Let's talk about... LGBTQIA+

The LGBTQIA+ community and everything that surrounds it is a topic that is talked about more and more in society, and rightly so. For too many years, this has been a community which was oppressed, tortured, ridiculed and discriminated against. I'm happy to see that things are improving, people are being celebrated for expressing themselves freely instead of being shamed and, gradually, more people are being unapologetically themselves. However, the problem is far from fixed. There are still too many people living in fear and too many people being rejected for who they are and who they love. There remains to this day, 71 countries in which homosexuality is illegal. How is that acceptable in the 21st century?

This is not a subject that is taught in schools. Why not? Without education, how can we expect the straight, cis population of a heteronormative society to learn about and be accepting of those who do not conform to traditional ideals? The only people who know about this stuff are those who make the effort to do the research themselves and learn. I am very happy to see that Scotland, as of last year, has become the first country to introduce an LGBTI inclusive curriculum as part of the education system. I hope that Scotland will be able to lead the way for other countries to achieve a more inclusive and accepting global community.

There are so many different identities. I mean, literally hundreds of them. People may identify with more than one label, different labels at different points in their life or no labels at all. There is a wide spectrum of different gender identities, sexual orientations, romantic orientations, etc. We don't need to learn the definition of every single one but we should at least have an awareness of their existence and be open to listening to and learning from others as they bring them up. It is complicated, it is confusing, and this is why we need to be educated.

Representation in the media is on the rise which is a great thing. A number of celebrities and influencers are challenging social norms and breaking down stereotypes which can start conversations among groups of people that haven't previously been exposed to such things. Platforms such as Youtube and Tik Tok give a voice to people who did not have a public space before and this has allowed minority communities to grow. TV shows have also gone a long way in helping to educate the generally population. Programmes like It's a Sin (Channel 4) and Sex Education (Netflix) which have become widely popular, even across generations, are great for helping to eradicate the stigma that surrounds this community. Hopefully, in time, media production will go even further in representing different parts of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

A very brief LGBT history:

1533: Henry VIII made homosexual acts punishable by death in England.

1885: The Criminal Law Amendment Act made all male homosexual acts illegal. Though the death penalty had been abolished by this point, minimum sentence was 10 years in prison. Even a letter expressing affection was enough to be prosecuted. Legislation against female homosexuality was discussed at this time but rejected for fear that it would draw attention and encourage women to explore homosexuality.

1967: It was not until the second half of the 20th century (that's not long ago at all!) that the Sexual Offences Act partially legalised same-sex acts in the UK, between men over 21, in private.

1969: Stonewall riots. Police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. At the time homosexual acts (including "masquerading as the opposite sex") were still illegal in all states except Illinois and even just serving or employing a homosexual person was cause for arrest. The raid led to three nights of riots between police and LGBT activists which marked a turning point in LGBT history. The riots involved police beating and tear-gassing members of the crowd.

1970: The Gay Liberation Front was founded. This organisation fought for LGBT rights, encouraged people to question the mainstream institutions in society and led the first Pride march. They fought against the prejudices that existed and the misinformed beliefs that had been placed on the community - they had been labelled mentally ill by doctors, unemployable by the government, immoral sinners by religious bodies and criminal predators by the police and the media. The GLF was one of the first public representations for the support of gay rights. Now millions of people march at pride parades in many cities across the world every year!

2003: The abolition of Section 28. Section 28 was introduced by Margaret Thatcher's Government in 1988 to legislate against the promotion of homosexuality. 2003 also marked the introduction of the Employment Equality Regulations which prohibited unreasonable discrimination by employers on the basis of sexual orientation, perceived sexual orientation, beliefs or age.

2004: In 2004 same sex couples were finally allowed to enter into civil-partnerships, though same-sex marriage was not allowed until 2014. The Gender Recognition Act of 2004 also gave trans people legal recognition of their gender and the right to a new birth certificate

Sadly there remains a lot of stigma around the community and there is still a really long way to go towards total acceptance and equality, especially in certain countries. In 2019 a study found that two in every three LGBT+ people in the UK say they would not feel safe holding hands with their partner in public. People experience hate crime every day and there are places in the world where people risk their lives just by being queer. Homophobia is still very much prevalent in our society today but there are many organisations and individuals who are fighting for LGBT+ rights and recognition and I hope that people will eventually learn to accept others for who they are without judgement.