LGBTQ+ History Month

LGBTQ+ Stands for:

• L: Lesbian – women who are attracted to other women
• G: Gay – men who are attracted to other men
• B: Bisexual – people who are attracted to more than one gender
• T: Transgender – people who do not identify as the gender they were assigned at birth. This can include non-binary people (people who identify outside of the gender binary of male or female), though not all non-binary people consider themselves transgender
• Q: Queer or Questioning – people who are questioning their identity, or feel the word queer suits them better
• +: An acknowledgement of all the other non-cisgender heterosexual identities that existing outside of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender. For example, Pansexual, Non-binary, Demisexual, Aromantic

Sometimes, LGBTQ+ is written as LGBTQIA+, with the I and the A standing for Intersex and Asexual.

 

The word 'queer' originally meant odd, unusual, or eccentric. In recent history, queer was a pejorative term used to describe LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ+ people began to reclaim the term in the 1980s, as a form of political protest and to create more inclusive language; it can be used as an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or are not cisgender.

Queer is sometimes used by people who have multiple LGBTQ+ identities, such as being transgender and bisexual.

Sometimes it is used by people who don't feel that other existing terms accurately describe their lived experience, or to express the complexity and fluidity of sexuality and gender.

However, not everyone who is LGBTQ+ is comfortable with the use of the word queer, due to the history of the word, and it is important to respect individual preferences in that regard.

You can read more about this history of the word queer at the National Archives website.

 

LGBTQ+ History Month is a month-long observance of LGBTQ+ history, with the aim of raising awareness and combating prejudice, while simultaneously celebrating achievement and diversity, making LGBTQ+ history more visible.

LGBTQ+ History Month aims to celebrate the past, present, and future of LGBTQ+ people.

It aims to raise awareness, promote equality, celebrate achievement, educate, and combat prejudice.

 

LGBTQ+ History Month in the UK began in February 2005, partly in response to England and Wales repealing Section 28, two years previously (Scotland repealed the act in 2000).

Section 28 prohibited councils from discussing or publishing materials that were seen to promote homosexuality. This prohibited any form of LGBTQ+ education or representation in schools, and led to increased bullying of LGBTQ+ students, as well as less access to LGBTQ+ specific healthcare.

This resulted in LGBTQ+ children attending school between 1988 and 2003 having limited to no access to their history or LGBTQ+ role models, and the misconception that LGBTQ+ had only existed in recent history.

You can read more about section 28 at the National Archives website.

 

Contributions of LGBTQ+ people have been erased or marginalised from history. LGBTQ+ people are excluded, their queerness erased, and their important roles in historical events not acknowledged. Often records or proof of an historical figure’s queerness were intentionally not created, or were destroyed, due to attitudes of the times.

Discussing historical LGBTQ+ figures and events can help people understand the struggles and discrimination LGBTQ+ people have faced and continue to face. It can also help promote equality and inclusion by showing that LGBTQ+ people have always been an important part of every society, in every time period, around the world.

 

This year's theme is Activism and Social Change and will celebrate five important LGBTQ+ figures responsible who were great activists and agents for social change.

Octavia Hill (1838 – 1912)

Octivia hill was one of the three founders of the National Trust, helped develop social housing and preserve public green spaces, and pioneered a home-visiting service that formed the basis for social work.

Octavia lived with Harriot York from 1878 until her death, leaving everything to Harriot in her will. York was known as the 'keeper' to Octavia's 'lion', taking on many of the household chores and handling their expenses.

Ivor Cummings (1913 – 1992)

Ivor Cummings, dubbed the 'gay father of the Windrush generation', was a British civil servant and the first black official in the British Colonial Office. He became responsible for providing for those emigrating from the Caribbean after the second World War, finding them accommodation, including the use of a former air raid shelter when all other options had been exhausted. After the second world war, he worked to recruit African nurses for the NHS.

Ivor Cummings lived as an openly gay man, often mentoring other gay men, even before the 1967 Sexual Offenses Act decriminalised gay sex between men over 21.

Annie Kenney (1879 – 1953)

Annie Kenny was a working-class suffragette and socialist feminist. She began working part time at the age of 10, switching to full time at 13, doing 12-hour shifts in a cotton mill. She became an active part of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), eventually becoming the WSPU deputy. During a Liberal rally in 1905, attended by Winston Churchill, Annie and Christabel Pankhurst shouted and unfurled a banner declaring 'votes for women'. Annie was jailed for 3 days as a result, one of her thirteen stints in jail due to her activism.

It is believed that Annie and Christabel Pankhurst were at one time lovers, and there are records of Annie's other relationships with women, as well as her marriage to James Taylor in 1918.

Charlie Kiss (1966 - 2022)

Charlie Kiss was an environmental activist. At 17, before his transition, he was living at an women-only anti-nuclear protest camp in Greenham common. On new years day in 1983, he was one of 44 women who broke through the fence surrounding a facility housing US cruise missiles and danced on top of the missile silos. The Greenham women were seen as political prisoners; Islington council sent them champagne upon their release.

Charlie began his transition in 2002, and in 2015 he became the first trans man to run for parliament, standing for the Green Party. His legacy includes more Green councillors on Islington council, and better support and NHS funding for trans people.

Olaudah Equiano (1745 – 1797)

Olaudah Equiano, also known as Gustavus Vassa, was a writer and abolitionist. Originally from what is now known as southern Nigeria, he was enslaved as a child, purchasing his own freedom in 1766. As a freedman in London, he became one of the leading figures in the British Abolitionist movement. His autobiography, 'The interesting narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African', was so successful that nine editions were published during his lifetime. The popularity of his auto biography helped fuel the anti-slavery movement in Britian and secure the passing of the British Slave Trade Act in 1807.

In the first American edition of Olaudah's autobiography, he discusses his relationship with a young white 'lad' named Richard Baker, with whom he became inseparable, writing that "We have many nights lain in each other's bosoms when we were in great distress." In an abridged edition for children, published in 1829, this reference is removed, reducing Baker to someone who simply taught Olaudah English. This suggests the editor thought the content inappropriate for children, reflecting attitudes of the time. Some argue that Olaudah’s writing on his own sins and the "evil" he felt within could be a commentary on the conflict he felt between his religion and sexual orientation. Olaudah married Susanna Cullen in 1792, and they had two children, before her death in 1796.

 

An ally stands up for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, recognises the challenges they face, and takes action to promote equality and acceptance.

An ally could show their support by:

• Being visible with their allyship: wearing a pride flag lanyard or a rainbow pin, using stickers or patches on your bike or backpack, or by sharing LGBTQ+ content on social media
• Practice using inclusive language: learn how the LGBTQ+ people around you describe themselves and mirror that language, respect and practice using correct pronouns, add your pronouns to your social media or email signature, and learn about new LGBTQ+ terminology. Use gender neutral terms such as 'friends and guests' instead of 'ladies and gentlemen', or 'partner' instead of 'husband' or 'wife'
• Call out homophobic, biphobic, or transphobic behaviour: if you hear comments or 'jokes' that are discriminatory or harmful towards LGBTQ+ people, call the person out on it
• Take action: Donate to LGBTQ+ charities, sign relevant petitions, volunteer your time with LGBTQ+ charities, celebrate LGBTQ+ people’s successes
• Learn about LGBTQ+ History: Educate yourself on LGBTQ+ historical figures, laws, events, or movements

You can find out more about LGBTQ+ History Month, and the historical figures being highlighted in 2025 at the Schools Out website