LGBT Month at LUU

Triumph, setback, defiance, and above all things, pride

By Sophia James

When did it become acceptable to refuse to employ an individual because of their sexuality? Anti-gay attacks from the Pope are becoming a regular occurrence these days but in the LGBT community we have come to expect that. What is surprising however, and more unsettling, is the casual yet daily abuse at street level which plagues the ‘gay’ community. The battle against homophobia is often seen as a battle won due to recent advances in legal rights but what is increasingly being brought to my attention is how far we have yet to go. 

According to a 2008 Stonewall study, around 40 percent of lesbian, gay and bisexual people have admitted fear of being a victim of crime, compared to only 23 percent among ethnic minorities and 13 percent among the general public. Despite a widely held perception of unquestionable equality, the gritty reality is that this could not be further from the truth. The same study reports that one in eight LGBT people experience homophobic hate crimes, yet a mere quarter report it.
Student circles are often seen as more liberal strata of the general public and at the beginning of LGBT History Month at Leeds University Union we launched Purple Parkinson, anarchically hung rainbow flags around the Union building and proudly displayed an LGBT History Month banner but sadly, before the first full week was over, the banner had been viciously torn down and flags began to disappear. Unfortunately, this is not the worst incident to take place during the month and it is embarrassing to say that aggressive homophobia occurred within our own students Union at a club night this month. Homophobic abuse, like racism, misogyny and disablism comes to be expected by the people who experience it but it is how we deal with the issue that differentiates us. The LGBT will be in Fruity this evening having a ‘gay in’ to end History Month in determination and defiance of the attempt to intimidate members of the society back into the closet. There is a sense of extreme pride amongst the LGBT community at Leeds, something which I am confident will not be crushed by ignorance.  
I have been an LGBT activist for the past three years and in that time I have led Pride marches, lobbied MPs and steered national campaigns. Over this period, I have been fortunate enough to meet some of the most talented and passionate campaigners across the UK. Their experiences, coupled with my own, have taught me that there is always more to fight for. Our definition of equality should not be restricted to legal terminology but a wider understanding among different people, supported by egalitarian society. My personal pledge to the you, the reader, is that you utilise every opportunity that arises to distance yourself from discrimination, whether at a bus stop, cinema or shopping queue, it is only through a string of these actions that we will progress towards a fairer society. Activism is, after all, more than just a megaphone on campus.