Reading our preview copy of out there on the Glasgow to Edinburgh commuter train!
Out There brings together work from over 25 writers – some professional and some very good not-professionals, united in a shared sense of both queer-ness and Scottish-ness. The unique interactions between these two identities are central to each work included in this anthology.
Gay? Check! Brit flick? Check!
Set in the 1980’s, a London Pride movement make an unlikely pairing with Welsh miners as they work together in resistance to the Thatcher government.
The Guardian describes it as,
Billy Elliot continued with rousing gay rights romance set during miners’ strike
What’s not to like?!
For the full review from Cannes check out Peter Bradshaw’s review on the Guardian website here.
This week we interviewed the fabulous Kirsty Logan about her book ‘The Rental Heart’, her experiences being a queer author writing queer stories, and what the road to success looks like, sharing some top-tips for early-career publishing!
Photo cedit: Monkeytwizzle
Me: So Kirsty, you’re a published author, which is awesome!
This week launched LGBT Youth Scotland’s campaign to raise money for their education work in schools. This work enables LGBT young people to feel happy and confident in their lessons, and to successfully challenge homophobia.
Schools can be a horrible environment, and I’m sure there’s not a single LGBT person who doesn’t know someone who’s work at school suffered as a result of homophobia in or out of the classroom. It is up to every teacher, every parent, every pupil, every single person to make themselves personally responsibility for challenging homophobia, and stamping out bullying!
Watch the film (it’s slow to start, and if you’re having a sad day I would recommend fast-forwarding to 2 minutes 30 and starting from there) and join the campaign !
Get Involved!
It’s easy to see Manchester pride as a massive success: it’s one of the few Prides which is omnipresent throughout the city attracting people from across the UK and wider – amazing! But this year made us question whether Pride in and of itself is intrinsically valuable to the LGBT+ community.
Are you out at work?
One of our readers is looking for help with her dissertation. Share your experiences (positive or negative) using the twitter hashtag #bemeatwork or on the facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/bemeatwork.
If you would like to help, but wish to do so more privately or have any questions please contact aslavinsky@gmail.com.
Trans Media Representation
Has anything changed since Leveson?
What does trans media representation mean for trans audiences?
Are you a self-defining trans person willing to take part in an online focus group to discuss trans media representation in UK newspapers in the last year?
This research is part of a dissertation to be submitted for an MRes in Equality and Human Rights at the University of Glasgow and a results summary will be shared with LGBTI and trans organisations that have expressed an interest such as Trans Media Watch and Scottish Transgender Alliance.
All you need is internet access and to be willing to share your opinions and give an hour of your time.
The purpose of this research project is to look at the effects media coverage of trans people and trans issues are having on trans audiences to better understand what the issues are and how to improve them.
If you want to get involved please email Rhianna on rhumphrey@hotmail.co.uk for more info and consent documents.
Please feel free share this to anyone that may be interested.
When I say this what I really mean is an invisible lesbian, entirely undetectable to the rest of my fellow queers. I somehow donned this annoying invisibility cloak around the age of 18 when I got rid of my skate trainers, baggy jeans and hoodies and opted for some high heels and lipstick.
My newfound confidence in dressing as I wanted to dress had the inconvenient by-product of making me vanish into the wallpaper in queer spaces. I’ve been told that a club “didn’t do hen parties” when heading out with a group of fellow femme gays, I’ve been asked if I was lost on nights out, I even had a stand-up row with a nurse who insisted that even though I’d only slept with women there was a chance I might still be pregnant (back to Anatomy 101 for her!).
Annoying to say the least! So when I saw this title pop up in a sidebar on a particular website (see those ads are good for something!) I immediately wondered where it had been all my life…
This is what a happy Sunday looks like!
This book is a compilation of Sarah Westwood’s ‘Rubbish Lesbian’ columns in Diva magazine with some exclusive new material (all together now: ooooo!). As someone who hasn’t read Diva in a while, it was all new material to me and I was intrigued!
Now to be honest, I was expecting a slightly more… well… finished article! The book was literally a collection of her columns – which don’t get me wrong, was exactly what it said on the tin! It was just that I had expected that the columns might have been reworked into slightly longer prose or perhaps even into a series of short-but-longer-than-columns articles…I expected slightly smoother transitions from story to story, but instead they felt as if they had been lifted directly from the pages of Diva and transplanted directly into this book, meaning that for me it was a rather jolty read. The columns are so short (on average two pages give or take) which gives a rather superficial introductory feel to all her writing not really getting to the heart of the issue, or resolving anything.
I think that this is particularly disappointing because the topics Westwood covers are interesting, familiar even. They feel like a conversation that I could have had with any of my friends, but with nothing much added by the fact I had to part with some of my hard-earned-cash for the privilege. From the lesbocism (a process of desexualising your lesbian life for the benefit of family, or particularly delicate friends) to negotiating the relationship with your girlfriend’s parents. From answering questions from idiots like “who’s the man”; to the embarrassment of first entering a sex shop (although I think her suggestion of ‘smash and grab’ has a one in a million probability of you leaving with something you actually want and instead you will inevitably leave with a penis extender or something equally unhelpful – either embrace the awkwardness, or shop online!).
For a fun, light laugh or a quick read when you’re not up for thinking, or feeling too much it’s great! But if you’re looking for something that might develop or challenge your thinking then this is not for you! Thank you Sarah Westwood for a quick distraction on a long plane ride!
The Gay Agenda 