Claire Godden-Rasul - Project Manager (Respect and Inclusion)

It's an opportunity to learn about and be thankful for individuals who paved the way for us to lead the lives we can, in this place, at this time. As a Linguistics graduate, I'm fascinated by Polari, the 'secret slang' used in 'gay' subculture in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s. Whilst its roots can be traced back to the 19th century or earlier, Polari was used by LGBTQI+ people in a society where being so was illegal as well as dangerous, with the purpose of confusing others, particularly the police. Some vocabulary from Polari can be found in our language use today including barnet (hair), bevvies (drinks), dish the dirt (gossip), drag (costume), and slap (make-up). 

Whilst it can be a celebration, LGBT+ History Month also serves to remind us how uncertain and fragile any hard-won rights or societal acceptance can be. When I hear people remark at how quickly being LGBTQI+ has become accepted, it highlights to me just how quickly things could change back again and how, as LGBTQI+ people, we are constantly defending our rights or still seeking to expand them. As well as that, it's important to note that not all letters in the LGBTQI+ (or other variations of acronym) are equally accepted in the here and now. When people talk about societal acceptance, I usually find they are talking specifically about the Ls, Gs and perhaps Bs amongst us. Even then, the UK in the early 2020s can be dangerous for all within the LGBTQI+ umbrella. Trans, intersex, non-binary, and other gender non-conforming people, as well as their allies, continue to fight for the rights, acceptance, equality and respect they should be afforded. 

LGBT+ History month reminds me that our lives now will be other people's LGBTQI+ history in the future and that we have an opportunity to give them a history to be proud of by supporting full societal acceptance for all individuals in our LGBTQI+ communities.