LGBT
The story behind the UK’s biggest LGBTQ+ helpline
Call the Switchboard — After picking up their first ever call in March 1974, the phones at Switchboard haven’t stopped ringing since. Supporting the community through decriminalisation, the AIDS epidemic, Section 28, and into the present, their volunteers are there to listen around the clock; no matter the query.
Written by: El Hunt
The LGBTQ documentaries you need to see this year
Around the world — As the BFI Flare gears up for its launch later this month, festival programmer Zorian Clayton highlights the best documentaries from the 2019 programme.
Written by: Thomas Curry
Exploring the secret history of queer gaming
Rainbow arcade — There’s an idea that the gaming community is dominated by straight, cis men – but a new exhibition wants to debunk that myth.
Written by: Megan Wallace
Smut and lust: a visual history of sex in the punk scene
Raw provocation — A new show, Punk Lust: Raw Provocation 1971-1985, pays tribute to the relationship between punk culture and sexuality.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Gay’s The Word: inside England’s only LGBTQ bookshop
Four decades on — This week marks the 40th anniversary of Gay’s The Word, a UK institution that fought police raids, prejudice and censorship to become a hub of social activism. We talk to manager Jim MacSweeney about the fights the venue has faced over the years.
Written by: Patrick O’Connell
Everyday portraits of life and love in LGBTQ Serbia
In transition — Photographer Slobodan Randjelović returns to his home country for a new book on the Serbian queer community: ‘I didn’t want a provocative, scandalous, fake approach to LGBT people. I wanted something that was almost banal, in the way that most people’s lives are.’
Written by: Biju Belinky
My life as a transgender woman in Russia
‘I won’t be bullied into hiding’ — Russia is widely regarded as one of the most homophobic nations in the Western world. Following the enactment of a law against ‘gay propaganda’ in 2013, hate crimes against members of the LGBTQ community have soared, especially murder and serious violence. Transgender people are arguably even more of a target, given Russia’s culture of rigidly enforcing gender roles. 27-year-old Eva Borisov explains what it’s like being transgender in such an intensely hostile environment.
Written by: Eva Borisov, as told to Nick Chester
‘Our first love leaves an indelible mark on us’
André Aciman in conversation — Writer Megan Nolan talks to André Aciman – author of Call Me By Your Name and the new Enigma Variations – about love, sexuality, and the power of the written word.
Written by: Megan Nolan
‘I want to show what it means to be two-spirit and trans’
The queer magic of Mich Cota — Raised in a deeply religious home in Canada by a native father and white mother, Mich Cota makes eerie, spiritual music that weaves its way between two worlds.
Written by: Biju Belinky
Why are trans men always left out of the conversation?
Out of sight — As a trans man, I've seen first-hand how male privilege can transform your life. By giving us a platform, we can become valuable allies in the fight against misogyny.
Written by: Lee Hurley