1./ To celebrate #BlackHistoryMonth we'd like to draw your attention to a conversation we love between two of Britain's most remarkable lesbians: @BluskyeAllison and the great Linda Bellos. What does the word 'lesbian' mean to Linda? For her, she says, it's a badge of honour.👇
2./ Linda, who'd go on to become Britain's first Black lesbian council leader, was the first Black woman to work at feminist magazine Spare Rib. One thing she deplored there was the unwillingness to have robust arguments with her including on the subject of race.👇
3./ Linda also movingly describes her own experience of the British justice system which -before the 90s- often deprived lesbians of the custody of their children. A social worker would accompany Linda's kids on visits because lesbians were viewed as "unfit" to be mothers.🤦♂️👇
4./ As both Linda and Allison point out this discrimination only ended after pressure from feminist activists as well as within the justice system by a growing number of women lawyers who together with campaigners helped eventually push successfully for changes in the law.👇
5./ After great strides in the last 30 years they worry lesbian rights are being undermined by the attempt to include male-bodied people in the category of 'lesbian'. Is this really so different from someone white claiming to identify as black?", they ask.👇
6./ If you'd like to watch the discussion in full then you'll find it on our @youtube channel.
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1./ We are shocked by today’s judgment in the Court of Session. For years proponents of GRA Reform assured the public it was merely an administrative measure. Instead it’s now clear it would have profound consequences undermining both women’s rights and those of LGB people.
2./ We have long argued the laws protecting LGB people are being undermined by conflating sex with gender identity. We are grateful the EHRC submission reflected our concerns and disappointed judges “have not found it easy to follow” the important point the EHRC made.
3./ We applaud the work of @ForWomenScot and their legal team. They have shed light as never before on the dangerous confusion surrounding issues of sex and gender in our laws. This must urgently be addressed. Erase sex in law and you erase our rights.
We have today sent a formal complaint to the President of the UN HRC, endorsed by many other groups & individuals internationally, about the conduct of Independent Expert for SOGI Victor Madrigal-Borloz. He pursues his own agenda instead of his mandate. lgballiance.org.uk/formal-complai…
1/
We have today written to the incoming President of the UN Human Rights Council with a long and
detailed complaint about the failure of the Independent Expert on SOGI, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, to fulfil his mandate.
3/
Today is #BiVisibilityDay
2021 ONS estimates put the prevalence of bisexuality at 1.1% of the UK population, rising to 5.3% of 16-24 year olds.
We saw yesterday that attitudes to LGB people generally had improved, but here are some stats on bisexuality specifically (thread)
1/6
#BiVisibilityDay
From reading Prof Michael Biggs’ paper on the history of puberty blockers we find that of the first 70 children on the “Dutch Protocol”, 8.6% were bisexual.
One further child did not know their sexual orientation yet.
With just 30 days to go before Mermaids begin their challenge to our charitable status, we will be sharing one reason every day until then showing why LGB Alliance is so needed by LGB people. (Thread)🧵
1: We made a short film to celebrate the lives of older gay men and are ensuring that 30% of the tickets to the very swanky London premiere are free or discounted 👇
1/6 Why your support for LGB Alliance is effective and really matters (thread).
The govt's decision to abandon plans for a Bill to ban Conversion Therapy is a sign of the confidence that, in general, conversion therapy practices for LGB people are already illegal in this country
2/6 The UK is a fantastic place to be lesbian, gay or bisexual. It’s also a fantastic place to be transgender. Nowhere in the world are trans people more visible, or their rights better guaranteed.
The UK leads the world with our legislation on equality.
3/6 Sexual orientation and gender reassignment are both protected characteristics in the Equality Act and the rights of each group must always be balanced.
We welcome these early findings from the Cass Review. It confirms our view that this service has not been subject to the normal quality controls elsewhere in the NHS. This is even more important with highly experimental treatments. 1/5