Billboard in Dundee. Pic: Alistair Heather

#TodayInQueerHistory Feb 11 (1987) Mark Ashton, a tireless campaigner for LGBTQ rights and social change, who co-founded Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, volunteered at Switchboard and supported the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, died #OTD. Here's Mark and others with their iconic banner.

Robyn pre-sale? Completed

#TodayInQueerHistory February 10 (1937) Roberta Flack, known for the songs Killing Me Softly and The First Time Ever I saw Your Face was born. Roberta supported gay rights, saying; "Love is love. Between a man and a woman, between two men, between two women. Love is universal, like music."

I've just this moment been informed that these tours are fully booked again 🥰

#TodayInQueerHistory Feb 9 (2018) The XXIII Winter Olympics kicked off in PyeongChang, with 15 out LGBTQIA+ competitors to cheer on included figure skater Adam Rippon - the 1st out US athlete to win a Winter medal -and skier Gus Kenworthy. At the 2026 games, there are nearly 50 out athletes.

"Lads, have you tried turning into a human?"

🎶Kermeyyyy, it's moi, your Piggy, Moi's come home now Sooo coooooold. Let me in your windooooowwww.🎶

There's only 3 tickets left for my LGBTQIA+ history tour of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery! If you want to come along, here's the all important link! www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/whats-on/bri...

Can confirm this is The Process. Sometimes coffee can be substituted for tea.

#TodayInQueerHistory Feb 8 (1931) You can't deny James Dean (born #OTD) is a cultural icon, despite starring in only 3 films. According to biographers he had relations with men & women. He quipped "Well, I'm certainly not going through life with one hand tied behind my back" about his orientation.

"this is fine" British Library Manuscript - royal ms 20 a ii f3r

#TodayInQueerHistory Fen 7 (1970) Barney's Beanery, a West Hollywood bar had a sign saying "F*g*ts Stay Out." #OTD in 1970, the LGBTQIA+ community decided enough was enough and protested the establishment. Led by Morris Knight and Troy Perry, the protest highlighted this violation of civil rights.

Bum Bum Bum Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmm 👍🏛️🍑 #MuseumBums Andy Warhol's "Torso (Male Buttocks)", 1977 at KMSKA, Antwerp Thanks @ma-at.bsky.social for sharing 😁

Celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month with Dr Sam Rutherford (@echomikeromeo.bsky.social) and learn more about the last 150 years of trans history in Scotland. More info and tickets (free): edin.ac/4tecKoD #Lgbtq #Lgbtqhistorymont #Transhistory #Scottishistory #History #Edinburgh #WorldDayOfSocialJustice

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition. Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

#TodayInQueerHistory Feb 6 (1918) Pioneering Doctor, Alan L. Hart, who saved millions of lives with revolutionary work diagnosing TB early was outed as trans in an article published in the Spokesman Review #OTD. Dr Hart later said he is"happier since I made this change than I ever have in my life".

Has anyone else watched the Alan Rickman film Blow Dry? About the national hairdressing championships in Keighley? Because it is such a delight and I love it so much but whenever I talk about it it's like I'm recounting a fever dream.

#TodayInQueerHistory Feb 5 (1993) Last Call at Maud's, a documentary about the final night at Maud's, a San Francisco lesbian bar which ran from 1966-1989, was released #OTD. Maud's was described as a "clubhouse, community center and bar". The owner, Rikki Streicher, also co-founded the Gay Games.

#TodayInQueerHistory Feb 4 (1975) On a high from being named host for 1976 Olympic Games, Montréal starts a "moral clean up." The 1st target? The city's saunas. #OTD Police raid Sauna Aquarius and arrest around 35 people. Raids continued across the city, leading to protests at police treatment.

#TodayInQueerHistory February 3 (1451) Mehmed II (also known as Mehmed the Conqueror) begins his second reign as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (his dad stepped away then returned to the role). Mehmed admired Greek culture, and had a ✨ favourite ✨, Radu the Fair.

#TodayInQueerHistory February 2 (1988) To protest the homophobic Section 28, 4 lesbian activists abseil into the House of Lords. They were Olivia Butler, Rachel Cox, Angela Nunn and Sally Frances. Sally recalls "If they had voted against it, we weren’t going to do it. But they voted for it."

#TodayInQueerHistory February 1 (2009) Iceland elects Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir to the office of Prime Minister. Not only was Jóhanna Iceland's first female PM, she was ALSO the WORLD'S first openly LGBTQIA+ Head of State. 🇮🇸🏳️‍🌈

Hey! Stop looking at their bums! Stop it!! DON'T LOOK AT THEIR BUMS!!! 👍🏛️🍑 #MuseumBums A cast of a charioteer from Delphi, Greece, c478 BCE trying to gatekeep these hunks at the @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social 😁

It never gets old seeing @museumbums.bsky.social in the wild! Spotted in the V&A gift shop 🥰 If you're coming along on a tour this afternoon (kick off at 4!) you can pick up a copy 👍🏛️🍑

#TodayInQueerHistory Jan 31 (1989) Stop AIDS now or Else! An activist group and rallying cry for the masses brought San Francisco traffic to a halt #OTD (according to most sources). They unfurled a banner and blocked traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge at the height of rush hour for 30 mins.

“You couldn’t say ‘We’re the good guys’ and do bad-guy things.” Terry had some perfect lines.

❤️

I'm so sad to hear that Catherine O'Hara has passed. She brought us all so much joy.

I'm getting in the zone for UK LGBTQIA+ History Month. So far my calendar looks like: Running queer history sessions at work. Tours of V&A Tours of Bristol Museum & Art Gallery Sharing local queer history at Mshed Exploring Working Class Queer History with the GLA. Anyone else for some history? 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

#TodayInQueerHistory January 30 (2005) Chris Smith, a former Labour MP and since 2005, Baron Smith of Finsbury made history #OTD by speaking to The Sunday Times and sharing his status as HIV positive. He was the 1st UK politician to do anything like this.

Happy Pay Day, everyone! Treat yourself to that excellent value purchase you've been waiting for... shop.ashmolean.org/products/mus... 👍🏛️🍑 #MuseumBums We have an excellent recommendation for you, AND buy it from your local museum or indie bookshop, and you can feel even better about your bargain 😁

Charles Xavier: I dream of a world where humans and mutants can live in peace. Also Charles Xavier: I'm totally cool with training child soldiers and providing them with a fighter jet, though.

#TodayInQueerHistory Jan 29 (2020) After years of campaigning, Charlie Craggs finally wins the battle with Unicode who announced they would introduce the trans flag emoji 🏳️‍⚧️ #OTD. Charlie's campaign included using the lobster 🦞 as a stand in for the flag because they are gyandropmorphic. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

Red Squirrel will return in Avengers:Doomsday

It's nearly tour time again! On Saturday 31 Jan, I'll be leading a tour of V&A, exploring LGBTQIA+ histories from across time, space and cultures. When? 4-5 Where? V&A (meet under the blue and green chandelier) Booking? Just rock up and say hi 👍🏛️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

#TodayInQueerHistory Jan 28 (1901) Richmond Barthés, an important artist of the Harlem Renaissance, born #OTD. His sculptures often had homoerotic subtext. He never made his sexuality explicit but dropped hints in interviews. Historians believe he had a relationship with actor Richard Bruce Nugent.

And the Oscar for dramatic museum lighting goes to.... France's The Museum of Romanity's "The Roman Emperor, a mortal among the gods" exhibition 👏👏👏👏 #MuseumBums 👍🏛️🍑 Thanks @lydiam31.bsky.social for sharing 😁

Netflix's latest Engagement Report showed relatively strong viewership of the gay Marines series compared with other shows that were renewed. Here are some theories why it was canceled.

#TodayInQueerHistory Jan 27 (1994) Deborah Batts is announced as a federal judge for the Southern District of New York. Judge Batts was the 1st openly queer judge on US federal benches, there are now 23. Batts “Literally broke down the closet door and allowed the rest of us to walk through it.”

#TodayInQueerHistory January 26 (1996) 🎶525,600 minutes How do you measure, measure a year?🎶 RENT, the beloved musical opened #OTD in the New York Theatre Workshop. Inspired by opera, La Boheme, RENT tells the stories of a cast of queer and marginalised characters during the AIDS crisis.

#TodayInQueerHistory Jan 25 Happy Dydd Santes Dwynwen! St Dwynwen is the Welsh saint of Love. She's not officially recognised by churches, but still celebrated. Festivities include exchanging lovespoons, usually carved by men for their sweethearts. St Fagans Museum think this was carved for John.

Everything is awful but the creativity behind some of these handmade posters gives me a glimmer of hope in humanity.

Of course it stops raining when I get home from the run. Yours damply, Jack

In case you missed it, I wrote about the first legal gay marriage last week! It is a fascinating story that is worth sharing!

#TodayInQueerHistory January 24 (1989) Today, we expect to see LGBTQIA+ characters in soaps. They reflect everyday life. To an extent. #OTD EastEnders aired the 1st on-the-mouth kiss between a gay couple on a UK soap. With 17 million viwwrers, the kiss had MPs calling for the soap to be cancelled.

Phew. It's safe to be on the internet again.

#TodayInQueerHistory January 23 (2017) #OTD Belgian supermodel Hanne Gaby Odiele shares with Vogue that she's intersex, saying: “It was important for me to make this declaration now, based on where I am in my life. I want to live authentically as who I am and help to break down the stigma."

Today is one of those days where I'm trying to do a million things and wear a million hats. Please send strength and coffee.