Throughout February at the Guild we’ve been celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month. LGBTQ+ History Month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and queer history, and the history of gay rights and related civil rights movements.
Fun Fact: LGBTQ+ History was founded by Rodney Wilson (a Missouri high-school history teacher) in 1994.
This blog is going to highlight some of the things we did at the Guild to celebrate the month.
Books, books, books: We launched the month with a book giveaway with Vice President Lina’s top picks. These included:
- Only on the Weekends – Dean Atta
- The Pink Line – Mark Gevisser
- Mr Loverman – Bernadine Evaristo
- Ace of Spades – Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
We also made sure the library had copies of all of @booksocs recommendations for the month! Additionally, we worked with the libraries to create an ‘officer picks’ collection of books, films and inspiring people. You can also see this collection up as part of our More Than A Month display – its’ in the Guild on the wall opposite Starbucks. There will be more coming to celebrate Women’s History Month.
Creativity: Once again we held our Zine Making workshop. It’s practically a tradition at this point! We had loads of different materials for you to let your creative juices flow and the end products were AMAZING. We had so many adorable (and some weird) stickers which are now all over our equipment. But the best part was meeting up with other LGBTQ+ students and creating art together. Art is a form of resistance in that we express our innermost feelings, our identity and our opinions. What better way to do that than through zines?
Social sessions: We also held an LGBTQ+ student meet up and a Trans student meet up. This was part of our liberation work to empower our students through providing safe social spaces and to strengthen a sense of community. This is a great chance for students to meet each other and for us to meet you! It also gives us the chance to actively receive feedback which we can take back to the university. Additionally, we also decorated a HUGE Trans pride flag with messages of solidarity, support, love and strength; we’ve displayed this in the Officer’s Lounge window (opposite the guild shop).
Educational and informative: Early on in the month we were incredibly lucky to have Professor Nicola Barker (from the School of Law and Social Justice) come to the Guild and lecture on: LGBT+ Rights: Past, Present and Future. This covered:
- A timeline of rights
- A brief history of rights
- Where we are currently
- Liberation movements, like Stonewall, and their backlash
- What’s in the future
We also had two sexual health oragnisations come and visit the Guild with loads of freebies including: condoms and STI tests. The two organisations were:
BHA For Equality - HIV & Sexual Health - Free Contraception & HIV Test Manchester (thebha.org.uk)
Axess - Axess Sexual Health - Axess Sexual Health
Our Guild Advice team were also out in the street with FREE condoms and pregnancy tests.
We have really enjoyed celebrating this month. But don’t forget that LGBTQ+ History should not only be celebrated for one month. LGBTQ+ History is always important and should be discussed throughout the year, it’s more than just a month. It’s important that we celebrate everyone's histories throughout the year, especially those who are underrepresented. More information on how the Guild is committed to celebrating our student communities and identities throughout the year and upcoming activities can be found on our More Than a Month campaign page.
Alternatively, the Guild’s Advice team can provide free, independent, non-judgement advice on a range of topics including academic issues, wellbeing, accommodation and university life. You can reach out by email at guildadvice@liv.ac.uk or attend a drop-in appointment (available weekdays between 13:00-16:00) at Guild reception.