sign in sign up
<<
Home , Equality Act 2006, Gay village, Labouchere Amendment, LGBT culture in London, LGBT History Month, LGBT Network

Dentons celebrates LGBT History Month

February is LGBT History Month. This is an important time to celebrate the progress that has been made for , , bi and trans equality over the years, to honour the people who have worked for this change and also to reflect on what is still left to do. To mark LGBT History Month, the Dentons LGBT network, GLOW, presents this display highlighting some of the milestones in the long journey towards equality for LGBT people.

Henry VIII introduces legislation to make certain sexual activity between males punishable by hanging.

During the 18th century, the term “” is used to describe a meeting point for the underground gay community. One of the most famous was the coffee house run (better known as “Mother Clap”) in from 1724. She commonly had "thirty or forty of such kind of chaps every night, but more especially on Sunday nights." The house was raided and shut down in 1726, leading to the hanging of three men.

Parliament passes section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, known as the “”, which extended the list of prohibited homosexual acts and created an offence of gross indecency between males. (The Act made no mention of lesbianism, leading to a story that Queen Victoria refused to believe existed - "women do not do such things," she is reported to have said. Albeit historians now consider this to be a myth.)

At the height of his fame, celebrated writer is tried for gross indecency over a relationship with and sentenced to two years’ hard labour.

Whilst gay culture in Germany flourished during the Weimar Republic, upon coming to power in 1933 the Nazis begin a vicious crackdown on homosexuals, arresting an estimated 100,000 during their reign. Some were imprisoned or castrated by court order. Many thousands were sent to concentration camps, and worked to death. In the camps homosexuals were made to wear pink triangles to denote their or “kind” (the was also used to identify rapists and paedophiles). The pink triangle has since been reclaimed as an international symbol of . The New Daily News on 1 December 1952 carries the front-page story "Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Bombshell" resulting in Christine Jorgensen (born George William Jorgensen, Jr.) becoming the first widely publicised person to have undergone reassignment surgery (male to ). The news creates a storm of publicity worldwide. Although Jorgensen was not the first to undergo such surgery, she used her celebrity as a platform to advocate for people and provide hope to others. Of her transition, Jorgensen said: “It’s very hard to speculate on, but if I hadn’t done what I did, I may not have survived. I may not have wanted to live. Life simply wasn’t worth much. Some people may find it easy to live a lie, I can’t. And that’s what it would have been - telling the world I’m something I’m not.”

Alan Turing, the English mathematician and scientist recognised as the founder of modern computer science, commits suicide at the age of 41 after having been chemically castrated as an alternative to prison following his prosecution for homosexual acts. In 2009 Gordon Brown issued a public apology to and in 2013 Queen Elizabeth II grants him a posthumous pardon.

The Sexual Offences Act becomes law, leading to a clampdown by police on gay activity in the UK in subsequent decades (despite a 1967 Act decriminalising homosexual acts in private between two consenting adults over 21).

The riots start in as spontaneous reaction by members of the LGBT community against police harassment after a gay was raided. The bar in question, the , was popular among the poorest and most marginalised people in the gay community. The riots are widely considered to constitute the single most important event leading to the movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States.

The first Gay Pride march takes place. This follows a march the previous year protesting against the unequal for . Also Gay News is first published (it runs until 1983). It has the tagline “the National Homosexual Paper”.

The is first used as a symbol of gay pride. The colours represent sexuality (hot pink), life (red), healing (orange), sunlight (yellow), nature (green), art/magic (turquoise), serenity/harmony (blue) and spirit (violet).

In protest at being classified as an illness, a number of people in Sweden call in sick to work with a case of “being homosexual”! Within months of the calling-in incident, Sweden de-classifies homosexuality as a mental illness.

Norway becomes the first country in the world to enact a law to prevent against homosexuals. Terry Higgins is thought to be the first person thought to die of AIDS in the UK. His friends set up the to raise funds for research and awareness of the illness. The spread of HIV and AIDs in the 1980s has a particularly devastating effect on the gay community. The condition now known as AIDS previously had acquired a number of names, including GRID (gay-related immune deficiency). Today an estimated 36.9 million people worldwide are living with HIV (including 2.6 million children), but the development of highly effective antiretrovirals allows people living with HIV who have access to healthcare to live long and healthy lives.

Chris Smith, later Baron Smith of Finsbury, newly elected to Parliament declares: "My name is Chris Smith. I'm the Labour MP for South and Finsbury, and I'm gay", making him the UK’s first openly gay MP. He would go on to become the first openly gay member of the cabinet during the Blair government and also the first MP to disclose being HIV positive.

Section 28 of the , preventing the “promotion” of homosexuality by UK local authorities, comes into force and has the effect of restricting awareness-raising or discussion of LGBT issues in schools. The previous year at the Conservative party conference Prime Minister stated "children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay".

The LGBT rights charity Stonewall is set up in the UK to lobby against and other barriers to equality. Elsewhere Denmark becomes the first country in the world to give legal recognition to same-sex partnerships.

Soho, a centre of the London LGBT scene, is rocked by an explosion the Admiral Duncan (a gay ). Three people die and dozens are injured. The explosion is the third in a series of bombs targeted at minority communities by a lone extremist. Meanwhile in the world of television, as Folk, by acclaimed screenwriter , hits the UK’s screens. It chronicles the lives of three gay men living in ’s around Canal Street. The series is an instant hit, raising awareness of LGBT issues.

The British government lifts the ban on lesbians and gay men serving in the armed forces.

The age of consent for homosexuals is lowered to 16 in the UK, in line with the heterosexual age, but only after the government has to use the Parliament Act to force through legislation after the rejects it. This follows a number of unsuccessful previous attempts to equalise the age of consent and the lowering of the age of consent to 18 only in 1994.

In an important milestone for gay life, The Adoption and Children Act 2002 allows same-sex couples to adopt children for the first time. Section 28 is repealed. The Employment Equality () Regulations are introduced to provide protection for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals against discrimination in the workplace.

Two key pieces of legislation in the field of LGBT rights are passed in the UK. The Civil Partnership Act gives same-sex couples the same rights and responsibilities as married heterosexual couples and The Gender Recognition Act gives transgender people legal recognition as members of the sex appropriate to their acquired gender for all purposes, including marriage. Both Acts come into effect the following year.

The first Black Pride is held in the UK. In addition, The and associated regulations make it illegal to discriminate against lesbians and gay men in the provision of goods and services. The following year civil partners Martyn Hall and Steven Preddy, who were refused a double room at the Chymorvah Guest House, are successful in their case alleging discrimination by B&B owners Peter and Hazelmary Bull.

Dame Carol Anny Duffy becomes the first woman, Scot and openly lesbian person to be appointed Britain’s Poet Laureate. She had been considered for the position 10 years earlier, but the then government was reportedly worried about how "middle " would react to a lesbian poet laureate.

Welsh rugby star becomes the first UK top-level professional male athlete currently in a team sport to come out as gay. becomes the UK’s first openly transgender Parliamentarian.

Same-sex marriage becomes legal in England and on 29 March under the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act passed the previous year. Equal marriage marks a major milestone in the movement for LGBT rights in the UK.

The Royal Tavern becomes the first ever building in the UK to be given Grade II listed status based on its LGBT history. The Law Society founds its LGBT Lawyers Division as a new community for LGBT lawyers to share best practice and address current issues and challenges in a supportive environment. Well done if you have read this far!

Dentons is proud to be ranked as one of Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers 2016.