2018 marks the 30th anniversary of ‘Section 28’– which banned the promotion of homosexuality in public institutions, which lasted until 2003.
Tomorrow, Thursday January 18 to commemorate it, London’s LGBT+ communities are hosting ‘Jenny STILL f*cking lives with Eric and Martin’ – an appropriation of the banned textbook Jenny lives with Eric and Martin.
The night is a celebration of the activists who overturned ‘Section 28’ in person – including sharings from the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the legendary lesbian activists who abseiled into the House of Lords.
The evening will also be the U.K. premier of ‘We Have Rather Been Invaded’ (2017) made up of archival materials and interviews with those affected by ‘Section 28’ including Linda Bellos, Femi Otitoju, Max Biddulph, Sunil Gupta and Nazmia Jamal.
We Have Rather Been Invaded (2017) is a new 40-minute, single-screen video made by Ed Webb-Ingall that looks at the legacy of Section 28, the role of activism and our understanding of this piece of legislation thirty years on.
Rather than paint a rosy picture that ‘Section 28’ and the general police-state of education is something of the past it highlights that the struggle continues. Indeed, many believe that with the lurch to the right since Thatcher – the situation for LGBTQIA+ empowerment is far worse today than was thirty years ago.
Since Section 28, even though a lot progress has been made in the way queerness is accepted, the teaching of queer sex still remains stigmatised and its history often ignored.
Hosted by emerging comedian and presenter Sapphire McIntosh the event will catalyse 2018 as a year to celebrate queer culture and bring to life London’s history of ‘Section 28’ activism.
Followed by performances by Pornceptual it will take you on an informative journey of queer sex, something that most queer people have been denied.
Event: London remembers ‘Section 28’ – 30 Years on
Where: Limewharf Arts Hub, Vyner St, London E2 9DJ
When: Thursday, January 18
Time: 6pm welcome – show starts at 6.30pm
Cost: £3 all profits go to the London LGBTQI+ Community Centre