UK LGBT+ History Month 2024: Everything You Need to Know
LGBT+ History Month is an annual celebration of the lives of LGBT+ people of the past. It is celebrated every February in the UK, with each year’s celebration having its own unique theme. Discover how and why you can mark this month yourself, with key facts, quick tips and free resources to download.
Inspiring and Informative LGBT+ History Books
This is a collection of books which touch on themes of healthcare, biology and medicine from an LGBT+ perspective.
Important note: Due to the nature of many of these histories, these books are not suitable for all ages. If you are an adult who is thinking of giving any of these books to a young person, you may wish to review them yourself first.
- And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic, br Randy Shilts
- Between Certain Death and a Possible Future: Queer Writing on Growing up with the AIDS Crisis, by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
- Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health, edited by Adrian Shanker
- Crisis And Care: Queer Activist Responses to a Global Pandemic, edited by Adrian Shanker
- Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People, by Joan Roughgarden
- How to Survive a Plague: The Story of How Activists and Scientists Tamed AIDS, by David France
- Moving Politics: Emotion and ACT UP’s Fight against AIDS, by Deborah B Gould
- Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic, by Richard A.McKay
- Plague Years: A doctor’s journey through the AIDS crisis, by Ross A. Slotten, M.D.
- Testosterone: The Story of the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us, by Carole Hooven
- The Other Pandemic: An AIDS Memoir Book, by Lynn Curlee
- The Remedy: Queer and Trans Voices in Health and Health Care, edited by Zena Sharman
- Trans America: A Counter-History, by Barry Reay
- Transgender History (Second Edition): The Roots of Today’s Revolution, by Susan Stryker
- Trans Medicine: The Emergence and Practice of Treating Gender, by Stef M. Shuster
- What Is the AIDS Crisis?, by Nico Medina
- ‘Curing Queers’: Mental nurses and their patients, 1935-1975, by Tommy Dickinson
Facts About LGBT+ History Month In The UK
LGBT+ people have a long history of making incredible contributions to the UK. From King James VI of Scotland and I of England, whose romantic feelings for men are well-documented, to the Ladies of Llangollen whose home became a cultural hotspot in Regency society to Justin Fashanu who broke boundaries as the first professional footballer to publicly share that he was gay – there is no shortage of fascinating and inspiring stories to be found if you know where to look.
However, those stories have often been missing from the history books, which could give the impression that LGBT+ people have only come along in recent years. Those who identify as LGBT+ might struggle to find historical figures they relate to, leading them to feel isolated and uncertain about their future. The truth is that LGBT+ people have always been here, in every society and time period around the world. By telling the stories of LGBT+ figures from history, we hope to spread the message that these identities aren’t going anywhere, and that LGBT+ people are valued and vital members of society. Explore The Proud Trust’s “People Like Me” project and discover the stories of LGBT+ people in music, film, sport, literature, politics and more.
