OUTing The Past 2021 – Leeds Museum and Gallery

Saturday 6 February 2021

09:50-10:00                          Welcome and Introduction to Outing The Past – Leeds     

10:00-10:30                          Beth Rees

Yes, Asexuality Does Exist: A look at asexuality then and now. Asexuality is often overlooked in LGBT+ history. This presentation would look at asexual history through time, tell the story of William Pitt The Younger (through an asexual and homoromantic lens), and talk about my experiences as an asexual/aromantic person today.

Interlude

10:40-11:10                          Abtin Sadeghi

LGBT+ Health & the NHS. The presentation will include an overview of the health issues that have been particularly important to the LGBT+ community throughout the history of the NHS. This would include the role of the NHS (both positive and negative) in LGBT+ Health over the past 70 years. This will follow on to draw parallels with the current COVID pandemic and the mental and physical health issues affecting the LGBT and BAME communities.

Interlude

11:20-11:50                          Katie Robinson

Being transgender. A personal story about growing up Trans in Leeds.

Interlude

12:00-12:30                          Rebecca Hale and Jasmine Moore

Queer Nature: The Powerful Message of LGBTQ+ in the Natural World. LGBT History predominantly focuses on people, but the natural aspect of diversity in sexuality and gender is often still hidden. By focusing on LGBTQ+ links in nature we wanted to show how natural diversity was and how unnatural our prejudice against it was.

12:40-13:00                         LUNCH

13:00-13:30                          Ibtisam Ahmed

Negotiating queerness as a Commonwealth Immigrant. I specifically talk about the legacies of colonial history, which is often overlooked in the mainstream anyway, and highlights it from the perspective of being an immigrant.

Interlude

13:40-14:10                          Brian Crowley

Queering Kilmainham Gaol. By focusing on the queer history of Kilmainham Gaol, this presentation explores the criminalisation of homosexuality in the 19th and early twentieth century. It focuses in particular on the prison’s role in the biggest gay scandal in Ireland in the 19th century, the Dublin Castle Scandal of 1884 which saw a

fascinating intersection of politics and the judicial system.

Interlude

14:20-14:40                          David Ikpo

Queer participatory visibility in Nigerian nations. Based on my own  research, I show that indigenous non-heterosexuality from an African nation is important to tackle the flawed argument that queerness is not authentically Africa and authentically human.

14:30-15:00                          Cheryl Morgan

Michael Dillon in Bristol. Dillon was a key figure in trans history and once described his time in Bristol as the “Darkest of Days”. While that is a little disappointing for locals, it is entirely understandable. The process of gender transition is hugely stressful for most trans people. To do it before there were support groups, or any civil rights for trans people, and to do it with World War Two raging around you, must have been incredibly difficult.

15:00-15:10                         Final comments and end of the event

Check back for a link to the event nearer to the time!

If you want to know any more about what we are planning in Leeds, please drop us a line at outingthepast@leeds.gov.uk.