On Campus

1st March 2021

LGBT+ History Month

Background

LGBT+ History month is celebrated during the month of February every year and was initially set up in the US in 1994 with the UK following 11 years later. This celebration of the LGBT+ community hopes to provide education and insight into the issues that the LGBT+ community face, and commemorate the history of the gay rights moment. Through this, we, as a society, can help enable the rich diversity of the community to be seen, and feel safe and proud. It is so important to celebrate those who fought for this in the past to create a much brighter future.

How you can support and celebrate

Despite LGBT+ History month being over now that it is March, we should keep up momentum and continue to raise awareness and celebrate the history of this vibrant community. The Guild did a fabulous book bundle giveaway to broaden the horizons of that lockdown reading list I’m sure you’ve all got… (or not, its totally ok, we are students!) This ranges from titles such as ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ by Bernardine Evaristo to, ‘The Black Flamingo’ by Dean Atta. Even if it is just one novel, pick it up, you may surprise yourself, even if reading might not be your forte. Similarly, Mike Holloway, Library Assistant, has chosen give LGBT+ works of fiction you can borrow from the library. Check out the link in the bio on @livunilibrary’s instagram page 🙂 or click here – https://linktr.ee/livunilibrary/)

One cannot deny that LGBT+ rights have progressed fantastically in recent decades, however the community is too often overlooked or even erased which is where our celebration of LGBT+ history month comes into play! Whether it’s reading one of the titles from the Guild’s giveaway or Mike’s top-picks, or just doing a bit of independent research to educate yourself on the matter, you can help promote inclusivity and diversity in our modern day society. Like the LGBT+ community says, let’s claim our past, celebrate our present and create our future! 

Featured Image Credit: Unsplash