - heroically, by Dr. Michael Gottlieb, Dr. Wayne Shandera, and their colleagues, who described cases of a rare lung infection in five young, previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles whose immune systems were also weakened / no longer working. By the time the report was published, sadly, two patients had already died while the other three, died soon after.

On the same day - June 5, 1981, Dr. Alvin Friedman-Kien audaciously called the The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) to report a cluster of cases of a rare and unusually aggressive cancer among gay men in New York and California who also had weakened immune systems. See HIV Gov timeline. Also watch a respectful documentary Killing Patient Zero

• 12 December 1981 - the first death from AIDS in the UK was sadly documented - a 49-year-old gay man (a frequent visitor to the US) who died in Brompton Hospital due to an Aids-related illness. Respect this patient's name is not in the public domain - these were truly awful times when despicable homophobia was not only outside but, also possibly inside homes. My heart goes out to him and I would give him the warmest hug :(
• HIV/AIDS - outrageously, was condemned in the media and on the street, as "the Gay Plague". Utterly FALSE, FALSE, FALSE! Straight men and women can contract HIV TOO. AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is the late stage of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection that occurs when the body's immune system is badly damaged because of the HIV virus. HIV can be transmitted via the exchange of a variety of body fluids from gay or STRAIGHT people living with HIV: such as via blood (including sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment), breast milk, semen and vaginal secretions. According to the The World Health Organization, PEOPLE CAN'T become infected through ordinary day-to-day contact such as: kissing, hugging, shaking hands (Diana, Princess of Wales - you will always be legendary for shaking hands with AIDS patients and, of course, so much more), or sharing personal objects, food or water. See The World Health Organization
• AIDS: Don't Die of Ignorance UK public health campaign - In the 1980s, I was v young and still going out with boys (only to 1st base :) as I was still hugely confused and had no one to confide in :(. The AIDS: Don't Die of Ignorance public health campaign, beginning in 1986, scared me witless, particularly the TV public health campaign AIDS: Monolith (1987) which I watched with my parents but couldn't discuss with them nor my school friends. Since I finally came out to myself, GAY boy friends have always been my best friends / wing men. Like a sister, I have always worried for them. Sadly, one of my slick gay boy friends contracted HIV but with developing meds - thankfully he is still living with it, due to advancements in medicine. I'm wary, however, that AID meds have been withheld due to profit considerations?.
• Lesbian Support - bravo to the unsung lesbians who devoted years of their lives to AIDs support and campaigns which they could have ignored (it was so falsely reported as a GAY BOY epidemic and, the GAY community had been sexist). It is possible, AIDs brought a better allegiance across genders as AIDS was seen as a "community" issue.
• 1987, ACT UP - ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) is an international organisation founded in the United States by Larry Kramer, Didier Lestrade and Vito Russo, in 1987 to work to end the AIDS pandemic.
• 1988, 1 December, World AIDS Day - Since 1988, on the 1 December, communities across the world stand together on World AIDS Day to show strength and solidarity against HIV stigma and to remember lives lost (RIP). I wear proud, my red ribbon and support my mega fab, gay boy friends.
• Stats - As one can accept stats are scarce and questionable (as we have to rely not only on global collaboration but also government's country reporting), as a rough benchmark:
  • HIV epidemic (1981 -2022), since the beginning of the HIV epidemic it has been reported that circa 85.6 million people have been infected with the HIV virus and about circa 40.4 million people have died of HIV. At the end of 2022, globally, circa 39.0 million people were living with HIV - Source: The World Health Organization. HIV still feels an unjustly stigmistised "Gay Plague". Stay safe.
  • Spanish Flu (1918 to 1919); circa 500 million people / one-third of the global population at the time, fell ill with Spanish Flu of which at least 50 million died of Spanish Flu - Source: pfizer.com. FYI Spanish Flu - my respected ancestor, Kurt Baingo who was born in Tarnowitz, Silesia, Prussia who worked as a butcher in Berlin in 1913 and emigrated to USA in 1914 (at the start of WWI) and died in a lonely, isolated small farm in Dawson County, Montana, USA of Spanish Flu aged 29, in 1918, December 13)
  • Covid deaths since 2020 - 2023: 6,985,278 worldwide deaths? Source: The World Health Organization. We were there, enough said :(

The first Lesbian Strength march took place in London on Saturday, 27th June 1981 leaving from Victoria to ? There were about 50 brave marchers including representatives from CHE (Campaign for Homosexual Equality), Sappho (Magazine) and members of Lesbian Line (a phone service for Lesbians). The marches were women-only and usually held the weekend before the Lesbian and Gay Pride march. The last London Lesbian Strength march was in 1988 when they marched to the London Lesbian & Gay Centre in Farringdon.

The Gay Black Group was the first Black Gay and Lesbian Group in the UK which was formed in 1981 and who used to regularly meet in Gay's The Word Bookshop. In 1982 the Gay Black Group requested funding from the GLC (The Greater London Council) to establish a centre which would provide advice and counselling, a helpline, a library and other resources for the Black LGBT community. In 1985 The Black Lesbian and Gay Centre (BLGC) opened in Haringey. When, the GLC was abolished in 1986 funding for the Centre became reliant on donations and membership and eventually the BLGC closed in the 1990s. In 1990 the Black Lesbian and Gay Centre organised the first International Gay and Lesbian People of Colour Conference (IGLPCC) held outside of the US.

1983:
First Lesbian Kiss Shown In Mainstream UK Cinemas?

Did Tony Scott's slick 1983 flick The Hunger feature the first lesbian kiss, between lush Catherine Deneuve & Susan Sarandon, on mainstream cinema screens? Regardless that the kiss was between two hetty actresses - it was legendary.

In 1983, Channel 4 launched One in Five, a weekly programme for the gay and lesbian community which was set in London's Heaven nightclub. The magazine-style show explored the problems facing queer people in Britain, and how to challenge them. Some Tory MPs were so outraged they called for Channel 4 to be scrapped!

1985:
LesPop

LesPop (The Lesbians and Policing Project) was an innovative project developed by the Gay London Police Monitoring Group (GALOP), in 1985, to offer lesbians legal advice in instances of police abuse and gathering evidence of ill-treatment. Based in London LesPop offered phone-line services, workshops and advice focussed on how to deal with police raids, tactics for demonstrations, legal advice, and later, information on Section 28. LesPop also sought to research treatment of Lesbians by the police by working with lesbians in London. Sadly it was debanded in 1990.

Breaking the Silence, aired in 1985, was a ground-breaking Channel 4 documentary directed by Melanie Chait which raised the issues facing lesbian mothers in the UK. Watch an extract of Breaking the Silence on Youtube.

Lesbian Lonely hearts "Academic femme, 25, non-scene, seeks similar" - unlike City Limits, Time Out and later the Guardian, in the 1980s, Spare Rib was one of the first UK and only publications to feature personal ads / lonely hearts ads for lesbians and bisexual women seeking romance or friendships with women run by women for women only. An aside, apparently the first hetty lonely hearts appeared in 1695 in a popular magazine called A Collection For Improvement Of Husbandry and Trade; it was placed by a "Gentleman about 30 Years of Age, that says he had a Very Good Estate" who sought "Good Young Gentle- woman that has a Fortune of 3,000 pounds or thereabouts". Thank goodness for the invention of the world wide web, but to the detriment of old skool clicking in bars and clubs or being introduced to dishy friend of a friend.

• Lesbian online chatrooms - holy moly I cant remember the gay web site which I tried using in the late 1990s, but I remember it was a primarily a boystown website and being scared Mummy would come into my room, unannounced.
• Lesbian online dating sites - as publications went online so did their lonely hearts such as the Guardian. Match.com launched in 1995 was the first straight online dating site which enticed by the pink pound like others opened lesbian and gay dating. Then came the likes of pink sofa...
• Gay online matchmakers - I was shocked by bloomandcadogan.com fees
• Lesbian Meetups - Meetup was launched in 2002 and personally I think, if one is brave enough to go along, a sweet way of meeting like minded groovers.
• Lesbian dating apps - and then came blink-of-an-eye swiping :( Her launched in 2013 and was one of first lesbian dating apps run by women for women. I just can't bare registering to be dismissed in a swipe cos of my dippy hair :(

1989:
Fighting Appalling Section 28 - Stonewall

Stonewall Equality Limited (Stonewall) was founded in 1989 by Ian McKellen, Michael Cashman and Lisa Power to campaign against Section 28. Stonewall is a LGBT rights charity in the UK and has become the largest LGBT rights organisation in Europe. It was named after the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City. Stonewall's most high-profile achievements have been in common law and parliamentary lobbying and, did indeed help repeal Section 28.

UK's first national lesbian and gay TV series - Out on Tuesday first screened in 1989 and ran for four years, changing its name to Out part-way through. After consistently high ratings in its 11 o’clock slot, it moved to 9 o’clock for the second series, reaching 700,000 and a million viewers every week. Each series embraced a range of topics, genres and featured some of the then small number of out lesbian and gay celebs, including Ian McKellen, Paul Gambacinni, Audre Lorde, Beatrix Campbell and Paul O'Grady. A huge shout out to C4's commissioning editor Caroline Spry who by 1995 had commissioned and scheduled over 100 hours of lesbian, gay and feminist programmes across ten separate series and one-off broadcasts.

1992:
Homosexuality No Longer A Mental DISORDER!

After 24 years, homosexuality was removed from the World Health Organization's classification of mental disorders in 1992. In the UK many LGBT+ people were subjected to aversion treatments and detrimental counselling as a result of the listing by the DSM-II (the American classification of mental disorders) in 1968.

The First EuroPride was held in 1992, in... Brixton! About 100,000 LGBTQ people attended. Check out Clare Truscott's (a Lambeth Links trustee and Pride committee 1990 member when the EuroPride idea was dreamt up) slick account.

In 1992, Sh! became the first ever "women only" erotic boutique run by women, designed to give ladies of sexual preferences a welcoming, safe place to shop for intimate fun items and get sound sexual advice.

1995:
Amazon Bookstore Goes Online

Amazon went online as a bookstore in 1995. For a chicken like me, buying lezza books online was a god send!

1997:
Awful Tabloid Outings

Tabloid Outings - Sophie Ward (daughter of Simon Ward) had played a housewife who embarks on a Sapphic "Village Affair". Two years later, life imitated art. Due to sleazy tabloid press stress actress Sophie Ward was forced to come out. She had been living with her two children in a small village but her husband and her had separated and her future wife had moved in. The sleazy tabloid press had caught wind of this thus Sophie Ward was forced to tell her family just days before it became public as the tabloid press door-stepped and besieged the village with photographers and reporters.

In Scotland, The Equality Network was formed in 1997 to ensure that the voices of diverse LGBT people are heard in policy making.

The World's First Lesbian Beauty Contest - organised by Amy Lame, legendary club hostess to Duckie, Miss Lesbian Beauty took place on Monday 30 June 1997, at London's Cafe de Paris. Apparently this was featured in the Guinness Book of Records.

1999:
Admiral Duncan Nail Bombing, London

On Friday, 30 April 1999 at 18:37, a gay & lesbian pub in Soho, the Admiral Duncan, was shockingly nail bombed by former British National Party member / neo Nazi David Copeland. The bomb, contained 1,500 nails which killed three people (four months pregnant with her first child Andrea Dykes, 27, John Light, 32, and 31-year-old Nick Moore) and wounded at least 70. On the Sunday following the attack a large open air meeting was spontaneously organised in Soho Square, attended by thousands which spilled out on to Old Compton Street. In the Admiral Duncan a memorial chandelier hangs from the ceiling with an inscription and a plaque in the bar to commemorate those killed and injured in the blast.

The nail bomb was the third atrocious bomb which David Copeland had unleashed to innocent victims:

• 17 April 1999: Brixton - Copeland's nail bomb exploded in the centre of Brixton just before 17:30, injuring 48 people.
• 24 April 1999: Brick Lane - Copeland's second nail bomb went off in Brick Lane at 18:00, injuring 13 people.

In 2000, David Copeland was convicted of three counts of murder and given six life sentences equating to 50 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. Copeland was sentenced to a further three years in prison, in 2015, after attacking a fellow inmate with a shiv which he created out of a razorblade and toothbrush. It has been reported that in jail he has converted to Islam and taken on Iraqi dictator's name... Saddam.

Smith and Grady v UK

2002:
Faux Girl-on-girl Kisses

Faux lesbians to sell pop music - some hearts missed-a-beat to Tatu's, a sexy young Russian "lezza" pop duet comprising Yulia Volkova and Elena Katina, poppy No 1 hit "All the Things She Said" in 2002. It was a marketing scam! Did Yulia Volkova really say on Russian TV "Yes, I would condemn [my son], because I believe that a real man must be a real man"?. “God created man for procreation, it is the nature. The man for me is the support, the strength of… I won’t accept a gay son.”

More music video faux lesbian kisses:

• The slickest: Outside - George Micheal (1998 - though so hard to spot the lezzas) | All is Full of Love - Bjork (1999)
• The "Stop it": 2003 MTV Video Music Awards performance - Britney and Madonna | I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry (2008) | Te Amo - Rihanna (2010)

Faux Lesbian kisses at awards shows and red carpets... really?

• 1999: Red carpet Cable ACE Awards - Angelina Jolie & Peta Wilson
• 2004: Best Kiss Award at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards - Carmen Electra & Paris Hilton
• 2007: MTV Movie Awards - Sarah Silverman and Jessica Biel's almost-kiss
• 2010: MTV Movie Awards - Sandra Bullock & Scarlett Johannsson
• 2010: Critic's Choice Movie Awards - Sandra Bullock & Meryl Streep
• 2010: Britain's Got Talent last night and set the pulses racing when Miley Cyrus shared a same-sex kiss with one of her dancers during the performance.
• 2015 Red Carpet - Natalie Dormer and Jennifer Lawrence

The Adoption and Children Act 2002 came into force in 2005 which allows unmarried couples (whether the same or different sexes) to adopt.

2004:
Same-sex Civil Partnerships, UK

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into effect on December 5th 2005. Under the Act, same-sex couples can register a civil partnership, which has almost the same legal effects, rights and obligations as marriage does for mixed-sex couples, however, legally, it is not marriage. In 2018, in the UK The Supreme Court, Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan challenged the ban on mixed-sex couples entering civil partnerships as outlined in the Civil Partnerships Act 2004 as being incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and, won.

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 gives transsexual people legal recognition as members of the sex appropriate to their gender (male or female) allowing them to acquire a new birth certificate, affording them full recognition of their acquired sex in law for all purposes, including marriage.

Formed in 2004, Broken Rainbow was the only UK-wide LGBT charity to help raise awareness and combat same-sex domestic violence and abuse. When it went into liquidation, in 2016, GALOP (Gay London Police Monitoring Group) took over the Broken Rainbow National Helpline.

2006:
First LGB Award Ceremonies, UK

The Stonewall Awards was the first award ceremonies to celebrate the achievements of the lesbian, gay and bi community at an annual event held from 2006 to 2015 by the British LGBT charity Stonewall. The first event was held in 2006 at the Royal Academy of Arts and winners included Baroness Ashton for Politician of the Year, Sarah Waters for Writer of the Year and the charming Lesbian TV drama Sugar Rush for Broadcast of the Year.

Pride Sports was founded in 2006 and was the first organisations in the UK to challenge homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in sport and improve access to sport for LGBT+ people.

2008:
Lesbian Visibility Day

In the UK, Lesbian Visibility Day, the 26 April, has been celebrated since 2008 to toast to and commemorate the achievements of lesbians. It was take-up from the American West Hollywood, Lesbian Visibility Week which has been held since 1990. Bravo to Diva Magazine who extended it in 2021, in the UK, to Lesbian Visibility Week which is for all LGBTQI women.

Lesbian Flags - a brief history: In 2010, designer Natalie McCray created "the lipstick lesbian flag" which featured stripes of shades of pink and a lipstick kiss in the left corner of the flag. As it was seen as femme-only and due to controversial comments made by the flag's designer on her blog, an alternative flag was created by Twitter user, Emily Gwen. The alternative lesbian flag features a seven stripe lesbian flag comprising, from top to bottom: dark orange for "gender non-conformity", orange for "independence", light orange for "community", white for "unique relationships to womanhood", pink for "serenity and peace", dusty pink for "love and sex", and dark rose for "femininity". It has since developed into a five stripe flag called the "Sunset" Lesbian flag. Discover more Pride Flags.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 recognises same-sex couples as legal parents of children conceived through the use of donated sperm, eggs or embryos. It also included provision, Section 42 that where a child is born to a lesbian couple by means of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), the civil partner of the mother will be presumed to be the parent of the child.

Heinz vs The Gays - In 2017, Heinz Deli Mayo's light-hearted TV ad featured a "Mum" making sandwiches for the kids' lunchboxes but "she" is in fact a male uniformed New York Deli sandwich maker. As the husband is about to leave the two men kiss and "Mum" says: "Love you. Straight home from work sweetcheeks."

The advertising watchdog received over 202 complaints from viewers saying that the ad is "offensive" and that it is "inappropriate to see two men kissing". Though the ad had an ex-kids restriction and could not be aired in or around children's programming, because Heinz Deli Mayo falls foul of Ofcom's restrictions relating to products that are high in fat, salt or sugar some viewers complained that the ad is "unsuitable to be seen" by children and that it raised the difficult problem of having to discuss the issue of same sex relations with younger viewers.

Within days of its launch Heinz dropped the commercial because it was "listening to its consumers". Gay rights campaigners including Stonewall and Gaydar Radio insisted that Heinz had capitulated to a concerted homophobic campaign and urged to boycott Heinz products and sign an online petition calling on Heinz to reinstate the Deli Mayo ad.

2010:
Equality Act

The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful to discriminate against someone on the grounds of: age, disability, sex (gender), gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion/belief and sexual orientation. Under the Equality Act 2010, sexual orientation discrimination can be:

• Direct discrimination– because of their sexual orientation
• Indirect discrimination – a provision, criterion or practice that places those of a certain sexual orientation at a disadvantage
• Harassment – subjecting someone to harassment related to their sexual orientation
• Victimisation – victimising someone because they have or intend to enforce their rights under the Equality Act 2010.

Some examples of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in the workplace, for lesbians:

• 2014: Care assistant Ms S won her claim of unfair dismissal and discrimination because of sexual orientation. Ms S, an out lesbian, started work for Gainford Care Homes in September 2010. In May 2011, she helped her managing director move some furniture. One of the business owners then phoned her manager, saying that her MD wanted to know why she had employed “big butch dykes” and that Ms S “needs to go”. Similar requests to dismiss Ms S followed, because, as she was perceived to be butch, she might intimidate residents. Her manager refused all these requests, and made it clear that to dismiss her because of sexual orientation was unlawful. Ms S was eventually dismissed on grounds of alleged threatening behaviour at a social event, “attitude towards management” and episodes of sickness. The tribunal found these reasons were false, that her dismissal was unfair and was direct discrimination because she is a lesbian.
• 2019: Lesbian employee ‘told to keep sexuality secret’ won her discrimination case - Ashleigh McMahon, who worked as a quality control manager at Lancashire-based textiles firm Redwood TTM, was told not to share her sexuality because she was the only gay employee. The Liverpool Employment Tribunal heard McMahon disclosed her sexuality to the firm’s managing director in her first week of employment. The MD reportedly told her “not to make it common knowledge that she was gay” because “the owner of the business was ‘old school’ and that the company did not have any other gay people working for it”. The Ashleigh worked for Redwood TTM for eight months but in May 2017 she was made redundant in December. Ashleigh told the tribunal she found the demand “odd and uncomfortable” but had complied as she was mindful of the impact it could have on her employment, as she had only just begun work. Her MD denied that Ashleigh had disclosed her sexuality early on in her employment or that he told her to NOT disclose it. The tribunal found in favour of Ashleigh’s versions of events and found she had been “discriminated against on the grounds of her sexual orientation” because she had been “less favourably treated by being asked not to disclose her sexuality by comparison with a hypothetical person not sharing her protected characteristic”.
• 2021: Miss K Ditchfield v Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd Kirsty - Ditchfield started working at Network Rail in September 2015. She was the only woman in the company’s team of workers in the company’s warehouse at Guide Bridge, Greater Manchester. “Every day people who work there will say to me ’get your tits out’ or ’you have never been a real man, that’s why you are a lesbian.’ She said at the hearing, “Because she is gay, she is treated as a man in terms of sexual suggestion.” In September 2018, Miss Ditchfield was involved in a road traffic accident when the vehicle she was driving ran into a stationary vehicle. She was later fired in January 2019 for failing to report the incident. She then filed a complaint with the Employment Tribunal for direct sex discrimination in the provision of toilets and changing facilities, harassment related to sex and sexual orientation, and sexual harassment related to comments made to her by male colleagues. Upholding her claim, the arbitral tribunal’s judgment found: “Its purpose or effect is in violation of [her] Dignity or create a threatening, hostile, degrading, insulting or offensive environment for her, and is reasonable to her [her] Form this view. “ The team ruled that the harassing comments did “constitute part of the ongoing discrimination against her”.

Examples, for the hetties:

• 2005: Hegarty v The Edge (Soho) Ltd - Hegarty, a hetty woman, was made redundant from her job in a mainly gay bar on the grounds that the owners wanted to "freshen up" the bar. Therefore, the owners of the Edge (been there so many times) hired male gay bar staff. Hegarty was found to have been discriminated against on the grounds she was heterosexual.
• 2015: Sarah Mbuyi was dismissed by Newpark Childcare in Shepherd's Bush, London, for gross misconduct - after telling a lesbian colleague her gay lifestyle was a sin. At an employment tribunal Sarah, a Christian nursery worker, denied harassment and maintained that her colleague approached her asking about religion and same-sex marriage and was angry she had been barred from marrying her partner in a church. Sarah claimed the sacking breached European law on religious freedom. The employment tribunal ruled that Sarah was discriminated against because of her belief that homosexual practice is contrary to the Bible.

2012:
First OUT Olympic UK Medalist

The first OUT Olympic medallist - as an amateur, Nicola Adams OBE became the first female boxer to become an Olympic champion after winning gold at London 2012, and the first double Olympic champion following a second gold medal at Rio 2016, both in the flyweight division.

The Attitude Awards were launched in 2012 to celebrate the LGBT community and benefit the Attitude Magazine Foundation, which raises money for LGBT causes. Clare Balding won Best TV personality.

Explicit reference to homophobic bullying in schools was introduced into Ofsted's inspection framework in the UK.

Posh Tatler's first (and only?) Lesbian Ball - Tatler held a Lesbian Ball (all-women, half of them gay, half straight) in a private members' club in Portland Place where 200 guests attended in the summer of 2012.

2014:
Same-sex Marriage Becomes Legal, UK

Same-sex marriage became legal in all parts of the United Kingdom. As marriage is a devolved legislative matter, different parts of the UK legalised at different times:

• March 2014 - England and Wales
• December 2014 - Scotland
• January 2020 - Northern Ireland

One of the first same-sex marriages to be held in a UK church - committed Christians Jan Tipper and Barb Burden, took their vows in a ceremony at their Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in Bournemouth.

First Jewish lesbian marriage in the UK - Jewish childcare worker Nicola Pettit and her non-Jewish partner Tania Ward were among the first lesbian couples to take advantage of their new equality in the eyes of the law as the UK legalised gay marriage.

The Proud Asian LGBTQ & Allies, a support network for the South Asian LGBTQIA+ community, marched in London Pride 2014 for the first time, pre-empting the launch of Gaysians.

Valuing All God's Children - The Archbishop of Canterbury published a report in 2014 from the Education Division of the Church of England called Valuing All God's Children: Guidance for Church of England Schools on Challenging Homophobic Bullying. The guidance, was sent to all Church of England schools, provided 10 key recommendations which should be adopted by church schools to tackle homophobic bullying. It was updated in 2017.

Dr Who - In August 2014, Ofcom, the UK TV regulator, received 6 viewer's complaints concerning an episode of Dr Who which they considered to feature an "inappropriate" scene involving a... lizard-woman, Madame Vastra, and her human wife, Jenny Flint. Seriously? More examples Ofcom complaints:

• 2017 - Good Morning Britain "gay cure" segment broke Ofcom's complaints record. On September 5, 2017, the ITV morning show Good Morning Britain aired a discussion between host Piers Morgan, Liverpool Echo journalist Josh Parry and gay cure ‘therapist’ Dr Michael Davidson. Dr Davidson explained that he had a thriving business attempting to 'cure' desperate gay people, saying: "in the last year I'm seeing up to 14 a week, many of them are in therapy for up to two years." Ofcom, the UK's broadcast regulator, received 1,121 complaints concerning the, which broke the records for the most complaints in 2017.
• 2019 - Ofcom received 950 complaints concerning Good Morning Britain's Piers Morgan on-air rant and controversial remarks on gender identity. This was 'one of the highest number of complaints of any TV show in the country in 2019.' During a live debate on Good Morning Britain in relation to a BBC film that claimed there are more than 100 genders and an article about a London Aquarium penguin being cared for by a lesbian penguin couple and being raised as gender neutral Piers Morgan told GMB viewers that he identified himself as a "two-spirit penguin".
• 2020 - Ofcom received over 100 complaints after a same-sex kiss between two teenage girls was aired on CBBC show The Next Step.

The No Outsiders programme was created in 2014 by Andrew Moffat, previously the assistant head teacher at primary school, Parkfield Community School in Birmingham. The aim of the No Outsiders programme is to teach primary school pupils about protected characteristics as defined by the 2010 Equality Act such as sexual orientation and religion, and supports schools' efforts to be inclusive and cohesive. Andrew wanted pupils to "be proud of who they are while recognising and celebrating difference and diversity". The No Outsiders programme was piloted, in 2014, at Parkfield Community School and was soon adopted by schools across the country.

Books used in the programme include stories about a dog that doesn't feel like it fits in (Odd Dog Out by Rob Biddulph (2016)), a boy who likes to dress up like a mermaid (Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love (2018)) and two male penguins that raise a chick together (And Tango Make Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell Henry Cole (2007)).

In January, 2019, a parent whose child attended Parkfield school raised a petition, claiming the teaching contradicted the Islamic faith. "Children at this age don't even know if they are coming or going, let alone knowing what sexual orientation they will become." Though meetings took place between Mr Moffat and concerned parents, within days, some parents began protesting outside the school at home time and several pupils were also kept at home. Mr Moffat, who is gay, told the BBC he had been accused of promoting "personal beliefs", had received "nasty emails" and threats, including one which warned he "wouldn't last long". Protests spread to other schools in Birmingham while Bradford, Bristol, Croydon, Ealing, Manchester, Northampton and Nottingham schools received letters of complaint from conservative Muslims. In Kent, schools received letters from Christian parents.

Ofsted backed the No Outsiders programme said it was crucial children were exposed to differences in society, and important children to learn about same-sex couples regardless of their religious background. Moreover, an Ofsted report also found there was no evidence the curriculum at Parkfield overly focused on LGBT issues or was not taught in an age-appropriate manner. The Education Secretary Damian Hinds, however, said primary schools should be able to choose what they teach about same-sex relationships, if they "consider it age appropriate".

After the protests took place, Parkfield held a consultation with parents which resulted in a “tweaked version” of No Outsiders being introduced – ‘No Outsiders for a Faith Community’. Mr Moffat said the LGBT content has been retained, and the lessons have not been watered down.

2016:
Lesbian Child Abuse - It Shouldn't, But, It Happens :(

Rachel Fee and Nyomi Fee - in May 2016, civil partners Rachel Fee and Nyomi Fee were convicted of child abuse and murdering their two-year-old son Liam by inflicting severe blunt force trauma to his body at a house in Fife, Scotland. They were also convicted of cruelty against two boys in their care, one of whom they tried to blame for Liam's death. Both women were handed life sentences: Rachel Fee was ordered to serve a minimum of 23-and-a-half years behind bars while "domineering" Nyomi Fee was sentenced to spend at least 24 years in prison.

• 2020: Frankie Smith and Savannah Brockhill - after months of "neglect, cruelty and injury" by her mother, Frankie Smith, and Smith's lesbian partner, Savannah Brockhill, Star Hobson, a 16-month-old toddler was cruelly murdered on September 22, 2020. Frankie Smith was sentenced to a shockingly short sentence of 8 years for causing or allowing her death while her lesbian partner, Savannah Brockhill was jailed for a minimum of 25 years for murder. In 2022 the Court of Appeal is to review Frankie Smith too short sentence.

2017:
First Lesbian MET Commissioner - Wasted ...

The first female and first openly homosexual officer to lead the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS or the Met) in London - Dame Cressida Rose Dick DBE QPM became both the first female and first lesbian Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service in London. In 2022, Commissioner Dick resigned after The Mayor of London (understandably) thought her position was no longer tenable due to various SHAMEFUL MET scandals. Get real - Dame Cressida Rose Dick, you had a chance to make a proper difference and make your mark in history! And what did you do? Not only waste it but your legacy is in tatters.

Lesbian domestic abuse - On October 13, 2017, Becky Reid who murdered her lesbian lover, Lyndsey Vaux was handed down a sentence of life with a minimum of 20 years at Manchester Crown Court. Lyndsey, who had a 12-year-old daughter, was regularly punched, kicked and stamped-on during five years and died with 90 separate injuries after years of being assaulted, abused and starved.

First Lesbian couple to go on Say Yes to the Dress UK - on 9th of June 2017 YouTube couple and bride to be Whitney Bacon and Megan Evans featured as the first lesbian couple to feature on Say Yes to the Dress UK with David Emanuel as host.

Match.com's 2017 TV ad showing a woman removing her female's partner's top and passionately kissing her, generated 293 Ofcom complaints which was the second highest number of complaints in the first half year of 2017.

Pensions Rights - the UK Supreme Court ruled that the discrimination against same-sex couples on pensions rights needs to end immediately.

2019:
World's First Ever "Two-Womb" Baby Born

The world's first ever "two-womb" baby born was born - A British lesbian couple became the first in the world to carry the same baby in both their wombs as part of a landmark "shared motherhood" procedure. The "shared motherhood" procedure involved the eggs of the biological mother being placed inside a miniature capsule and inserted into her womb, where they were incubated. After the incubation of the eggs, they were taken out of the first mother's womb and placed into the womb of the gestational mother, who carried the baby to term.

Children and Social Work Bill amendments, made Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) mandatory in all schools in England and Wales from 2019. A new Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum was introduced in England, requiring that school lessons include acknowledgment of LGBT rights and protect the physical and mental wellbeing of LGBT children.

Renault Clio TV ad - a Renault Clio ad featured a heart-warming story of lifelong lesbian love. L.O.V.E.D it! On twitter there was delight though one twitter twit, tweeted "Just seen your advert, personally don't want to see two women kissing. Especially when the this was shown during 'junior bake off' at 5.45 in the afternoon". Get real!

YouGov for Channel 4 study - In 2019, over a two-month period, a study undertaken by YouGov for Channel 4's sales arm (4Sales) analysed 1,000 television adverts alongside a survey of 2,000 people and LGBT+ specific focus groups.

• Only 3% of the surveyed adverts featured members of the LGBT community, which makes up around 6% of the UK population.
• Focus groups overestimated LGBT representation in ads at around 22%.
• Around 60% of those surveyed in focus groups felt that the portrayal of LGBT people in adverts was negative: relying on images of a stereotyped butch lesbian or camp gay man (that surprised me), the characters were tokenistic and they were rarely shown as part of a family unit.
• There were also concerns that adverts centred on same-sex couples rather than bisexual, gender fluid and transgender people.
• Consequently, Channel 4 has called for better representation of the LGBT community in TV advertising and announced it will dedicate its £1 million Diversity in Advertising Award to addressing LGBT representation.

The TUC's Sexual Harassment of LGBT People In The Workplace Report found that around 7 out of 10 LGBT workers experienced at least one type of sexual harassment at work (68%) and almost 1 in 8 LGBT women (12%) reported being seriously sexually assaulted or raped at work. The report also revealed that sexual harassment of LGBT people in the workplace is a hidden problem with two thirds of those who were harassed not reporting it; and 1 in 4 of those who did not report the harassment being silenced by fear of "outing" themselves at work.

Gross misconduct - Primary school teacher, Iqbal Khanem, was sacked for gross misconduct by New Christ Church Primary School in Reading, Berkshire in May 2019. The gross misconduct included referring to co-workers as "bloody lesbians" and "fat s***s" (I'm still trying to work out what that means) and failing to respond to the needs of children attending the school, for example leaving a pupil in their "soiled clothes for at least 45 minutes" after they had an accident in class. At an employment tribunal she argued that she was unfairly dismissed as a result of age discrimination. The employment tribunal, however, dismissed the teacher's claims.

The first Bi Pride UK event was held at the Round Chapel in Hackney, London.

The Girlguiding orginisation published their Equality And Diversity Policy, in 2019 which included declaring that "No member within Girlguiding should be treated differently, or offered different opportunities, based on their sexual orientation"

2021:
LGB People Included in the UK Censuses

For over two centuries in the UK, LGBTQ+ people have not been recorded in UK Censuses. Since 1801, a census has taken place every 10 years in England and Wales, and separately for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Initially the census was a head count of households in the country on a given day but with additional questions, it now provides a snapshot of household occupants in the UK.

In England and Wales the last Census Day was conducted on 21 March 2021, while Covid-19 restrictions were in place. Due to the pandemic Scotland postponed their Census Day until the 20 March 2022.

For the first time, in the England and Wales 2021 census, two new questions were included with the aim of collecting data on LGBT+ people regarding their sexual orientation and their gender identity. Although Northern Ireland and Scotland censuses, asked respondents about their sexual orientation:

• Northern Ireland - did not include a question regarding gender identity
• Scotland - asked the gender identity question differently: "Do you consider yourself to be trans, or have a trans history?" compared to English & Wales "Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?". The Scottish census clarified that "Trans is a term used to describe people whose gender is not the same as the sex they were registered at birth".

Some results for England and Wales

According to the 2021 census the population of England and Wales was 59.6 million. Of those

• 3.2% (around 1.5 million) of respondents identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or another sexual orientation (LGB+).
• 1.5% (around 748,000) of respondents identified as gay or lesbian while 1.3% (628,000) identified as bisexual.
• 0.3% (165,000) of respondents identified with a different sexual orientation. The most common ‘other’ orientations given in the write-in box were: pansexual (112,000 people), asexual (28,000 people), and queer (15,000 people).
• 0.5% (around 262,000) of respondents said their gender identity and sex registered at birth were different.
• The ONS produced an interactive map of England and Wales which shows that LGB people live in every part of the country - urban and rural.
• Source: House of Commons Library

The LGBT+ population in the UK is larger than the census data shows, because for example:

• Both questions were voluntary unlike most census questions, which are compulsory to answer. Some respondents may have not wished to share their sexual orientation on the census. I totally understand - it took me years to have this recorded on my medical records!
• LGBT+ people aged under 16 aren't counted in the census.
• The census forms were sent to households rather than individuals. Some people may have had inaccurate sexual orientation or gender identity information recorded for them by the respondent for the household if, they weren't out to the people they live with. Everyone, however, did have the option to submit a separate, individual census form that would supersede the information recorded about them on their household form. Not all respondents will have chosen to do this.

2021:
Sacked LGBT Veterans Can Reclaim Their Stripped Medals

Sacked LGBT veterans can reclaim lost medals - under a new scheme to remedy historical injustices, former service personnel who were dismissed from the armed forces because of their sexuality can apply to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to restore honours and reclaim their medals which were stripped from them. It follows Falklands veteran Joe Ousalice's successful battle to return awards he lost after being forced out of the Royal Navy for being bisexual. Joe Ousalice served as a radio operator for nearly 18 years but was discharged in 1993 when there was a ban on LGBT people serving in the armed forces.

For the first time, the UK census included questions on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Hate Crime - Reports of sexual orientation hate crimes recorded by the UK police force, from January to August, showed a disturbing rise:

• 14,670 homophobic hate crime offences were recorded in 2021, compared with 11,841 in the same period of 2020 and 10,817 in 2019.
• 2,129 transphobic offences were recorded in 2021, well above the 1,606 offences in 2020 and 1,602 in 2019.

In 2021, Bishop of Monmouth Cherry Vann became the first lesbian bishop in the Church in Wales, and who is in a civil partnership.

A female same-sex married couple is taking legal action over NHS IVF funding policies which they claim discriminate against LGBT+ families - Influencers Megan and Whitney Bacon-Evans from Windsor in Berkshire, have accused their local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) of financially penalising them for their sexual orientation and gender. Frimley CCG in Surrey requires female same-sex couples and single people with wombs to self-fund 12 insemination attempts including six intrauterine inseminations, costing an estimated £30,000 or more, which must take place in a clinic to prove they are medically infertile before becoming eligible for IVF through the NHS. In contrast, cis-heterosexual couples can claim NHS-funded fertility treatments after two years of failing to conceive naturally. Backed by Stonewall UK and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), the couple have applied for a judicial review alleging discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 and articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. If granted, their case could be heard in the High Court in 2022 and could set a precedent for LGBT+ families seeking access to fertility treatment.

Actress sacked over anti-gay post loses legal fight - in 2014, Christian actress Seyi Omooba had been due to play the lead character Celie, sometimes depicted as being in a lesbian relationship, in a run of The Color Purple at Leicester's Curve Theatre. A few days after she was announced as being part of the cast, an actor, unconnected to the play, shared on social media a post she had written in Facebook in 2014: "I do not believe you can be born gay, and I do not believe homosexuality is right, though the law of this land has made it legal doesn't mean its right." On hearing this the theatrical company dismissed her and her contract with her talent agency was also terminated. The theatrical company "unconditionally" offered her full salary for the role.

Seyi declined to invoice the theatrical company and instead at a Central London Employment Tribunal she sought a total of £128,000 compensation from the theatre for injury to feelings and reputational damage and from her former agency for loss of earnings, future losses, injury to feelings and reputational damage. Her claims of discrimination against her religious beliefs, harassment and breach of contract were rejected by the tribunal panel.

2025: Taking the Pink Outa Old Compton Street

Are things getting better for the British LGBTQ+ Community?

The Good:

Cherry Vann became the first woman and lesbian Archbishop in the UK when she was elected Archbishop of Wales in July, 2025. Yet, not all rejoiced this appointment and she faced some very hurtful comments including: claims that the Church in Wales had "departed from the teachings of the Bible" and that Cherry Vann's appointment as Archbishop of Wales was "another painful nail in the coffin of Anglican orthodoxy".

A bronze sculpture, named "An Opened Letter" by artist collective Abraxas Academy, was unveiled by King Charles III at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, to commemorate LGBT+ veterans affected by the ban of same-sex couples in the armed forces until 2000 - see above. The sculpture resembles a crumpled piece of paper, containing poignant words from personal letters which were used as evidence to incriminate LGBT+ military personnel. (It really means alot to me, as hands-in-the-air, I'm a proud army brat and my parents thought their best years of their lives were with their regiment but, they were hetty).

The Sad:

The Continuing Painful Death Of Gay Nightlife: Legendary G-A-Y Bar in London's Soho took down it's disco ball on Sunday, 5th of October, 2025. With it's closure I lament the loss of Ghetto, First Out, Popstars, and I'll be kind ... Candy Bar, due to skyrocketing business rates.

The Ugly:

Religious homophobia: on Friday, October 3, 2025, circa 100 "King's Army Soldiers", members of a non-denominational evangelical group, descended upon Old Compton Street, in the historic heart of London's LGBT+ community and home to many LGBT+ bars, clubs, and meeting places – intimidatingly shouting anti-gay and Christian Nationalist slogans to shocked passersby, blocking traffic and disrupting nightlife in Soho. Wearing black tracksuits with their logo "King's Army", as a uniform, the "Soldiers" marched in a military formation while shouting "Jesus Saves". Even more shocking, though The Metropolitan Police did engage with the "King's Army Soldiers", they did not report any offences. The "King's Army" homophobic march in Soho could indeed have violated public order and anti-fascism laws in the UK. Under the Public Order Act 1936, designed to combat paramilitary groups in the UK, it is against the law for protestors or groups to wear uniforms signifying their association with a political organisation. The "King's Army", emerged in mid-2024 and describes itself as a "spiritual army" waging war against "sin, cultural decay, and darkness". Watch a clip of the hateful march on thepinknews.com.

X homophobia: Legendary lesbian activist and co-founder and CEO of UK Black Pride, Lady Phyll announced in January 2025 that she was leaving Twitter/X over "rampant" hate speech on the platform. Read more on thepinknews.com.

Homophobia with a slap of Ableism - after a gig (October 5, 2025), popular comedians Rosie Jones (who has ataxic cerebral palsy) and Lee Peart were subjected to ableist (prejudice, discrimination, and social injustice against people with disabilities) and homophobic abuse while travelling on a train from Brighton to London. Not only did a group of three passengers throw verbal ableist and homophobic abuse at them, they also threw a plastic bottle of wine which broke and splattered wine on Rosie & Lee, and in the carriage.

Fever Pitch Homophobia: examples of UK football teams fined by the Football Association (FA) in 2025, for mass homophobic chanting by their supporters, include: West Ham United fined £120,000; Tottenham Hotspur fined £75,000 (reduced from £150,000 on appeal); Millwall fined £15,000 and Boston United Football Club fined £700. According to the Football Association's Rule E21 which sets out rules relating to spectator misconduct at football matches – football fans are not allowed to use words that are improper, offensive, abusive, indecent, or insulting with either expressed or implied reference to sexual orientation.

Chicken sandwiches with a side order of ... homophobia: Chick-fil-A is a Christian owned American fast food chicken sandwich chain with over 3,350 restaurants in the US. Over the next two years, it will be opening several outlets in Britain. This comes six years after LGBT campaigners managed to persuade Oracle Shopping Centre in Reading, to not extend the six-month trial lease on Chick-fil-A's first UK temporary pop-up, in 2019. Why the gay wrath? Their website sates: "Our Corporate Purpose – To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us" (I'm not going to entertain linking to them). The chain's founders' have supported Christian and anti-LGBTQ+ groups opposed to same-sex relationships and marriage and their donations included to Exodus International, which offered gay "conversion therapy", before it closed down in 2013. Though Chick-fil-A has "apparently" cut funding to anti-LGBTQ+ groups the Peter Tatchell Foundation is protesting outside Chick-fil-A's secret London office, over Chick-fil-A's funding of anti-LGBT+ groups & campaigns - reads more at petertatchellfoundation.org.

A huge groan of disappointment to the above which clearly illustrates that things are not getting better for the British LGBTQ+ Community. Some data even suggests that LGBTQIA+ rights in the UK are rolling back. Each year, The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association Europe (ILGA-Europe) publishes their updated "Rainbow Map" that represents a snapshot of LGBTQIA+ rights across Europe. Though the UK was top of the leaderboard for LGBTQIA+ rights in Europe in 2015, ten years on, in 2025 the UK has shockingly dropped to 22nd place out of 45 countries - its lowest position ever. Moreover, hate crimes against Sexual Orientation, recorded by the police in England and Wales are up from 18,596 in 2020/21 to over 18,702 in 2024/25 - Source: gov.uk. Hate crimes against transgender, recorded by the police in England and Wales are up from 2,799 in 2020/21 to over 3,809 in 2024/25. Note: the historical stats differ from gov.uk's 2024 Report and, please do consider this will be underreporting as many victims do not report hate crimes. Hate crimes against sexual orientation is the second largest strand of hate crime - first is hate crimes against race - up from 92,063 in 2020/21 to over 98,799 in 2023/24.

Why is there still such intolerance and hate? Prick up your ears: we stand on the shoulders of pink giants. Let's be the next shoulders to help reach the apex of the pink pyramid.

2024:
The World & LGBTQ+ Rights

Countries that Criminalise LGBT People in 2024 - humandignitytrust.org, maintains an interactive map of the countries that criminalise LGBT people. Feb 2024:



Out of 195 countries in the world:

• 64 countries: have jurisdictions that criminalise private, consensual, same-sex sexual activity (the majority of these jurisdictions explicitly criminalise sex between men via 'sodomy', 'buggery' and 'unnatural offences' laws). That's only six less countries than 2022.
• 40 countries: criminalise private, consensual sexual activity between women using laws against 'lesbianism', 'sexual relations with a person of the same sex' and 'gross indecency'.
• 14 countries: countries criminalise the gender identity and/or expression of transgender people, using so-called 'cross-dressing', 'impersonation' and 'disguise' laws.
• 12 countries: have jurisdictions in which the death penalty is imposed or at least a possibility for private, consensual same-sex sexual activity: Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Emirates, Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia and Uganda. Disturbingly that's one more country than 2022. (For latest stats check out humandignitytrust.org).

• The European Parliament - In 2019, The European Parliament voted in March to declare the whole EU an "LGBTIQ Freedom Zone". In July, the commission also announced legal action against Poland and Hungary for alleged violations of LGBT rights.
• Russia - 2013 a "Gay Propaganda" law (Federal Law No. 135-FZ of June 29, 2013), was passed which prohibited "propaganda of homosexuality and paedophilia among minors" / bans the distribution of information about LGBT people's lives to "minors" (people under age 18). Other laws passed, include Federal Law No. 167-FZ of July 2, 2013, and governmental decree No. 93 of February 10, 2014, that contain discriminatory provisions against LGBT people. The Center for European Policy Analysis states that since February 2017, a covert, officially sanctioned campaign against the LGBT community has been underway in Russia. Those suspected of homosexuality have been beaten, held in secret prisons, or even murdered. I was extremely uneasy watching the 2014 Winter Olympics, hosted in Russia.
• Chechnya - is part of the Russian Federation and has had an influence of Islamist- Russia officially passed an anti-gay propaganda law in June 2013. It officially bans the distribution of "propaganda for nontraditional sexual relationships", among children.
• Poland - in 2019, almost 100 regions in Poland had passed anti-LGBT resolutions, drawing ire from the EU, which said it violated discrimination laws. Same-sex relationships are not legally recognised in Poland, and the country still keeps the ban on same-sex couples from adopting children.
• Hungary - a 2021 law passed (with 459 in favour, 147 against and 58 abstentions) prohibits sharing content on homosexuality or sex reassignment to people under 18 in school sex education programmes, films or advertisements. Moreover, same-sex marriage is constitutionally forbidden in Hungary, but civil partnerships are recognised.
• Romania - 2021, was considering a bill that would ban minors from being exposed to so-called "gay propaganda" in schools and in public life. The parliamentarians supporting the bill said that Romania was under threat from gender theories that have "taken Western Europe by storm" and are "endangering Christian values and the traditional Christian family."
• China -
• I can clearly see LGBT+ discrimination / internet censorship via my web stats - I receive no web visits from Africa, Russia, China... yet for "Work" sites, I see "WORLD" traffic. For sure, my web pages have been banned because of the content of slick bios on historical lesbians!Through my pages, I wish and hope to instil in you, that "you are not alone" with a slick tune of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" and... George Michael "Freedom".

Countries Where Same Sex Marriage Is Legal In 2024

Out of 195 countries in the world, there are currently 38 countries where same-sex marriage is legal: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay. (For latest stats check out https://www.hrc.org/ (Human Rights Campaign).

Countries Which Impose LGBTQ+ Content Censorship In 2024

57 countries currently impose LGBTQ+ Content Censorship which manifests in the censoring / banning of: books, movies, TV programmes, advertising, websites, and articles that discuss LGBTQ+ themes or advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. (For latest stats check out equaldex.com).

In bocca al lupo - to the countries that have laws that STILL criminalise homosexuality and countries which STILL censor queer web content. Heart-felt, I hope this ends ASAP.

Signing off with jolly sing-a-long ;)

PS: PS: If I don't get deflated by AI harvesting my site and dropping my page rankings - this is site is ongoing. Please forgive me if I've made mistakes - please do email to make amends.