Jim Parsons and Zachary Quinto: ‘Truman and Tennessee were lightning rods’

The Big Bang Theory and Star Trek actors lend their voices to Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams in a film about their friendship.

“It really was an intellectual friendship,” Truman Capote said of his 40-year relationship with the playwright Tennessee Williams. “Though people thought otherwise.”

The two aspiring writers met in 1940, when Capote was 16 and Williams was 29, still a few years off his first success with The Glass Menagerie. Both were southerners (Capote from Louisiana, Williams from Mississippi); had impossible relationships with their families; went from being what Williams called the “teased queer in the schoolyard” to out gay celebrities; created iconic female characters (Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire); and later became recognised as giants of 20th-century American literature.

Their lifelong friendship – and occasionally bitter rivalry – is the subject of Lisa Immordino Vreeland’s artful documentary Tennessee & Truman: An Intimate Conversation.

Zachary Quinto and Jim Parsons, the actors who lend their voices to Williams and Capote in the film, have plenty in common, too: they are gay men in Hollywood who have spent most of their careers in the gravitational pull of entertainment behemoths playing characters who are fluent in Klingon. Quinto is best known for his recurring role as Spock in three Star Trek movies, Parsons for his 12 seasons as Sheldon the uber-geek in the much-loved sitcom The Big Bang Theory. While they had known each other socially for years, it was a revival of Mart Crowley’s play The Boys in the Band, a seminal work of LGBT+ theatre, that cemented their friendship – first in the 50^th anniversary Broadway production in 2018 and then in the 2020 movie adaptation for Netflix.

Tennessee & Truman is an unexpected pleasure. This is partly because it conjures a world of literary glamour far from the reality in which we are all confined: high art, high bitchery and delightful archive photographs of a fifty-something Capote cavorting in Studio 54.

Capote appears vicious, bitchy, highly curated; Williams is large, loose, almost oozing out of the screen. “It’s like comparing an elf to an ape,” as Parsons puts it. Capote was frequently unkind about Williams – he observes that it is possible to be a writer of genius and yet lack intelligence: “Tennessee is not intelligent.”

As astute as Quinto and Parsons’ performances are, the real delight lies in the archive interviews – the astonishing intimacy of the questions asked, the artfulness with which they are answered.

“If we want to get right to it, it was a very different thing to be a homosexual back then,” says Parsons. “They were so unapologetic about it. There’s a beautiful, brutal honesty about them. And they are game-players at the same time. In those interviews, their answers are both very revealing and also cat-and-mouse. It feels like you get some deep truths from them, but it’s so playfully done.”

The careers of Quinto and Parsons appear not to have been harmed by being out gay men in Hollywood – indeed, Parsons was until recently the highest-earning TV star in the world (between 2014 and 2019, he was paid more than $25m a season for The Big Bang Theory). Now, having spent the past few years concentrating on LGBT+ stories, both are hoping to diversify as production cranks up again.

Quinto hopes that the film will bring renewed respect to Williams and Capote as “trailblazers” at a time when there were few out gay public figures. “I think, back then, identity was less tied to social progress, representation, political advancement. There was a fascination with these people who were unapologetic. They were lightning rods. It wasn’t the same as what it means today, when it’s about equality, social integration, progressing an agenda for the community. But it was the foundation that all the stuff that came after it was built upon. All of the things that we’re able to advocate for today wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for these outliers.”

Pride in Ageing’s Virtual Rainbow Death Café is back on Monday 24 May at 4.00pm.

This event is a chance to talk openly about death and dying in a relaxed, LGBT-friendly group space. More information and free tickets can be booked here.

Pride in Practice patient survey

LGBT Foundation’s Pride in Practice LGBT Patient Experience Survey is open from 17 May until 31 July 2021. This annual survey is an opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people to share their experiences of accessing GPs, dentists, pharmacists and optometrists.

In 2018, 13% of LGBT people said that they had received some form of unequal treatment from healthcare staff because they were LGBT. This figure rose to 19% for LGBT people of colour.

This survey will enable a better understanding of LGBT people’s experience of healthcare as well as identifying areas where things are going well, and how they can be improved. The survey can be completed at www.lgbt.foundation/pipsurvey2021 and anyone completing the questionnaire can enter a prize draw for £200 in shopping vouchers.

About Pride in Practice

This research is part of Pride in Practice, a quality assurance and social prescribing programme for primary care services and LGBT communities. Pride in Practice provides training, assessment, accreditation and ongoing support for healthcare services to help them be inclusive of LGBT patients. Pride in Practice is funded by the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership.

About the survey

This survey asks about your experiences of accessing healthcare services from your GP, dentist, pharmacist and optometrist. It aims to build a picture of current healthcare provision by primary care services for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people. The findings of this research will be turned into a report which will be used to make sure that primary care services are better able to recognise and meet the needs of their LGBT patients.

This survey is for LGBT people living in England and responses from people who are not LGBT or live outside of England will not be included in the analysis, and are not eligible to be entered into the prize draw.

The survey should take around 20-40 minutes, depending on your answers. To thank you for your time, you may choose to enter into a prize draw to win £200 worth of shopping vouchers or 3 prizes of vouchers worth £25. 

The information you provide will remain confidential and anonymous. All survey data will be stored securely in line with GDPR. If you have any questions about how your date is stored, please contact pip@lgbt.foundation. This survey has been reviewed in line with LGBT Foundation’s Research Ethics and Integrity Policy.

IDAHOBIT

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT) was created in 2004 to draw attention to the violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex people and all other people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics.

The date of 17 May was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organisation’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.

The day is now celebrated in more than 130 countries, including 37 where same-sex acts are illegal. Thousands of initiatives, big and small, are reported throughout the planet.

IDAHOBIT has received official recognition from several States, international institutions such as the European Parliament, and by countless local authorities. Most United Nations agencies also mark the Day with specific events. Even if every year a “global focus issue” is promoted, IDAHOBIT is not one centralised campaign; rather it is a moment that everyone can take advantage of to take action, on whatever issue and in whatever format that they wish.

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Homosexuality: The countries where it is illegal to be gay

A crackdown on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Cameroon has resulted in the arrest or assault by security forces of dozens of people this year, according to Human Rights Watch.

In the most recent incident, two transgender Cameroonians have been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of “attempted homosexuality”.

Where is homosexuality still outlawed?

There are 69 countries that have laws that criminalise homosexuality, and nearly half of these are in Africa.

However, in some countries there have been moves to decriminalise same-sex unions.

In February this year, Angola’s President Joao Lourenco signed into law a revised penal code to allow same-sex relationships and bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

In June last year, Gabon reversed a law that had criminalised homosexuality and made gay sex punishable with six months in prison and a large fine.

Botswana’s High Court also ruled in favour of decriminalising homosexuality in 2019.

Mozambique and the Seychelles have also scrapped anti-homosexuality laws in recent years.

In Trinidad and Tobago, a court in 2018 ruled that laws banning gay sex were unconstitutional.

But there are countries where existing laws outlawing homosexuality have been tightened, including Nigeria and Uganda. In others, efforts to get the laws removed have failed.

A court in Singapore dismissed a bid to overturn a law that prohibits gay sex early last year.

In May 2019, the high court in Kenya upheld laws criminalising homosexual acts.

Colonial legacy

Many of the laws criminalising homosexual relations originate from colonial times.

In many places, breaking these laws could be punishable by long prison sentences.

Out of the 53 countries in the Commonwealth – a loose association of countries most of them former British colonies – 36 have laws that criminalise homosexuality.

Countries that criminalise homosexuality today also have criminal penalties against women who have sex with women, although the original British laws applied only to men.

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) monitors the progress of laws relating to homosexuality around the world.

It says the death penalty is the legally prescribed punishment for same-sex sexual acts in Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and in the northern states in Nigeria.

Sudan repealed the death penalty for consensual same-sex sexual acts last year.

In Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar, Somalia and the United Arab Emirates, the laws against same-sex relations do not prescribe the death penalty, but it’s still been used in some instances.

Some observers note that the risk of prosecution in some places is minimal.

For example, a 2017 report on Jamaica by the UK Home Office said that Jamaica was regarded as a homophobic society, but that the “authorities do not actively seek to prosecute LGBT persons”.

Activist groups say the ability of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) organisations to carry out advocacy work is being restricted.

Changing trend

There is a global trend toward decriminalising same-sex acts.

So far, 28 countries in the world recognise same-sex marriages, and 34 others provide for some partnership recognition for same-sex couples, ILGA says.

As of December 2020, 81 countries had laws against discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation. Twenty years ago, there were only 15.

Full list of countries where homosexuality is outlawed:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Antigua & Barbuda, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Brunei, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Cook Islands, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guyana, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territory (Gaza Strip), Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Alphabet Soup of Identity

How did we get from Gay to LGBT to LGBTQIA to LGGBDTTTIQQAAPP etc? Who or what constitutes inclusion? There was much soul-searching and sometimes acrimonious debate on whether to add Bi and Trans. Moreso, when Intersex or Asexual are considered.

Young people appear to have reclaimed “Queer”, but how can this suffice as an all-inclusive umbrella word as this upsets too many of our generation that experienced “queer-bashing”?

Certainly, defining characteristics are being “other” and minority.

Does everyone / anyone even want to be included? Some LGBs don’t want Trans included. Some Trans people who identify as straight don’t see why they are included.

In the UK during 2018-19 calls from a minority of Lesbians to “Get the L Out” came in response to disagreements over Trans inclusion and conflation of sex and gender identity.

Many European LGBT+ rights and policy groups have gone LGBTI. Yet, has anyone asked Intersex people if they want including? Stonewall did, and half those invited wanted in, the other half, out – so stalemate and Stonewall evolved to be LGBT but not LGBTI – even that caused trouble for some.

Two Hundred Identities

There are some 100 to 200 identities now used to describe sex, gender, sexuality, and romantic attraction – or their lack thereof. Many of these overlap and there are 40+ acronyms attempting to summarise them:

LGBT – These 4 letters do not cover all the sexes, genders or sexualities;

Variant and inconsistent additions: LGBTI, LGBTQ, LGBTQIA, LGBTIQAP, LGBTQIA2S, LGBTQQICAPF2K, LGGBDTTTIQQAAPP etc.

Some alternatives have been trialled eg GSM (Gender and Sexual Minorities), but in the end, LGBT has stuck, though for a while, and particularly in the USA, GLBT was prominent whilst LGBT or LGBTQ with or without + are now considered more internationally universal.

Some one suggested: “We do seem to expend so much energy over this naming business. There’s only one sure way of ending the alphabet soup nonsense, It’s LGBTQQINQBHTHOWTB – LGBTQQ Not Queer But Happy To Help Out When They’re Busy or it could be shortened to LGW (Lesbian, Gay or Whatever)”.

The dilemma of those wanting to keep it short is their disregard of anyone but gay or lesbian and the historical who came first privilege.

One of the longest seen is the safe space advertised at Wesleyan University in Connnecticut, USA:

LGBTTQQFAGPBDSM

“a safe space for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Queer, Questioning, Flexual, Asexual, Genderfuck, Polyamourous, Bondage / Discipline, Dominance / Submission, Sadism / Masochism (LGBTTQQFAGPBDSM) communities and for people of sexually or gender dissident communities. The goals of Open House include generating interest in a celebration of queer life from the social to the political to the academic. Open House works to create a Wesleyan community that appreciates the variety and vivacity of gender, sex and sexuality.” 

At Out In The City we usually use LGBT+ communities, but someone, somewhere, will dispute the inclusion or omission of every or any letter. What do you think?

“Conversion therapy”

On 11 May, the Government announced its plans to ban LGBT “conversion therapy”, as part of the Queen’s Speech. The Government’s plans are intended to introduce laws which will protect people from being subjected to the practice. 

The Government has also announced the creation of a support fund for LGBT people impacted by “conversion therapy”. 

Read more about the Government’s plans here.

Read the Queen’s Speech background briefing notes for more information on the Government’s proposed Bills here.

What is the Queen’s Speech?

The Queen’s Speech is the speech that the Queen reads out in the House of Lords Chamber on the occasion of the State Opening of Parliament. 

It’s written by the Government and sets out the programme of Bills – new laws, and changes to existing laws – that the Government intends to put forward in this new Parliamentary session. A session of Parliament usually lasts around one year.  Once the Government puts forward a Bill in Parliament, Parliament then debates the Government’s proposal and decides whether to adopt the changes to the law set out in the Bill.

Hugs

“Hugs,” everybody keeps saying. “Who do you most want to hug on 17 May?” It’s an absurd act of prudishness. The real headline, of course, is that this is the first day on which it will be legal (in England and most of Scotland, but not yet Wales or Northern Ireland) to have sex with a stranger since 22 March 2020.

So, is oral sex more Covid-safe than kissing? Should you have a lateral flow test before sex? Doctors, scientists and other experts answer the big questions here.

National Honour Our LGBT Elders Day

Celebrate an LGBT elder who made a difference in your life, and spread the word about the importance of LGBT older adults in your community on Sunday, 16 May – National Honour Our LGBT Elders Day.

Join in as we celebrate National Honour Our LGBT Elders Day virtually with videos and retrospectives on the event’s official Facebook page, www.facebook.com/LGBTEldersDay.

Visit the website to see videos honouring an LGBT elder who made a difference. You can also learn more about the history and purpose of National Honour Our LGBT Elders Day.

The LGBT Foundation advise that there are at least 7,650 older lesbian, gay and bisexual people living in Manchester today, and over the next 20 years, Manchester will see the number of over 65s increase by 45%.

In the United States there are an estimated 3 million LGBT adults over the age of 55.

“It’s important to celebrate elders every day,” said Sam McClure, executive director of the Centre for LGBTQ Health Equity, which inaugurated the national day of recognition in Baltimore in 2016. “Respect for those with more experience is an essential element of civility. In intergenerational dialogues, we discover we have differing opinions based on our experiences and perspectives. I love seeing elders and youth learning from each other.”

For more information visit www.lgbteldersday.org

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Sarah-Joy Ford: Archives and Amazons Exhibition

Monday 17 May 2021 – Sunday 11 July 2021 – Free, just drop in

HOME, 2 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester M15 4FN

A Quilter’s Guide to The Lesbian Archive is a new exhibition as part of HOME’s reopening programme.

Sarah-Joy Ford presents a new body of work following several years of research in the Lesbian Archive Collection at Glasgow Women’s Library. Sarah-Joy Ford’s work takes pleasure in connecting with this lesbian heritage, acknowledging the complexities of archiving and stitching through to new legacies with this work.

This exhibition is an exercise in taking pleasure in identification, recognition and connection with the lesbian pasts represented in the archive. It provides material space to remember the stories of the dyke lands, lesbian history walks and lesbian spaces hidden in their vaults. Ford’s work examines what it means to look backward through a largely unknown history; acknowledging failed utopias, and stitching through the complex politics, feelings and affects of the Lesbian Archive, creating a new legacy for lesbian lives in every thread.

Using quilt as a methodology, Ford has responded to and re-visioned archival material. Each stitch is a mediation between the feelings, sensations, and pleasures of exploring lesbian pasts. This reflection indulges in the images, iconographies and symbols that have been used to invoke lesbian strength, power, and community throughout the 20^th and 21^st century. These iconographies are woven textile tales from Lesbos, the interlocking Venus, and the labrys to the Amazon woman.

Sarah-Joy Ford is an Artist and Researcher based in Manchester, where she is a member of Proximity Collective and co-director of The Queer Research Network Manchester. Her current PhD research examines quilting as a methodology for re-visioning lesbian archive material.

Want to know more about Sarah-Joy Ford?

• Visit Sarah-Joy Ford’s website

This exhibition is in partnership with Glasgow Women’s Library

Let’s Get Musical

Sonder Radio is an online radio station working with residents of Manchester who are 50+ – www.sonderradio.com

They have an exciting course coming up – a 2 week long online project “Let’s Get Musical” (plus online and taster sessions) – for 50+ residents of Manchester who are not currently in employment, in partnership with Manchester Adult Education Service. 

The programme includes an introduction to music, production and creative writing with a focus on confidence building and teamwork. The group will produce and present a radio show together on the last Friday to an invited audience. 

It’s completely free to attend and they will provide laptops and data if this is a barrier. If you have attended one of their face-to-face courses in the past, you are still very welcome to join them again to learn more.

Dates:

Getting Online Sessions – 19 & 20 May (10.30am -1.30pm)

Taster Session – 27 May (1.00pm – 3.00pm)

Let’s Get Musical – 31 May – 4 June & 7 June – 11 June (10.30am – 3.30pm)

If you are interested in signing up, please fill in this form.

If you have any questions, they would be happy to speak to any potential participants about the programme. Please see the flyer for contact details.

Adam on BBC iPlayer

Inspired by the life of Adam Kashmiry, Adam tells the remarkable story of a young trans man and his struggle across genders and borders to be himself. Originally a multi-award-winning stage play, Adam has been reinvented as a compelling, theatrical on-screen drama. 

Born in Egypt, Adam was assigned female at birth but always knew he was a boy. Trapped in a deeply conservative society where falling in love with the wrong person can get you killed, he knew that he had to escape. With a borrowed laptop he typed in a question: ‘Can the soul of a man be trapped in the body of a woman?’ What followed was a catalyst to begin the epic journey for the right to change his body to the boy he knew himself to be. 

Written by playwright Frances Poet, and reworked for the screen, this hour-long drama focuses on Adam’s isolating experiences in a Glasgow flat while awaiting a decision on his asylum claim.

Trapped in a Catch-22 where he cannot prove his need for asylum as a trans man until he transitions but is unable to start transitioning until he is granted asylum, Adam is left alone to wrestle with his conflicting thoughts and feelings as every waking moment sees him haunted by figures from both his past and his present.

Contains some strong language and some upsetting scenes – duration 59 minutes.

First shown 6 Mar 2021 and available for 10 months on BBC iPlayer.

Follow this link.

‘It is life-saving’: Elliot Page opens up about surgery

Actor Elliot Page is revealing how happier he feels after having top surgery and how important he believes it is to support health care for transgender people.

“I want people to know that not only has it been life changing for me, I do believe it is life-saving and it’s the case for so many people,” the actor told Oprah Winfrey on her new show. During the interview, Page teared up when Winfrey asked him what has brought him the most joy.

The Oscar-nominated star of “Juno,” “Inception” and “The Umbrella Academy” said it was the little things — like wearing a T-shirt, having a towel around his waist after a shower or touching his chest — that made him “feel comfortable in my body for probably the first time.”

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Page urged officials to support health care for transgender people and allow them access to sports. Some lawmakers are seeking to ban transgender youth from playing sports that match their gender identity. “Children will die,” Page said. “And it really is that simple.”

He said the surgery has given him newfound energy “because it is such a freeing, freeing experience,” adding: “This is incredibly new. I feel like I haven’t gotten to be myself since I was 10 years old.”

Page came out as transgender in December, an announcement that was widely greeted as a watershed moment for the trans community in Hollywood. He told Winfrey the decision was “imperative” in light of the violence against transgender youth. “It felt important and selfish for myself and my own well-being and my mental health,” he said. “And also with this platform I have, the privilege that I have, and knowing the pain and the difficulties and the struggles I’ve faced in my life, let alone what so many other people are facing, it absolutely felt crucial and important for me to share that.”

Exploring late 80s LGBT Ireland through wonderful RTÉ Archive finds

Curious discussions, interviews with icons and reports continue across Irish television and radio as the media’s spotlight shines brighter on the community.

With the advances we’ve made as a community in the last few years, it can sometimes be overlooked the sheer bravery it took for LGBT+ people to proudly share who they were with the world in decades gone by. As part of a new series diving into the RTÉ archives for a trip through the LGBT history of Ireland, we continue with this selection of clips from the 1980’s.

RTÉ Television is a department of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), the Republic of Ireland’s state controlled national broadcaster.

The LGBT+ community of Ireland continued to dazzle as conversations surrounding sexual identity, and icons of LGBT culture, received more airtime.

Conflicts emerged though, as the media began its reports on the rapidly growing AIDS crisis. Yet, the end of the decade saw hope as a long-winded legal battle succeeded in laying down the ground work for LGBT+ rights in Ireland for years to follow.

First, it’s over to Brenda Harvey and Tonie Walsh of the Dublin Lesbian and Gay Men’s Collective as they discuss gay matters in ’80s Ireland.

This episode of Access: Community Television was made by the NGF (National Gay Federation). We first meet a group of young heterosexual people discussing their views surrounding homosexuality, having had little to no interactions with LGBT people before with one individual saying, “I think it’s very wrong when they try to flaunt it.”

Later on, Brenda and Tonie join the discussion. Brenda explains to the group that for her, in choosing to tell people that she’s lesbian, she accepts the problems and consequences that could happen as a result of those around her being ignorant towards a gay lifestyle.

“You don’t see ‘so and so is a straight’ written on the wall or something,” adds Tonie.

Some individuals in the group felt that Brenda was being negative, to which others in the group stood in her defence. One woman challenges them by saying:

“Forget about being gay for a moment, if you come up across anything that you don’t understand … what do you do? You automatically slag it. To get away from your own ignorance.”

In this brief report, we see a prayer vigil take place outside RTÉ Studios as American authors Nancy Manahan and Rosemary Curb arrive on The Late Late Show to promote their book, Breaking Silence: Lesbian Nuns on Convent Sexuality.

The book tells of their experiences, through interviews and essays, as young women coming to terms with their sexuality while studying at a convent. The programme had RTÉ’s then highest TV ratings, attracting both praise and condemnation.

You can find the full interview on YouTube with Gay Byrne leading the discussion with Nancy and Rosemary alongside an Irish nun, Sister Maura, and Father Raphael Gallagher.

Speaking in the interview, Nancy clarifies that being lesbian does not equate to a sexual term.

“When we say ‘lesbian’ … we’re not speaking necessarily of sexual activity. We’re speaking of a sexual orientation but we’re also speaking about a spiritual and political commitment to loving women, working for women and that is the bond that connects the women in the book.”

British actor and author, Quentin Crisp chats to Gay Byrne about growing up in England, his sexuality and his eventual move to New York. Gay opens the interview asking Quentin if he had any preconceived notions of what Irish audiences would be like.

“None whatsoever. I start out each day without any prejudices, without any preconceived ideas. I start with each person all over again every day.”

Quentin was born in England in 1908. He became famous on the release of his 1968 book The Naked Civil Servant and was also a gay rights campaigner throughout his life. He died in 1999 in Chorlton, Manchester.

In 1975, The Naked Civil Servant was adapted into a film starring John Hurt.

RTÉ featured many reports on the AIDS pandemic across its programming in May 1987, as the nation began to become more educated on the issue and how to stop the spread of the virus. This clip features a man, living with HIV, sharing his story on a prime time TV panel.

“When I found out that I was HIV positive in February of last year, the first thing I did was have a complete nervous collapse.”

The clip also features comments from the Catholic church, with Bishop Desmond Williams telling a reporter that the church has not condemned the use of condoms but that “the best antidote to AIDS is virtue”.

The anxiety surrounding the pandemic was only fuelled further as government health education committees utilised fear as a desperate means of education. This would only add to the stigma surrounding the virus and so towards the LGBT+ community and those affected by it.

European Court Rules In Norris Case, 1988

A seismic moment in Irish LGBT+ history. After 14 years of campaigning and legal battles, Senator David Norris succeeded in decriminalising homosexual activity between consenting adults in Ireland in the European Court of Human Rights.

In this clip from the RTÉ News, Eamonn Lawlor, states that, according to the now long outdated law, David could face criminal prosecution and that to make him live with that risk was a breach of his right to private life under the European Human Rights Convention.

It took five years for the new law to be brought into effect with President Mary Robinson, an outspoken gay rights activist herself, signing it off in 1993.

All of this happened before the first Pride March in Dublin in the 90s.

(Thanks to Gay Community News, Ireland for permission to reprint this article)

Fuse fm

Fuse fm is an internet radio station based at Manchester University. A member of Out In The City, Pauline, was interviewed about male and female fashions and styles to create a show with an intergenerational connection.

Various topics were covered: self-expression; fast-fashion; second hand clothes; values behind clothes; and how clothes have changed over time.

The students involved are interviewing contributors in their 20s and people over 60, and the show is built around different interviews each week, intertwined with music, and will be streamed live on Friday 7 May from 1.00pm – 2.00pm on https://fusefm.co.uk/

Northern Quarter mural of two men kissing covered up in new development

A huge mural in the Northern Quarter of two men kissing has been covered up by stairs.

The large artwork is painted on the side of the newly developed Avro building on Binns Place.

The picture, which depicts two men in an embrace, was painted in 2016 as part of the Cities of Hope Project by Faith47 and Lyall Sprong.

According to artist Faith47’s website, it ‘pays homage to human intimacy as well as asserting support for LGBT rights’.

Urban Splash, who are developing the building – now named Avro – into 31 apartments, said the ‘only viable place’ to put the staircase was over the mural.

But Sam Naylor, who lives nearby, said in a tweet that he was ‘really, really disappointed’ that the mural had been covered up:

“@Urban_Splash really really disappointed that you have covered up the gorgeous mural on the side of #Avro by @_faith47 of two men kissing. It is part of a stunning series called #CitiesofHope highlighting social injustices. Why have you chosen to build stairs over it?”

An Urban Splash spokesperson said: “Avro is a building rich in Manchester heritage; be it the original fabric of the structure, its rich aviation history or more modern features such as this brilliant piece of artwork.

Urban Splash is proud to have been part of the commission of the artwork, supporting Cities of Hope, so we also have an affinity with it.

It’s imperative that we work hard to save great buildings like this, finding new purposes for them that suit the needs of modern residents.

That can however bring limitations, and in the case of Avro, the complex internal structure meant that this was the only viable place to add a staircase that would allow the building to be brought into use in any form.

Avro has a beautiful but tricky layout; the building is an L shape, with each wing of the building featuring unaligned floors.

That is one of the many reasons the staircase has had to be added in this way.

We have preserved the artwork whilst also adding the new staircase – an extension of our commitment inside where we’ve retained much of Avro’s original fabric. It’s an approach that’s been welcomed by residents who’ve recently moved into completed homes here.”

The LGBTQ+ cricket match making history

A piece of sporting history is set to be made in Birmingham on 23 May, when two LGBTQ+ cricket teams face each other for the first time.

London-based Graces will take to the field against Birmingham Unicorns for a 40-over game at Weoley Hill Oval.

The match – supported by the England and Wales Cricket Board – represents the first time two LGBTQ+ cricket teams will play each other: not just in the UK, but anywhere in the world.

‘You’re completely free to be you’

For more than two decades, Graces were the world’s only inclusive cricket club.

Founded in 1996, the team provides a space for LGBTQ+ people to enjoy the sport while not having to hide who they are.

Not everyone was supportive – in 2000, the club received national media attention after complaints from the “horrified” family of W G Grace about using his name without asking them.

The club themselves responded by saying they were “pioneering”, just as Grace was – and have continued to grow since then.

“It is an atmosphere where you’re completely free to be you,” says chairman Leo Skyner. “You have a passion for the sport, you have your identity, and it’s entirely non-judgemental and welcoming. It’s important that we’re playing good cricket, but equally, the social network and support is deeply important too.”

‘We’ve gone from just being an idea to having selection headaches’

Up until last year, Graces were the sport’s only LGBTQ+ team.

But then in Birmingham, at the height of the pandemic, cricket fan Lachlan Smith decided to form his own inclusive club – and Unicorns were born.

Smith says: “I’d played cricket for a number of years, and it just struck me one day: Why can’t there be an LGBT cricket team here in Birmingham?

I thought there had to be enough people to put 11 players on the park and suddenly, we’ve gone from just being an idea to having selection headaches.

That’s not really what I’d anticipated, but it’s a great position to be in.”

For Graces captain Manish Modi, the game against Unicorns is a significant moment.

Born into a cricket-mad family in India, Modi played at a semi-professional level where being open about his sexuality was not an option.

“I played cricket there while being in the closet,” he says.

“I couldn’t even speak to anyone, I couldn’t even come out. If you’d have said ‘I’m a gay man’, you’d never have got selected. You’d just have had to give up.”

It was only after moving to the UK and hearing about Graces that Modi felt able to reconcile his identities as a gay man and a cricket lover.

“Graces has supported me a lot, including when I came out to my father,” he says. “He’s my hero and has accepted me, and now I’m a proud gay man.

This is what we do at the club, supporting people. We are just there for you.”

‘I’m going to be really proud walking out that day’

It’s not just the players looking forward to the match – so too is Rob Evans, one of the umpires.

“I came out quite late in life, and always felt I had two parts of my life that would never mix together,” Evans says.

“I wasn’t aware of any LGBTQ+ cricket clubs I could get involved with until I heard about Graces. Then I heard about Unicorns and thought: ‘Wow, this is amazing.’

I get quite emotional thinking about this game, actually. We’ve got commemorative kit for the umpires, and I’m going to be really proud walking out there that day.”

‘I think things are changing for the better’

The match is getting plenty of support, including from the England and Wales Cricket Board.

“I was thrilled when I’d heard these teams had joined together to play each other,” says ECB communications manager Henry Cowen.

“We have the beginning of a community within cricket that can act as a home for people who maybe feel that a more traditional club that doesn’t have LGBTQ+ rights at its heart isn’t for them.

So what Unicorns and Graces are doing aligns with what the ECB is trying to do in making cricket a more inclusive sport for as many people as possible.”

There is a question, though, as to why it has taken so long for a game such as this to happen.

In rugby, tournaments such as the Union Cup and the Bingham Cup bring together inclusive clubs from right around the world. Across sport generally, events such as the Gay Games and EuroGames have been providing LGBTQ+ athletes with a space to compete for years.

So is cricket behind the times?

“I’m not really sure why it’s taken so long to create another club,” Smith says.

“It feels as if people maybe missed out on an opportunity when they were younger to grow into a sport that felt like it was their home – but I think that’s changing for the better.

The demand we’ve had demonstrates there is a thirst out there for the LGBTQ+ community to play cricket.”

Evans adds: “As an umpire, I want to help both these teams develop.

So please, let’s not wait another 25 years for a third club to come along.”

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