Why LGBT+ History Month is so important

When Russell T. Davies’ It’s A Sin came to our screens in January 2021, there was a mass realisation that a five-part TV show taught many people more about LGBT+ history, the AIDS epidemic and sex education than school ever did.

Olly Alexander starring in Channel 4’s It’s A Sin

So why is seeing yourself reflected back on screen and in history important?

Too often, LGBT+ people have been marginalised from the events that affect us. We have been stigmatised and denied opportunities to get a sense of ourselves. As trade union members we know where this can lead: victimisation, division, and attempts to create a ‘them and us’ culture.

As LGBT+ people we need to see ourselves and our stories represented and reflected back. That’s why each February, LGBT+ History Month is an opportunity to focus on ‘our story’, our history and our representation. We need to tell the stories that were written out of history and to make the invisible visible.

By denying or hiding the experiences of LGBT+ people, it becomes easier for LGBT+ people to become ‘othered’ or perceived and treated differently.

Nothing speaks to this sense of ‘other’ more than Section 28 (of the Local Government Act) in 1988, that prohibited local authorities and schools in England, Wales and Scotland from ‘promoting’ homosexuality. It was the government’s legislative response to those who believed that, as Margaret Thatcher put it, believed “they have an inalienable right to be gay”.

Section 28 was designed to hide us as LGBT+ people, our lives and our stories. Section 28 wasn’t repealed until the year 2000 in Scotland and 2003 in England and Wales.

This sense of stigma still casts a long shadow for many LGBT+ people, especially at work. It is why equality is a trade union issue. It is about fairness, respect and equal treatment.

It is still too common for LGBT+ people to face unnecessary and degrading comments about their sexual orientation or gender identity at work. From ‘banter’ to bullying, these are attempts to marginalise or degrade our contributions at work.

The Equality Act states that an employer is responsible for the behaviour of its employees. That is why Prospect and other trade unions take discrimination so seriously. We all have a role to play in challenging and preventing homophobic, transphobic and biphobic harassment.

Whilst this harassment still happens too regularly, unions are leading the way in making equality real.

Representatives are taking a lead with employers to ensure equality policies exist and work for LGBT+ workers. Many union members play leading roles in organisational LGBT+ groups and our own LGBT+ Network. We keep an eye out for co-workers. And we must take a stand against inequality.