99 PAGE TITLE

A FRESHERS’ GUIDE TO

LGBT+ OUTOUT &&

2016 FRESHER’S FAIR ABOUTABOUT 99 “PAGEBE WHO TITLEYOU ARE AND SAY WHAT YOU FEEL, BECAUSE THOSE WHO MIND DON’T MATTER AND THOSE WHO MATTER DON’T MIND.” Dr. SUESS Writer and Cartoonist (1904 - 1991) IQ Imperial College Union LGBT+ 3 CONTENTS

4 President’s Note 6 All About IQ 8 Committee 16’/17’ 10 Help! 11 Sexual Health 12 What’s On... 14 LGBT+ London (Bars) 18 LGBT+ London (Nightclubs) 20 LGBT+ London (Map) 22 I Don’t Feel Like Dancing 24 Culture Club 26 A Little History 4 PRESIDENT’S NOTE

When I joined IQ I wasn’t sure what I was going to find. Having had no LGBT+ friends at school (that I knew of) I was simply looking for a chance to meet people like me.

This will be the case for many of you reading this as you take your first steps into university life. For others, you may be coming to Imperial with years of experi- ence in the LGBT+ community under your belt.

Whatever your background, rest assured that IQ is a so- ciety open to everyone, with members that have a wide range of experiences. We hold events, both silly and serious, that cater to our diverse group of members.

For me, I found a great bunch of people, a greater awareness of the challenges facing LGBT+ students and the chance to get involved and change things for the better.

Join me in the best society at Imperial and have a fantastic year!

- Scott 5

“THE IMPORTANT THING IS NOT THE OBJECT OF LOVE, BUT THE EMOTION ITSELF.” Gore Vidal American writer (1925 - 2012) 6 ALL ABOUT IQ

IQ (or Imperial long ago) is the LGBT+ society for Imperial College Union.

We support and aim to unite those under the LBGT+ banner at Imperial College. We are an open, judgement free society and welcome people of all genders and sexualities.

We’re here to help people get to know each other, to provide support for people and gen- erally to have a great time doing it!

facebook.com/iqlgbt

.com/iqlgbt

union.ic.ac.uk/iq 7

WHAT DO WE DO? - We organise events for the LGBT+ student community. We do everything from going out clubbing, to discussions about really important things, with a few film nights and days out thrown in on the way.

- We provide safe spaces and a confidential peer support service to any part of the

community. - To promote awareness to the student body about LGBT+ and related issues.

PRIVACY Everyone is welcome to join, regardless of how you (or don’t) identify and you don’t have to ‘out’ to join! We promise to value, respect and protect your privacy; we have a main closed and private facebook group and any- one asking for support shall be given utmost confidentiality. 8 COMMITTEE 16/17

PRESIDENT TREASURERS SCOTT REDMOND BEN WALKER and CEMRE CANKAYA

SECRETARY THOMAS WONG EVENTS OSCAR TUCKER

WEB & PUBLICITY MATTY HAYWARD 9

WELFARE WOMEN’S OFFICERS CLEVELAND DOUGLAS ERICA CHF and and WILLIE RUSH BELEN BARBED

POSTGRAD OFFICER GENDER DIVERSITY HENRY LI BECCA SIMPSON and BEN WINDO

SEXUALITY DIVERSITY GEORGIE LOBO-HOTH and RACHEL HUGHES 10 HELP!

Sometimes you just have a burning question (or something else burning) that you need help with. Sometimes friends are helpful, but most of the time you just want to find out anonymously. This section lists places and people that are there to help you out.

Switchboard Formerly the London and Switchboard (LLGS), Switchboard provides an information, support and referral service for , gay men, bisexual people and anyone who needs to consider issues around their sexuality. http://switchboard.lgbt Daily, 10am-11pm: 0300 330 0630

Queer Network A National LGBT Youth Organisation in the UK. Run by and for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Youth and Teens. http://www.lgbtyouth.org LGBT Foundation The LGBT Foundation provide a wide range of support services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans* people. http://lgbt.foundation Imperial College Councelling Service The Student Counselling Service offers short-term counselling to registered students of . It is free and confidential. Counsellors are available at the , Hammersmith and Cam- puses. http://imperial.ac.uk/counselling 11 SEXUAL HEALTH

Sex. Sex, sex, sex, sex; you’re not going to be able to avoid it. In fact, you’ll probably have some, and enjoy it too! The important thing to remember is that you have got to look after yourself, have safe sex and get yourself checked.

Terrance Higgins Trust The THT is the largest HIV and sexual health charity in the UK. Don’t ignore them just because you think HIV has nothing to do with you - their website has some great info on sexual health. http://tht.org.uk CLINICS Express - 34 Dean Street, , W1D 4PR http://deanstreetexpress.nhs.uk/

John Hunter Clinic - Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, SW10 9NH www.chelwest.nhs.uk/services/hiv-sexual-health

Guys @ Mary’s Clinic - Jefferiss Wing, St. Mary’s Hospital Praed Streed, W2 1NY https://www.imperial.nhs.uk/our-services/sexual- health-and-hiv

West London Centre - 10 Hammersmith Broadway, W6 7AL for Sexual Health www.chelwest.nhs.uk

These are just some of the many clinics available across London and facilities such as PEP are available at some A&E Departments. Gay/bi men should also get vaccinated against Hepatitis B, which is free from these clinics. 12 WHAT’S ON...

We have much planned over this first term of the year! Join us whenever you like throughout; be mindful that this is a provisional list - Watch the facebook group, mailing list or the website to keep updated!

Fresher’s Fair Come and meet us at our stall at the Fresher’s Fair in the first week of term! Across South Kensington Campus, Imperial College Tuesday 4th October, 11am to 5pm

South Kensington Pub Crawl Get a grips with the local surroundings as we tour the pubs around Kensing- ton. The first social event of the year - a great way to introduce yourself! Meeting at Imperial College Union Thursday 6th October, Evening

Soho Bar Crawl An evening to explore the famous gay bars of Central London. Meeting at Imperial College Union Saturday 8th October, Evening 13 ...AUTUMN ‘16

Family’s Events If you sign up to be part of IQ’s Familys scheme, events throughout the term invite you to come as a group to ones such as games nights or discussions! Various Monday 10th October, 7pm-9pm, then throughout the term

LGBT Discussions Starting this term we aim to host LGBT topical discussions and debates var- ying from the ease of being LGBT at IC, to the challenges concerning faith. The first will be, of course, about . Room TBC, Imperial College Usually every other Tuesday evening

Film Nights We regularly show themed movies, complete with snacks! Lecture Theatre TBC, Imperial College Wednesday 2nd November, then throughout the year

Trips! This term we plan to go out to the Tate Modern, a selected theatre, go ice skating at the Natural History Museum and visit a petting zoo to destress those revision stresses! Various, throughout term

Christmas Dinner We annually hold a three-course christmas dinner in London, and is a great way to mark the end of the first term! TBC Wednesday 10th December, evening 14 LGBT+ LONDON TAKE YOU TO A

Gay bars. If you want to head out for an evening of chilling out with your mates we’ve put together this list of bars to go to.

Ku Bar The original Ku Bar on Lisle St has two bars across two levels, with decent drinks and friendly staff. Girls will enjoy Ruby Tuesdays! The other Ku Bar on Frith St has a fairly large lounge bar in the basement. Both are usually busy with a good atmosphere. 30 Lisle St, W1 and 25 Frith St, W1 noon to 3am (Mon-Sat) noon to midnight (Sun)

G-A-Y Bar Camp pop classics, cheap cocktail pitch- ers, always busy with a good crowd for those random fun evenings with friends. 30 Old Compton Street, W1 noon to midnight (Mon-Sun)

The Yard A courtyard bar and lounge area with a wide range of cocktails. Recently under planning threat. Slightly more professional crowd and happy hours 6pm till 8pm Monday to Thursday. 57 Rupert St, W1 2pm to 11.30pm (Mon-Thur) 2pm to 12am (Frid-Sat) 2pm to 10.30pm (Sun) I WANNA 15 TAKE YOU TO A GAY BAR

Rupert Street A large bar with a slightly older crowd and average prices. Of- ten busy in the evenings and with a good range of cocktails. Lim- ited seating but lots of standing space indoors and outside. 50 Rupert St, W1 noon to 11pm (Mon-Fri) 11am to 12am (Sat) 11am to 10.30pm (Sunday)

She Soho A stylish and luxury venue designed exclusively for lesbians. S he teams its spirited evenings out with regular quirky events, with live music mixed in with comedy shows to make this one a fully rounded ven- ue with something going on every day of the week. 23a Old Compton St, W1D 5JL 4pm to 11:30pm (Mon-Thur)

Ruby Tuesdays Ruby Tuesdays is the super established, pop & R’n’B night with added chart music mixed in. It take place every Tuesday at Ku Bar and is always busy, always with a diverse female crowd with a few male friends thrown in to the mix. 30 Lisle St, WC2H 7BA 9pm - 3am (Tuesdays) 16 LGBT+ LONDON TAKE YOU TO A GAY BAR

Freedom Bar Cocktail bar with chandeliers, plus late club with mir- rored walls, cabaret and 200+ disco balls. National House, 60-66 Wardour St, W1F 0TA 4pm to 3am (Mon-Sat) 2pm to 10:30pm (Sun)

Village Long-running, chandelier-lit gay venue spread over three boudoir, cafe-bar and disco-themed floors. 81 Wardour St, W1D 6QD 5pm to 1am (Mon-Tues) 5pm to 2am (Wed-Sat) 5pm to 11:30pm (Sun)

Circa Smallish gay bar with leather seats, ex- posed brick walls and a huge, glitter- ing disco ball DJ booth. It’s a slick bar, it will make you feel like you’re relaxing in a living room. The music here is a mix of pop to commercial house, including the classic club anthems. Basement, 79 Wardour St W1 12pm to 1am (Mon-Sat) I WANNA 17 TAKE YOU TO A GAY BAR

“WE SHOULD INDEED KEEP CALM

IN THE FACE OF DIFFERENCE, AND LIVE OUR LIVES IN A STATE OF INCLUSION AND WONDER AT THE DIVERSITY OF HUMANITY

GEORGE TAKEI American Actor and Activist 18 LGBT+ LONDON

Sometimes it’s great to spend the night dancing away. Here are our suggestions on where to go.

Heaven Many different rooms with music to suit your mood and slightly expensive drinks. It is howev- er one of London’s biggest and most famous gay nightclubs so it’s worth going there at least once. Under the Arches, Villiers Street, WC2 11pm to 5:30am (Mon, Thurs, Fri) 10:30pm to 5am (Sat)

Ku Klub Small club, reasonably priced drinks, dif- ferent music every night and a reasonable crowd. Ku Klub’s staff are always friendly. 30 Lisle Street, WC2H 10.30pm to 3am (Mon-Sat)

G-A-Y Late Camp pop classics, cheap cock- tail pitchers; essentially G-A-Y Bar continuing into the night. 5 Goslett Yard 11pm to 3am (Every night, Sunday is members only) 19 NIGHTCLUBBING

The Shadow Lounge

Shadow Lounge tends to have a slightly older crowd than its neighbours but it’s mostly unpredictable and you could finnd yourself clubbing with a young crowd. The club’s nice blue and gold decor may be what convinces you to pay its high drink prices! 5 , W1 10pm to 3am (Mon-Sat)

Escape A small venue in Central London with a mixed crowd of young people,playing the classic pop you’d expect. It is one of the most affordable outings in Soho so check it out! 10 Brewer Street W1 5pm to 3am (Mon-Sat)

The Roxy Not a gay club, but it is popular across the central Lon- don universities and is usually a safe bet. Playing house, R&B, pop and all the great old schools it promises a great turnout. Also check their facebook page for the occasional parties they host at the Den and Centro. 3 Rathbone Place, W1P 1DA 5pm to 3am (Mon-Thurs) 5pm to 3:30am (Fri) 6:30pm to 3:30am (Sat) 20 LGBT+ LONDON

15

12

9

2 1

13 6 5 14 8 7 3 4 11 21 MAP

BARS 1 Ku Bar 2 G-A-Y Bar 3 The Yard 4 Rupert Street 5 Compton’s 6 Freedom Bar 7 Duke of Wellington 8 Village 9 Circa

CLUBS

10 Heaven 11 Ku Klub 12 G-A-Y Late 13 Shadow Lounge 14 Escape 15 Roxy

10 22 I DON’T FEEL LIKE DANCING

It’s not all about the bars and clubs; there are always those times when you want to do something different.

Balans At no. 34 Old Compton Street, Balans is an established café right in the heart of Soho. Apart from a delicious range of food and drinks, Balans offers WiFi and is open all hours of the day and night. For their combined bar/res- taurant, just wander down to no. 60. 34 Old Compton Street, WC2 http://www.balans.co.uk

Yauatcha Top-of-the-range, contemporary Chinese dining with expertly-crafted dim- sum and handmade sweets in the heart of Soho. 15-17 Broadwick St, W1F 0DL http://www.yauatcha.com/soho/

Coffee, Cake and Kink On the move, Coffee, Cake & Kink will be somewhere you can get your caffeine hit whilst browsing kink from art and books to homeware and stationery. They also hold fortnightly student LGBT socials near Warren Street. http://www.coffeecakeandkink.com 23 I DON’T

Foyles The Foyles Bookshop on has an extensive gay section with everything from fiction, classics and biographies to books on art and sex. The Silver Moon Women’s Bookshop of lesbian titles has now been incorperated into the store. Students get 10% off everything. 107 Charing Cross Rd, WC2H 0DT http://www.foyles.co.uk

Out For Sport A website that provides information about gay friendly sports clubs in London including the London Royals Hockey Club, ‘Out To Swim’ LGBT swimming/water polo and many gay friendly london football clubs. https://outforsport.wordpress.com

London Gay Symphony Orchestra Run by members for members. A repertoire committeee chooses the music played. Con- certo auditions and composer auditions are held every year for members and non members. http://www.lgso.org.uk 24 CULTURE CLUB PRIDE London Pride has been run by several organiations since the first UK Rally, on the 1st July 1972; 2000 people came. That number has been growing steadily as the event goes from strength to strength. A political rally has been held since 2004, and more and more events are organised to help celebrate the diversity and culture of the gay community.

In 1992 London was selected to hold the first Europride, with attendance es- timated at 100,000. London again held Europride in 2006 with an estimated 600,000 participants.

The Parade

Large numbers of LGBT-friendly people from all walks of life take part in the pa- rade; a celebration of diversity and a key event for the community.

Since 1991, the Friends of Dorothy Society of Change Ringers have rung the bells of the church of St Martin in the Fields in Trafalgar Square during the morning of Pride, and as the parade passes. For many the most iconic image is of a long rainbow flag carried along with the parade.

Since 2006 Regent Street and Oxford Street have been closed off to allow the parade to pass through. Many in the LGBT community, see this as a sign of wider acceptance, although the parade once marched down Oxford Street illegally in protest in the 80s. Groups who participate include The OutZone, Youth Project for gay and bisexual young men, Mosaic LGBT Youth, Youth, Out On Thursday, Metro Centre, Youth@Pride, The Pink Paper, Transport for London, Metropolitan Police, London LGBT Student Network and many others. Since 2004 the Mayor of London has participated by walking part of the route with the rainbow flag. 25

FILM FESTIVAL

The London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (LLGFF) takes place every spring. It began as a season of gay and lesbian films at the National Film Theatre in 1986 and 1987 under the title “Gay’s Own Pictures”, curated by Peter Packer of the Tyneside Cinema, and was renamed the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in 1988. The 22nd LLGFF took place from Thursday 27 March to Thursday 10 April 2008 and featured over 200 films.

Organised and run by the British Film Institute, most LLGFF screenings take place in the BFI Southbank. Open and closing gala screenings take place at the Odeon in Leicester Square. Every summer, a selection of feature films and short films shown at the Festival goes on tour around the UK. 26 A LITTLE HISTORY

London is totally gay! It’s a place where many a gay man and woman have found refuge and an ability to be themselves without inhibition. As the political, cultural and financial hub of Britain it has also been at the forefront of much change.

Here we take a glance at how London has changed gay life in Britain, starting after the law which partially de-criminalised homosexuality in 1967.

1970 - The London (GLF) founded at a meeting in the London School of Economics on the 13th October. First gay demonstration in the UK took place in Highbury Fields, Islington. 1971 - The first gay march through London, protesting against the unequal for gay men (21) and ending with a rally in Trafalgar Square, took place in August. 1972 - The first UK Pride carnival and march through London to Hyde Park held on the 1st July. 1974 - London Gay (later Lesbian and Gay) Switchboard launched in a book shop on Caledonian Road. With a year it was running 24 hours a day. The South London Gay Community Centre opened in a Brixton squat. 1979 - Heaven, London’s first mainstream gay club, opened in the Adelphi Arches. 1981 - Ken Livingstone, the new leader of the Greater London Council (GLC), promised support to gays and gave the first ‘gay grant’ to the London Gay Switchboard. 1984 - Chris Smith, MP for Islington South, first MP to come out while in office. Gay Times began first publication in May. 1985 - With a grant from the GLC the London Lesbian and Gay Centre opened in Farringdon. 1988 - , preventing the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality by local authorities, came into force. Ten thousand protested in London. 1989 - The Group set up in response to Section 28. 27

1990 - The direct action group Outrage! formed in May. First action takes place at Hyde Park Public Toilets to protest Metropolitan Police entrapment of gay men cruising. 1991 - Outrage! held a kiss in at Piccadilly Circus. 1992 - London hosted the first Europride. 1994 - The House of Commons voted to reduce the gay male age of consent to eighteen. The crowds outside were bitterly disappointed that it had not been reduced to sixteen and a riot ensued in the precincts of parliament. Crowds rampaged to the G-A-Y disco and owner Jeremy Joseph gave them free entry. 1998 - The House of Commons overwhelmingly voted for equal age of consent. It was defeated in the House of Lords. 1999 - A lone Neo-Nazi extremist nail bombed the pub in Old Compton Street, killing 3 and injuring 70, in the third in a series of bombs targeted at various minorities in London. 2001 - The Great London Authority (GLA) was the first local authority in the country to officially recognise same- sex partnerships, paving the way for Civil Partnerships. Parliament finally equalised the age of consent. 2003 - Section 28 Repealed. 2004 - Civil Partnership Act passed by Parliament. 2007 - The Equality Act(Sexual Orientation) Regulations became law. 2010 - The Equality Act is updated and the Public Sector Equality Duty is added. 2013 - The Marriage (Same Sex Couples Act) passes parliamen, gains Royal Assent and becomes law in England and . 2014 - The Scottish Parliament passed similar legislation through the year. 2016 - Presently, there are 35 LGB MPs in the UK, the most in any government in the world. IQLGBT+

Imperial College Union