LGBTQ+ History Month Events

by Claire Curran · 14 February 2023

The talk, ‘An Evening with Dr. Cheddar Gorgeous’ is to be held on Weds 15 February at 5pm in the Creative Centre here at YSJU.

Fresh from the grand finale of Season 4 of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, Cheddar Gorgeous joins us at York St John University to discuss another aspect of their illustrious career: their ethnographic research exploring cruising culture among men who have sex with men, for which they were awarded a Doctorate in Social Anthropology with Visual Media by the University of Manchester in 2013.

Durham University will be holding an LGBTQ+ History month event, ‘Fighting Proud – How gay men did their ‘bit’ for Britain in the war’. This is a national online event to be held on Monday 20 February 6.30-7.30pm.

For LGBT+ History Month, historian Stephen Bourne will give an engaging, informative and sometimes humorous illustrated talk about his acclaimed book Fighting Proud, in which he explored the lives of gay men in battle and on the home front in the Second World War. Among those highlighted will be the heroic Battle of Britain fighter pilot Ian Gleed; prisoner of war Dudley Cave; Police Sergeant Harry Daley a policeman who served during the London Blitz; and Ken ‘Snakehips’ Johnson, the popular bandleader who was tragically killed in an air raid in 1941.

Celebrating Gentleman Jack: Changing Lives is taking place on 23 February from 3.30pm till 7pm in DG017 here at YSJU.

There will be a screening of the BBC documentary ‘Gentleman Jack Changed My Life’ followed by a Q&A with some of those feature in, and developed, the programme. The panel will then be joined by advocates involved in the Save Gentleman Jack Campaign who have since July 2022 organised a range of events to help maintain the continuing influence of Gentleman Jack as an important media and TV event, and Anne Lister as a relevant and valuable cultural figure. Their aim is to help bring Gentleman Jack back to our TV screens and to finish the story.

Chaplaincy and the LGBTQ+ Society are collaborating on a screening of ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’, followed by Q+A/discussion on the church’s appalling history with conversion therapy, 7-10pm on Thursday 23^rd February in the Creative Centre Screening Room here at YSJU. Trailer: But I’m A Cheerleader

The York City FC Foundation and Football Club match to support the Football v Homophobia campaign is taking place on Saturday 25 February.

Four of the drag kings and queens from The Family Shambles will be performing in the main FanZone area from 1.30pm as fans arrive; there will be a set of big LGBTQ+ anthems blasting around the stadium pre-kickoff to sing along to, an article has been written for the Match-Day Programme highlighting the importance of such events as this and promoting York Pride on 3rd June, together with some of the regular activities. Discount code for 20% off your ticket is in the poster below: