UCL celebrates Pride Month 2023

Foreword from Gerard Jones, LGBTQ+ Equality Implementation Group (LEIG) Manager in UCL's EDI team

Pride is a time of reflection, celebration and conscious action. Looking back at the long history of LGBTQ+ rights, it’s worth noting that progress has never been easy, nor has it been won without hardship. It’s thanks to the hard work and campaigning of activists that so many LGBTQ+ people including myself can enjoy certain privileges today.  

With that in mind, it's crucial that all members of the LGBTQ+ community support and uplift one another. Recognising and celebrating our differences is vital to ensure that the most vulnerable members of our community feel safe and able to thrive as their authentic selves.  

Since starting my role as the LGBTQ+ Equality Implementation Group (LEIG) Manager in November 2022, I’ve had the privilege of meeting so many fantastic people both within and outside of UCL who are passionate and professional in their approaches to effecting positive change. As a result of these meetings and much research, LEIG and I have developed a comprehensive set of actions to take the institution forward in terms of LGBTQ+ equality and we are very excited to share more details about this over the coming months.

As well as institutionally, so much fantastic equality work is happening locally. The Gender Expression Fund has been a vital lifeline for trans, nonbinary and gender nonconforming students, offering them financial assistance to buy gender-affirming products. The Students’ Union, namely Danielle Swanson, Seyi Osi, and Jayne Flowers have done amazing work managing this fund and deserve thorough commendation for this.

In addition, the LEIG Fund has been a great success, with so many brilliant LGBTQ+ initiatives being proposed by staff and students in the first round of applications this January. LEIG and I are currently reviewing our second round of applications and look forward to sharing details of further successful projects this June. In the meantime, please do visit one of the many events being run as part of the Blueprints of Hope exhibition. The exhibition itself is centred on LGBTQ+ spaces and history in London and will remain open in the Octagon until August for all of UCL and the public to enjoy. 

I'd also like to thank everyone who has organised the events and activities listed below. To see so many creative and uplifting initiatives led by LGBTQ+ staff, students and their allies is testament to the strong queer community we have at UCL.  

All LGBTQ+ staff and students have a place and a community to support them at UCL. To stay up-to-date with news, events, and to meet members of the LGBTQ+ community, feel free to join our staff network, Out@UCL, which is also open to allies. You can also view UCL's other resources for LGBTQ+ staff, students and allies on the EDI webpage.  

Happy Pride!

Events

We'll be updating this page with additional events as they are announced so please do check back to see what’s new! If you are hosting a UCL event for Pride Month that you’d like included in this article, please get in touch with the UCL Communications team.  

Until 18 August 2023 [In person/open to all] Blueprints of Hope: Celebrating LGBTQ+ London 

London-based collective Gedney Common have curated this exhibition in response to research by UCL Urban Laboratory (Urban Lab) evidencing a drop of 58% in London's LGBTQ+ venues between 2006 and 2017. Bringing together the work of libraries, archives, community centres and activist groups, alongside pieces by contemporary artists, Gedney Common present a snapshot of London’s vital queer cityscape, past and present, and illuminate its role in providing a social and cultural lifeline for queer communities. Find out more 

Until 20 April 2024 [In person/open to all]: The Zizi Show (at the V&A, South Kensington) 

UCL Slade School of Art alumnus Jake Elwes presents a deepfake drag cabaret, exploring the ethical problems which exist in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Book now

All month: Students' Union UCL's Pride Month programme

Students' Union UCL present a range of events, news and ways to get involved with the community by volunteering for various LGBTQ+ programmes. Find out more

31 May [In person/open to all] Film screening: M(OTHER)HOOD 

A transmasculine parent begins hormone treatment at 43 in this short film that deftly explores the shifting perceptions of their four children. The screening will be followed by a discussion around the barriers to healthcare and sexual health in marginalised groups – focus on trans parenting. Book now 

31 May [In person/open to all] Above this new tunnel the Market Tavern once stood. Grey concrete outside. Cherry red, dark, sexy, cruisy, inside 

A live performance by Blueprints of Hope exhibiting artist Nina Wakeford as she excavates and embodies LGBTQ+ history and proposes it as part of the new transport infrastructure of London. Book now 

2 June [In person/open to all]: Blueprints of Hope: Badge Café Hangout 

Join us reusing old pics, books and mags to make badges in a session responding to the Octagon Gallery exhibition 'Blueprints of Hope: Celebrating LGBTQ+ London'. Free, friendly, easy, fun. Book now 

7 June [Online/open to all]: Inclusive Spaces: LGBTQIA+ Places and Stories 

The editors of ‘Queer Spaces’ will join us to explore historic, contemporary and speculative LGBTQIA+ spaces from around the world. Book now 

13 June [In person/open to all] Sam Albatros in conversation with Daniel Orrells, on being a faulty boy 

UCL alumnus and author, queer artist and poetry translator Dr Sam Albatros will talk about their experience of being a queer artist, novelist and scientist. They will then be joined for a discussion by Professor Daniel Orrells, professor of classics at KCL and centre director of Queer@Kings, to talk about Sam's novel faulty boy, which focuses on a gender nonconforming/queer child. Book now 

13-15 June [Hybrid event/open to all]: Challenging the Binary: Non-Binary, Genderqueer, and Gender-Neutral Language 

A three-day conference to explore non-binary, gender-inclusive, and gender-non-conforming language cross-linguistically. Book now (cost £50) 

16 June [In person/open to all]: Gedney Common Curatorial Surgery 

Hear how the collective Gedney Common used academic research as a catalyst, from exhibition concept to realisation, of the Blueprints of Hope exhibition. Book now 

21 June and 28 June [In person/open to all]: Join us for a pre-Pride crafting session with Dr Leah Lovett

Let's make Pride in London a riot with gorgeous protest signs and badges! Join us on Wednesday 21 June, 12–2pm and Wednesday 28 June 12–2pm at the IAS Forum (G17, ground floor, South Wing, UCL Main Building). We'll have everything you need for banner and badge making, so all you need to do is show up! But feel free to bring your own markers, crayons, boards, old magazines (for badges) or other crafty things if you want.

22 June [Online/open to all]: MAPS EDI Lunch Hour Conversations: The history of Ballroom and Houses in the US

We are excited to welcome Syd Baloue, a Ballroom historian, writer and advocate for racial, social, gender justice and LGBTQ+ rights. Syd will share their knowledge and talk about their activism, education and outreach. Book now

29 June [In person/for UCL students and staff]: London LGBTQ+ STEM Conference 2023

Organised by the LGBTQ+ STEM @UCL Network, the conference will showcase and celebrate the work of people in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) who identify as LGBTQ+ at universities and research institutes in London. More information and registration

29 June [In person/for UCL students and staff]: The Pride Month bake sale and competition

Join us from 12-2pm in the Square Lounge, Ground Floor, UCL School of Pharmacy to sample cakes and baked goods – money raised will go to the mosaic LGBT+ young persons’ trust. If you'd like to submit a bake for the completition, please email the Post Graduate Society (sop.pgs@ucl.ac.uk) with the type of bake and a list of ingredients/allergens using "ingredients" as the subject.  

30 June [In person/for UCL students and staff]: Blueprints of Hope Workshop at the Octagon Gallery (1–2:30pm)

A creative workshop for staff and students to share your thoughts on the Blueprints of Hope exhibition at UCL's Octagon Gallery. We'll take you on a tour of the exhibition and facilitate a conversation and activities around the exhibition themes. All participants will receive a £15 voucher. Register now

6 July [Hybrid/open to all]: Vulnerability and control: Smartphones and queer men's cultures of intimacy 

Jamie Hakim will reflect on the major findings of the ESRC funded project, ‘Digital Intimacies: how queer men use their smartphones to negotiate their cultures of intimacy’. This event will be particularly useful for researchers, educators, policy makers and health care professionals. Book now

More information and resources for students and staff 

• Student Support and Wellbeing: Information and support for LGBTQ+ students. 
• UCL’s Staff Equalities networks include networks for LGBTQ+ staff members, including the LGBTQ+ Equality Steering Group.
• Read UCL PhD candidate Mie Astrup Jensen's experiences of being a queer scholar researching LGBTQ+ people's lived experiences.
• New from Microsoft: Add your pronouns to your Microsoft 365 profile – find out how.