The Gay Black Group was formed in the 80s and met at the bookshop ‘Gay’s The Word’ in London, which is still open today. This film shows you a glimpse of what it was like to be gay and black in the 80s, and how people of colour found each other and created community.
Section 28 was repealed in 2003, but its effects are still felt today, and modern educational guidance around transgender young people echoes it. This footage shows the commitment people had to fighting laws that limit LGBTQIA+ lives.
See how the news in 1992 spoke about AIDS activism, and the beginning of The Terrence Higgins Trust, which still operates today.
The history of sex, gender and sexuality and how we came to view queerness the way we do today, told in a graphic novel. Click the link above to borrow Queer: A Graphic History from the OU Library.
The Well of Loneliness was published in 1928 and was one of the first English novels to write about lesbians. It follows an upper-class woman who realises she is an invert (the term for lesbian at the time). The book is public domain and is free to read on Project Gutenberg or listen to on LibriVox.
Learn about how genders outside the binary existed in ancient Eygpt, and why what we know about them today has meant working with colonial sources. This article makes us question how and why we archive what we do, and why it’s important to do so with a decolonial mindset.
This podcast explores the way Shakespeare plays with gender (both in the past and today). If you would like to listen to more about queerness and Shakespeare, check out the audiobook of Straight Acting by Will Tosh. Listening Book is an audiobook library for people with disabilities, learning differences, and people who experience mental illness. You can join for little to no cost, and no proof is required for eligibility.
Dr Julia Shaw and comedian Sofie Hagen talk about the history of Pride marches, how bi people have always been part of queer activism, and bisexual symbols. Bi People was made in partnership with The Open University.
Very little is known about the queer poet Sappho – about 97% of her poems have not survived. What we have left are two poems and fragments. Natalie Haynes isn’t sure how she is going to fill a half-hour podcast about her.
I hope you enjoy these recomendations – get in touch via OU Pride Students Connect or Facebook to share what your thoughts, and make your own recommendations.
