Solidary and Sexualy: Lbians and Gays Support the Mers 1984–5 | History Workshop Journal | Oxford Amic

Contents:

• WHEN MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS UNED: THE REAL STORY OF THE FILM PRI
• LBIANS & GAY MEN SUPPORT THE MERS
• LGBT HISTORY MONTH: LBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MERS, 1984-85
• LBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MERS: PRI A LEGACY
• MERS STRIKE: WHEN THE GAY MUNY STOOD UP FOR THE MERSPRI, A MOVIE ABOUT THE UNLIKELY MERS' STRIKE LK UP BETWEEN LONDON BASED GAYS AND LBIANS IS DUE TO BE ON OUR CEMA SCREENS LATER THIS YEARWALONLEBOOKMARKSHARENEWSBYROB TURNER06:00, 21 MAR 2014UPDATED12:48, 22 JUL 2015BOOKMARKMEMBERS OF THE LBIANS’ AND GAY MEN’S MERS’ SUPPORT GROUPKEEP UP TO DATE WH THE LATT STORI WH OUR WALONLE NEWSLETTERMORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 KEEP UP TO DATE WH THE LATT STORI WH OUR WALONLE NEWSLETTERINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!

WHEN MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS UNED: THE REAL STORY OF THE FILM PRI

In 1984, a group of gay and lbian activists Bra formed a group to llect money for strikg mers. Their support for the strike prompted the Natnal Unn of Mers to mpaign for the rights of gay people and mand that sexual equaly be clud the program of the Labour Party. The real protagonists were surprised by the film’s mercial succs: 30 years later, a tearjerker about the class stggle beme an ternatnal blockbter, while tellg the te story of Lbians and Gays Support the Mers.

LBIANS & GAY MEN SUPPORT THE MERS

How did you, as a young gay man, bee terted a workers’ stggl?

My support for the mers actually had very ltle to do wh me beg gay, but wh my social background. And this group was ok wh your homosexualy?

LGBT HISTORY MONTH: LBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MERS, 1984-85

“Milant”, the group to which I belonged at the time, nsired gay rights a bourgeois ncern and imaged that the workers would not be able to handle . Ever sce then, I do not accept the ia that workers are particularly homophobic – even though sometim they say thgs more bluntly. We jt started llectg money om the pri march or gay pubs, and the most we were expectg was a thank you letter om the village we supported.

Were you aaid to for a group of gay and lbian people to show up a remote village? They did live a seclud area and did not know much about lbians and gays – but we did not know much about them eher.

LBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MERS: PRI A LEGACY

There was no homophobia at all? Shortly after, the Conservative ernment passed Sectn 28, which banned “promotg homosexualy” schools.

It was not until 1997 unr Tony Blair that state persecutn agast gays and lbians end. We were still personal ntact wh the people Wal – but the memory of the 80s solidary movements, even left and gay circl, fad wh time. The funnit reactns me om the mastream gays: Bee the movie was so succsful, they had to pretend that they hadn’t spised all along.

Your story has also spired a new anizatn, Lbians and Gays Support the Migrants, which not only llects money for migrant projects but has also ma a name for self wh darg actns, cludg the blocka of an airplane on which refuge were beg ported. One n not assume that they will always be pleased to work wh gays and lbians. Today’s LGSM members get the same reactns om the gay scene that we got back then.

MERS STRIKE: WHEN THE GAY MUNY STOOD UP FOR THE MERSPRI, A MOVIE ABOUT THE UNLIKELY MERS' STRIKE LK UP BETWEEN LONDON BASED GAYS AND LBIANS IS DUE TO BE ON OUR CEMA SCREENS LATER THIS YEARWALONLEBOOKMARKSHARENEWSBYROB TURNER06:00, 21 MAR 2014UPDATED12:48, 22 JUL 2015BOOKMARKMEMBERS OF THE LBIANS’ AND GAY MEN’S MERS’ SUPPORT GROUPKEEP UP TO DATE WH THE LATT STORI WH OUR WALONLE NEWSLETTERMORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 KEEP UP TO DATE WH THE LATT STORI WH OUR WALONLE NEWSLETTERINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!

In the 80s, gays and mers were both hated groups – but today the suatn is different. It still puzzl me that exploative pani n march pri paras and prent themselv as gay-iendly while treatg their workers, cludg their LGBT staff, atrocly. They love me, so to speak, when I’m gay.

On the eveng of March 28, 2017, 15 activists cludg Lbians and Gays Support the Migrants (LGSM) cut a hole the fence surroundg London’s Standsted Airport. Lbians and Gays Support the Migrants (LGSM) are one of the groups that anized the actn.

" He acknowledg now that this is a le you n only e once a pch and explas that he went on to tell the story of mers the Dulais valley South Wal durg the 1984-5 strike – the longt Brish history – and a gay and lbian group om London that donated more money (£11, 000 by December 1984) to their e than any other fundraiser the UK, along wh a mib emblazoned wh the logo LGSM: Lbians and Gays Support the a when a gree of homophobia was the norm, LGSM drove a uple of mib om Hackney Communy Transport and a clapped-out VW mper van to a bleak mg town South Wal to prent their donatns, uncerta what sort of wele to expect.