LGBT culture in London

The LGBT culture of London, England, is centred on Old Compton Street in Soho. There are also LGBT pubs and restaurants in Earl's Court.

History

In the 18th century, some businesspersons and aristocrats had, for the time, relatively open LGBT lifestyles. Rictor Norton, author of Mother Clap's Molly House: The Gay Subculture in England, 1700-1830 stated that in the 1720s London had more gay pubs and clubs than it did in 1950. LGBT studies pre-1920s were entirely of males caught in scandals, and most of them were members of the Royal Family of the United Kingdom.

Homosexuality was decriminalized in the UK in 1967. London was an LGBT tourism destination even before 1967. LGBT culture became more visible during the 1970s as a result of civil rights movements. Mark W. Turner, the author of "Gay London," stated that when Derek Jarman moved to Charing Cross in 1979, it began the process of Soho becoming the centre of the London LGBT community and that by the early 1990s this was "firmly established".

The Admiral Duncan pub in Soho was bombed on 30 April 1999. Newspaper articles stated the belief that the bombing was intended to attack the LGBT community; no persons who died in the incident were members of the LGBT community.

Recreation

The Greater London Authority government promotes LGBT tourism.

The Above the Stag Theatre in Vauxhall is the UK's only LGBT-centric theatre.

Summer Rites is an LGBT-centric outdoor party. The London Pride Parade and the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival are also held in the city.

Heaven is the largest gay disco club in Europe. It opened in 1979.

The UK's only gay and lesbian bookshop, Gay's the Word, is in Bloomsbury.

Notable residents

Those identifying as LGBT:

• Pete Burns
• Stephen Fry
• Derek Jarman
• Ian McKellen

Other persons:

• Margaret Clap – operated a Molly house

References

• Thomas, Ardel. "London." Reader's Guide to Lesbian and Gay Studies. Routledge, October 18, 2013. ISBN 1135942412, 9781135942410, or 113594234X, 9781135942342. p. 363-364. - A listing of academic works discussing the London LGBT community
• Turner, Mark W. "Gay London." In: Kerr, Joe and Andrew Gibson (editors). London From Punk to Blair: Revised Second Edition. Reaktion Books, 1 June 2013. ISBN 1780230753, 9781780230757. Start p. 50.

Further reading

• Cooper, Davina. Sexing the City: Lesbian and Gay Politics within the Activist State. Rivers Oram (London) and Paul (Concord, Massachusetts), 1994. - Most of the book discusses the LGBT community of London
• Graham, Hugh, John Shandy Watson, and Paul Burston (editors). Time Out Gay and Lesbian London. Time Out Guides, 2010. ISBN 1905042566, 9781905042562.
• Green, Sarah F. Urban Amazons: Lesbian Feminism and beyond in the Gender, Sexuality, and Identity Battles of London. St. Martins (New York), and Macmillan (Basingstroke, Hants), 1997.
• Lucas, Ian. Impertinent Decorum: Gay Theatrical Manoeuvers. Cassel (London and New York), 1994. - Discusses the LGBT culture in London theatre
• Norton, Rictor. Mother Clap's Molly House: The Gay Subculture in England, 1700-1830. Gay Men's Press (London) and Inbook (East Haven, Connecticut), 1992: Discusses "Molly houses" in and near London.
• Weeks, Jeffrey. Coming Out: Homosexual Politics in Britain from the Nineteenth Century to the Present. Quartet (London and New York): 1977. Revised edition: Quartet (London), 1990. - This book is not focused on London in particular; Arden Thomas stated that even so, the book makes it clear that LGBT-related laws were created in London
• Wilson, Olivette Cole and Clarence Allen, "The Black Perspective." In: Healey, Emma and Angela Mason (editors). Stonewall 25: The Making of the Lesbian and Gay Community of Britain. Virago (London), 1994 - Discusses the London black LGBT community

External links

• London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard (LLGS)