Queer Recollections

Lisa Power, co-founder of the gay rights lobby Stonewall, HIV/AIDS activist, and self-described “serial interferer” in LGBTQ rights, speaks to Queer Recollections about her lifetime of activism. 

In our conversation, we consider how Margaret Thatcher’s anti-gay Section 28 galvanised the movement in the late 1980s, the founding, controversy and influence of Stonewall, political lesbianism, and the striking parallels between Coronavirus and the AIDS epidemic. 

Ibtisam Ahmed is a queer Bangladeshi activist and academic whose work reveals the mechanisms and homophobia of British colonialism. 

Ibtisam speaks to Queer Recollections about Section 377, an anti-gay law imposed in South Asia under British rule, the legacies this law has left behind, and the state of modern-day LGBT activism in Bangladesh. 

Jim MacSweeney has worked at Gay’s the Word for over 30 years and managed it for more than 20 years, after taking over from Paud Hegarty. 

As the oldest LGBT bookshop in the UK, it’s survived gentrification, homophobic attacks, Amazon, police raids and the rise of the commercial gay scene. 

Jim speaks to Queer Recollections about the history of this small but mighty bookshop, it's accidental role in the fight against state censorship, and the profound moments that occur within the shop on a daily basis.

Switchboard took it's first call in 1974... and hasn't stopped since.

For the past half-century, the calls at Switchboard have reflected contemporary British queer life: from police entrapment of gay men, to lesbian custody battles, to the HIV/AIDS crisis and beyond.

Tash Walker, the current Co-Chair of Switchboard, speaks to Queer Recollections about how the calls have changed, and stayed the same, over the years, what motivates her to pick up the phone, and why the helpline is still so needed in 2020.

Switchboard can be reached via telephone (0300 330 0630), instant messenger or by email on their website.

How do you build a Queer Museum? 

Joe Galliano is the Co-founder and CEO of Queer Britain, a charity set up to establish the UK's first national LGBTQ+ museum. 

He speaks to Queer Recollections about his hopes and dreams for the museum, why it’s so important, and how Queer Britain plans to represent all the intersections of the queer community.

DJ Ritu - pioneering disk jockey, club promoter and radio host - talks us through the queer clubs and nightlife scenes she has been involved in since first working as a DJ in 1986. 

Club Kali, the legendary South Asian queer night she started in 1995, was one of the first of its kind, and still runs today. We consider it's origins, how it's survived through the years, and the necessity of community within queer nightlife. 

We also explore why so many queer clubs have closed, and how these fragile nightlife scenes can be successfully remembered, documented, and celebrated.

Why is queer history important? Which narratives tend to dominate? And who gets to tell these histories? 

These are some of the questions I talk about with Dr Justin Bengry, a historian of sexuality and convener of the world's first Queer History MA. He introduces us to this infinitely diverse subject and its common pitfalls, discusses his experiences in convening the new degree course, and talks about getting emotional in the archives. 

Music credit: Trip to Ganymed (ID 363) by KieLoKaz Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND)