Vera Holme, known as Jack, left a career as a jobbing actress to become Emmeline Pankhurst's chauffeur and mechanic. Evelina Haverfield was a classic beauty, the daughter of a Scottish baron and fourteen years older than Jack. They met in 1908, fell in love, lived together, and became public faces of the suffragette movement, enduring prison and doing everything they could for the cause.The First World War paused the suffragettes' campaign and Jack and Eve enrolled in the Scottish Women's Hospital Service and soon found themselves in Serbia. Eve set up and ran hospitals for allied soldiers in appalling conditions, while Jack became an ambulance driver, travelling along dirt tracks under bombardment to collect the wounded from the front lines.Together, they carved radical new paths, demonstrating that women could do anything men could do, whether driving ambulances, running military hospitals, becoming prisoners of war or bearing arms. They refused to compromise in their sexuality - they were lifelong partners even though Jack enjoyed relationships with other women. Determined to be themselves, 'forthright, flamboyant and proud', Wendy Moore uses their story as a lens through which to view the suffragette movement, the work of women in WWI and the development of lesbian identity throughout the twentieth century. Read more

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERFrom international drag superstar and pop culture icon RuPaul, comes his most revealing to date―a brutally honest and deeply intimate memoir of growing up Black, poor, and queer in a broken home to discovering the power of performance and self-acceptance.A profound introspection of his life, relationships, and identity, The House of Hidden Meanings is a self-portrait of the legendary icon on the road to global fame and changing the way the world thinks about drag.Central to RuPaul’s success has been his chameleonic adaptability. From drag icon to powerhouse producer of one of the world’s largest television franchises, RuPaul’s ever-shifting nature has always been part of his brand as both supermodel and super mogul.Yet that adaptability has made him enigmatic to the public. In this memoir, his most intimate and detailed book yet, RuPaul makes himself truly known.Stripping away all artifice, RuPaul recounts the story of his life with breath taking clarity and tenderness, bringing his signature wisdom and wit to his own biography. From his early years growing up as a queer Black kid in San Diego navigating complex relationships with his absent father and temperamental mother, to forging an identity in the punk and drag scenes of Atlanta and New York, to finding enduring love with his husband Georges LeBar and self-acceptance in sobriety, RuPaul excavates his own biography, uncovering new truths and insights in his personal history.Here in RuPaul’s singular and extraordinary story is a manual for living―a personal philosophy that testifies to the value of chosen family, the importance of harnessing what makes you different, and the transformational power of facing yourself fearlessly.If we’re all born naked and the rest is drag, then this is RuPaul totally out of drag. This is RuPaul stripped bare.RuPaul's book 'The House of Hidden Meanings' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2024-03-25. Read more

50 years of Pride in the words of those who changed the world. Half a century has passed since 2,000 people marched in the very first Pride march, in New York City. It was a moment when the LGBT+ community rose up against centuries of hatred and persecution, spawning a global movement and the Pride parades that now take place around the world. The Little Book of Pride is a collection of quotes that captures the voices of those who have played a key part in the long journey to a place of Pride – from the very first pioneers, to those who took the fight into the streets of the Stonewall riots, and right up to today's movers and shakers. 'Your lives matter. Your voices matter. Your stories matter.' Actress and trans activist Laverne Cox at the Goldern Globes Awards, 2016. 'If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.' Tape recording left by Harvey Milk, the first openly gay US politician, murdered in 1978. Read more

A landmark reference guide to the LGBTQIA+ community's contributions to the English language-an intersectional, inclusive illustrated glossary featuring more than 800 terms created by and for queer culture.With a foreword from Paula Akpan Do you know where "yaaaas queen!" comes from? Do you know the difference between a bear and a wolf? Do you know what all the letters in LGBTQIA+ stand for? The Queens' English is a comprehensive guide to modern gay slang, queer theory terms, and playful colloquialisms that define and celebrate LGBTQIA+ culture. This modern dictionary provides an in-depth look at queer language, from terms influenced by celebrated lesbian poet Sappho and from New York's underground queer ball culture in the 1980s to today's celebration of RuPaul's Drag Race. The glossary of terms is supported by full-color illustrations and photography throughout, as well as real-life usage examples for those who don't quite know how to use "kiki," "polysexual," or "transmasculine" in a sentence. A series of educational lessons highlight key people and events that shaped queer language; readers will learn the linguistic importance of pronouns, gender identity, Stonewall, the Harlem Renaissance, and more. For every queen in your life-the men, women, gender non-conforming femmes, butches, daddies, and zaddies-The Queens' English is at once an education and a celebration of queer history, identity, and the limitless imagination of the LGBTQIA+ community. Read more

A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year 2019'Richly evocative and entertaining.' Guardian'An essential book for anyone who wants to Polari bona!' AttitudePolari is a language that was used chiefly by gay men in the first half of the twentieth century. It offered its speakers a degree of public camouflage and a means of identification. Its colourful roots are varied ‐ from Cant to Lingua Franca and dancers' slang ‐ and in the mid‐1960s it was thrust into the limelight by the characters Julian and Sandy, voiced by Hugh Paddick and Kenneth Williams, on the BBC radio show Round the Horne. ('Oh hello Mr Horne, how bona to vada your dolly old eek!')Paul Baker recounts the story of Polari with skill, humour and tenderness. He traces its historical origins and describes its linguistic nuts and bolts, explores the ways and the environments in which it was spoken, explains the reasons for its decline and tells of its unlikely re‐emergence in the twenty‐first century.With a cast of drag queens and sailors, Dilly boys and macho clones, Fabulosa! is an essential document of recent history ‐ a fascinating and fantastically readable account of this funny, filthy and ingenious language.'Paul Baker's exuberant, richly detailed history of Polari, a ''secret'' language used chiefly by gay men in the 1940s and 1950s, is a delightful read.' Tatler Read more

Announcing the arrival of a major new talent, an astonishing work of social history which captures Black gay Britain as never before.'In this seminal book Okundaye gives us juicy dialogue, tears and laughter, and vivid landscapes of memory.'MENDEZ, author of Rainbow Milk'Okundaye has done something extraordinary and made this work of vital social history seem like a late night, electrifying conversation between good friends.'SHON FAYE, author of The Transgender Issue'Groundbreaking . . . Okundaye's research and interviews completely recast key moments in BlackBritish history . . . We should be grateful that he has managed to capture a vital moment that - at somany points - could have been lost for ever.'LANRE BAKARE, GUARDIAN***In this landmark work, Jason Okundaye meets an elder generation of Black gay men and finds a spirited community full of courage, charisma and good humour, hungry to tell its past - of nightlife, resistance, political fights, loss, gossip, sex, romance and vulgarity. Through their conversations he seeks to reconcile the Black and gay narratives of Britain, narratives frequently cleaved as distinct and unrelated.Tracing these men's journeys and arrivals to South London through the seventies, eighties and nineties from the present day, Okundaye relays their stories with rare compassion, listening as they share intimate memories and reflect upon their lives. They endured and fought against the peak of the AIDS epidemic, built social groups and threw underground parties; they went to war with institutions (and with each other) and created meaning within a society which was often indifferent to their existence.Revolutionary Acts renders a singular portrait of Britain from the perspective of those buffeted by the winds of marginalisation and discrimination. It is a portrait marked by resilience and self-determination, inspired by the love and beauty Black men have found in each other.***'Illuminating, heartbreaking, scandalous and galvanising. A crucial text not just of Black British history, but British history in itself.'BOLU BABALOLA, author of Honey & Spice'What sung to me beyond the clear vitality within the words was its ability to make the history and lives of our subcultures so tantalising, alive, tender, playful and an addictive read. I can't wait to tell everyone to read this book.'TRAVIS ALABANZA, author of None of the Above'Jason Okundaye has written a truly valuable book: a chatty, powerful and outrageous testament to a community of bold pioneers. As a document it's important and insightful, and as a piece of storytelling it's entertaining, lucid and compelling.'SIMON GARFIELD, author of The End of Innocence Read more

'A brilliantly written and incisive account of gay life' Colm Tóibín'Each page made me yearn for the dance floor... I'm so glad that someone has written this definitive book about gay bars' Amelia Abraham, author of Queer IntentionsPropulsive music and euphoric crowds; drag queens and go-go dancers; strobe lights, dark rooms and glory holes. Gay bars have long been sites of joy and solidarity, sexual expression and activism. But around the world, they are closing.Atherton Lin draws from his experiences of clubs, pubs and dives in London, San Francisco and Los Angeles - and a transatlantic romance that began late one restless night - to trace queer histories. An expansive and vivacious celebration of an institution, Gay Bar is also a stylish, intimate exploration of what these spaces mean, how they are changing and what we stand to lose when they close their doors. 'Essential' Vogue'Expansive, exuberant and horny' Attitude Read more

Steeped in honey, Juventius, your golden eyes, and as sweet too when I press my lips to them - three hundred thousand kisses is not close to enoughFor centuries, evidence of queer love in the ancient world was ignored or suppressed. Even today, only a few, famous narratives are widely known - yet there's a rich literary tradition of Greek and Roman love that extends far beyond this handful of stories. Here, the poet Seán Hewitt and painter Luke Edward Hall collect together, for the first time, forty of the most exhilarating queer tales in the classical canon and bring them newly to life. A ground-breaking anthology that changes the way we see the ancient world - and invites us to reflect on the puritanism of our own - 300,000 Kisses is a riotous celebration of desire in all its forms. Read more

*A BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week*'Carefully observed, rich in detail, imaginative, compassionate and angry. A raw, unexpected portrait of Britain's grandeur, wealth, energy, cruelty and hypocrisy in the age of liberalism' RORY STEWART'A shocking story of prejudice and injustice, told in meticulous detail' KEIR STARMERFrom award-winning historian and Sunday Times bestselling author Chris Bryant MP, James and John tells the story of what it meant to be gay in early 19th-century Britain through the lens of a landmark trial.They had nothing to expect from the mercy of the crown; their doom was sealed; no plea could be urged in extenuation of their crime, and they well knew that for them there was no hope in this world.When Charles Dickens wrote these tragic lines he was penning fact, not fiction. He had visited the condemned cells at the infamous prison at Newgate, where seventeen men who had been sentenced to death were awaiting news of their pleas for mercy. Two men stood out: James Pratt and John Smith, who had been convicted of homosexuality. Theirs was 'an unnatural offence', a crime so unmentionable it was never named. That was why they alone despaired and, as the turnkey told Dickens, why they alone were 'dead men'. The 1830s ushered in great change in Britain. In a few short years the government swept away slavery, rotten boroughs, child labour, bribery and corruption in elections, the ban on trades unions and civil marriage. They also curtailed the 'bloody code' that treated 200 petty crimes as capital offences. Some thought the death penalty itself was wrong. There had not been a hanging at Newgate for two years; hundreds were reprieved. Yet when the King met with his 'hanging' Cabinet, they decided to reprieve all bar James and John. When the two men were led to the gallows, the crowd hissed and shouted. In this masterful work of history, Chris Bryant delves deep into the public archives, scouring poor law records, workhouse registers, prisoner calendars and private correspondence to recreate the lives of two men whose names are known to history - but whose story has been lost, until now. Read more

Finding out that a child, spouse, relative or friend is homosexual can be an unwelcome surprise. You're hit with a complex combination of emotions - grief, shame, fear, guilt. You are flooded with questions ranging from why to what's next. You wonder what a biblical response would be. At the same time, someone you care about deeply may be awaiting your response. What should you say?Someone I Love Is Gay was created out of Anita Worthen's struggle over these issues with her son and her work with New Hope Ministries in San Rafael, California, and Bob Davies's personal experience and professional experience with Exodus International in Seattle, Washington. Drawing also on the experiences of others, they will help you to handle your feelings while responding appropriately to your loved one. Read more

"This memoir is brutally honest… Wonderful!" – Russell T. DaviesActivist. Journalist. Survivor. One man’s journey from prejudice to Pride.Paul Burston wasn’t always the iconic voice of LGBTQ+ London that he is today. Paul came out in the mid-1980s, when ‘gay’ still felt like a dirty word, especially in the small Welsh town where he grew up. He moved to London hoping for a happier life, only to watch in horror as his new-found community was decimated by AIDS. But even in the depths of his grief, Paul vowed never to stop fighting back on behalf of his young friends whose lives were cut tragically short.It’s a promise he’s kept to this day. As an activist he stormed the House of Commons during the debate over the age of consent. As a journalist he spoke up for the rights of the community at a time of tabloid homophobia and legal inequality. As a novelist he founded the groundbreaking Polari Prize.But his lifestyle hid a dark secret, and Paul’s demons—shame, trauma, grief—stalked him on every corner. In an attempt to silence them, he began to self-medicate.From almost drowning at eighteen to a near-fatal overdose at thirty-eight, this is Paul’s story of what happened in the twenty years between, and how he carved out a life that his teenage self could scarcely have imagined. Emotional but often witty, We Can Be Heroes is an illuminating memoir of the eighties, nineties and noughties from a gay man who only just survived them. Read more

‘Droll, provocative and crammed to busting with startling facts’ Simon Callow, GuardianIn this powerful Sunday Times bestseller Peter Ackroyd looks at London in a whole new way – through the history and experiences of its gay population.In Roman Londinium the city was dotted with lupanaria (‘wolf dens’ or public pleasure houses), fornices (brothels) and thermiae (hot baths). Then came the Emperor Constantine, with his bishops, monks and missionaries. And so began an endless loop of alternating permissiveness and censure.Ackroyd takes us right into the hidden history of the city; from the notorious Normans to the frenzy of executions for sodomy in the early nineteenth century. He journeys through the coffee bars of sixties Soho to Gay Liberation, disco music and the horror of AIDS.Today, we live in an era of openness and tolerance and Queer London has become part of the new norm. Ackroyd tells us the hidden story of how it got there, celebrating its diversity, thrills and energy on the one hand; but reminding us of its very real terrors, dangers and risks on the other. Read more

Explores queer craft and the material cultures of LGBTQ+ activism in Britain since the 1980s. From handmade clothing and protest banners to radical self-published zines and manifestos, there is a long history of using craft and DIY processes to explore identities, bring communities together, and encourage social and political change. Yet, many of these histories remain undocumented and are insufficiently researched.This collection sheds light on these important histories and includes a range of contributions from academics, artists, activists, curators, and heritage professionals. Case studies discussed include Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp, the Museum of Transology, Lesbians and Gay Men Support the Miners (LGSM), the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt, Islington’s Pride, Queer Zine Library, Glasgow Women’s Library, Queer Journeys, and more. These critical essays and oral histories are complemented by short reflections from contemporary creative practitioners including Matt Smith, Tanoa Sasraku, Sarah-Joy Ford, Rachael House and Raisa Kabir.Taken together, this collection weaves together an important web between craft, queerness, and activism in Britain. As the first book of its kind, it will likely be of interest to a range of students and academics, as well as cultural producers and creatives more broadly. Read more

This collection brings together the work of both film scholars and queer theorists to advance a more sophisticated notion of queer film criticism. While the “politics of representation” has been the focus of much previous gay and lesbian film criticism, the contributors to Out Takes employ the approaches of queer theory to move beyond conventional readings and to reexamine aspects of the cinematic gaze in relation to queer desire and spectatorship.The essays examine a wide array of films, including Calamity Jane, Rear Window, The Hunger, Heavenly Creatures, and Bound , and discuss such figures as Doris Day, Elizabeth Taylor, and Alfred Hitchcock. Divided into three sections, the first part reconsiders the construction of masculinity and male homoerotic desire—especially with respect to the role of women—in classic cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. The second section offers a deconstructive consideration of lesbian film spectatorship and lesbian representation. Part three looks at the historical trajectory of independent queer cinema, including works by H.D., Kenneth Anger, and Derek Jarman.By exploring new approaches to the study of sexuality in film, Out Takes will be useful to scholars in gay and lesbian studies, queer theory, and cinema studies.Contributors. Bonnie Burns, Steven Cohan, Alexander Doty, Lee Edelman, Michelle Elleray, Jim Ellis, Ellis Hanson, D. A. Miller, Eric Savoy, Matthew Tinkcom, Amy Villarejo, Jean Walton Read more

From government ministers and spies to activists, drag queens and celebrities, Odd men out charts the tumultuous history of gay men in 1950s and 60s Britain. It takes us from the earliest tentative steps towards decriminalisation to the liberation movement of the early 1970s. Along the way, it catalogues shocking repression, including laws against homosexual activity and the use of brutal medical ‘treatments’. Odd men out draws on medical data and opinion polls, broadcast recordings, theatrical productions, and extensive interviews with key players, as well as an in-depth analysis of the Wolfenden Report and the circumstances surrounding its creation. It brings to life pivotal moments in gay mens’ cultural representation, ranging across the West End and emerging writers like Joe Orton, the British film industry, the BBC, national newspapers, fashion catalogues and music magazines. Celebrating the joy of gay lives as well as the hardships, Odd men out preserves the voices of a disappearing generation who revolutionised what it meant to be a gay man in twentieth-century Britain. Read more

In Sexual Hegemony Christopher Chitty traces the five-hundred year history of capitalist sexual relations by excavating the class dynamics of the bourgeoisie's attempts to regulate homosexuality. Tracking the politicization of male homosexuality in Renaissance Florence, Amsterdam, Paris, and London between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as twentieth-century New York City, Chitty shows how sexuality became a crucial dimension of the accumulation of capital and a technique of bourgeois rule. Whether policing male sodomy during the Medici rule in Florence or accusing the French aristocracy of monstrous sexuality in the wake of the French Revolution, the bourgeoisie weaponized both sexual constraint and sexual freedom in order to produce and control a reliable and regimented labor class and subordinate it to civil society and the state. Only by grasping sexuality as a field of social contention and the site of class conflict, Chitty contends, can we embark on a politics that destroys sexuality as a tool and an effect of power and open a front against the forces that keep us unfree. Read more

Did you know that up to 90% of women experience menstrual abnormalities or pelvic problems in their lifetime? Yet these issues are overwhelmingly misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or dismissed. Conditions such as PCOS, endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts, PMDD, or pelvic floor dysfunction, don’t receive the stream of funding for research and new treatments that other conditions do, despite affecting up to half the population.It's Not Hysteria shares critical knowledge that anyone impacted by these conditions desperately needs. Covering everything from the anatomy and reproductive health basics you wish you learned at school, to issues such as abnormal periods, PCOS, endometriosis, and fibroids, to more complex aspects of gynaecologic care like fertility, sexual health, and hysterectomies. Dr Tang's accessible advice empowers readers to take action and advocate for themselves with healthcare professionals.At a turbulent time when global health, reproductive, and human rights are under siege, Dr Tang is determined to revolutionise how gynaecologic health and pelvic pain are treated by the medical community. This book will be part of the fight for the healthcare all people with uteruses deserve - healthcare that is intersectional, gender-affirming, validating and hopeful. Read more