February is LGBT History Month!
Bristol’s M Shed Museum in conjunction with OutStories Bristol are presenting a series of exciting online talks to celebrate our achievements and stories. These free talks will be held over Zoom. Pre-booking is essential.
Saturday 12th February 2022, 11am to 12 noon
Free online talk: From China to UK, Qiuyan Chen’s journey as a LGBTQ+ activist
What’s the situation for LGBTQ+ people in China? How do queer Chinese rethink their intersectional identities? How can the community mobilise to promote cross-cultural connections?
Wednesday 16th February 2022, 7pm to 8pm
Free online talk: An Anglo-American love story
Bristol historian Andrew Foyle tells the story of a remarkable gay couple, Dallas Pratt and John Judkyn, and the museum they founded – the American Museum & Gardens in Bath.
Thursday 17th February 2022, 1pm to 2pm
Free online talk: Allan Gordon, a ship’s boy
Norena Shopland tells the extraordinary story from 1902 of a 15-year-old sailor, Allan Gordon, who was arrested in Bristol when it was discovered they were female.
But what was the real reason for his arrest? The press were determined to find out just who Allan was and why they had gone to sea.
Thursday 24th February 2022, 7pm to 8pm
Free online talk: Girls on stage
Cheryl Morgan takes us on a tour of some of the queerest moments of theatre with men taking female parts in plays from Classical Greece through to Shakespeare and beyond.
What did this cross-dressing mean to those who performed these roles – and to those who watched them. Has the theatre always been gay? Or trans?
Other events in the region for LGBTQ+ History Month:
Thursday 3rd to Saturday 5th February 2022, 2:30pm/7:30pm Northcott Theatre, Exeter
Theatre: The Beat of Our Hearts
A tender and poignant exploration of loneliness and belonging as experienced by LGBTQIA+ people.
Saturday 19th February 2022, 2pm-3pm Online
Talk: Same Sex Love, 1700–1957: History and Research Sources for Family Historians
Gill Rossini discusses the challenges of researching same sex relationships in family history.
Saturday 19th February 2022, 4pm-5:30pm Arnolfini, Bristol
Documentary film: Rebel Dykes (certificate 18)
A rabble-rousing documentary set in 1980s post-punk London. The unheard story of a community of dykes who met doing art, music, politics and sex, and how they went on to change their world.
See the LGBT+ History Month website for more events around the country.