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KATHY CATON NAMED IN VISIBLE LESBIAN 100 LIST
Since 2008 there has been a Lesbian Visibility Day but why have a day when you can have a whole week?
Diva magazine felt the same way too, so that is exactly what we had from March 20 - 26 , 2020 . Part of Lesbian Visibility Week has been the publication of the Visible Lesbian 100 . This highlights “women who have made great strides for the LGBTQ+ community”. The list covers a wide range of areas from sport to music, celebrity, influencers, politics and the business world.
One of those included on the list is Kathy Caton from Brighton, the founder and managing director of Brighton Gin , who can be heard on BBC Radio Sussex and Radio Reverb
Talking about the Visible Lesbian 100, Kathy believes it is “a really carefully considered and put together list” . For her, an important element of the Visible Lesbian 100 is that it doesn’t just “praise and highlight media stars like Clare Balding, Sue Perkins and Brighton & Hove’s very own Heather Peace” but also covers different fields such as sports, politics and, in her case, business, recognising the importance of her work at Brighton Gin.
“I work in an industry that is and always has been massively male dominated, so by sheer virtue of being a female-run distillery, we're already unusual, and as far as I know, we're the only predominantly LGBTQ+ distillery that there is. I came out fairly late and it was an incredibly difficult process, personally and professionally. “I couldn't go back to the job I was doing at the time and it turned my entire life upside down. I really, really wish that as a younger person (sadly I was at school during Section 28) I could have seen many more visible role models, and see them leading successful, happy, fulfilling lives. That phrase that you cannot be what you cannot see resonates with me and I wish I'd been able to have those role models and see those visible women. I think it would have given me courage and impetus to be who I am sooner. “Basically, I'm unbelievably honoured and genuinely proud to be listed on it - and to show that lesbians and queer people can succeed in all fields, no matter how straight and male-dominated those industries might appear to be at first sight!” Also important to Kathy is that the list isn’t just dominated by a couple of areas of the UK. “It's also fantastic and really positive that they've looked all around the UK and not been purely London/Manchester centric - they've done a great job of it and it's been really thoroughly researched,” said Kathy. For more information about Brighton Gin, visit: www.brightongin.com To view the full Lesbian Visibility list, visit:
