Arts Supplement of
The Gryphon
Fashion - Blogs - Lifestyle -
Issue 4
In the Middle
Music - Clubs - Art - Culture
In the Middle
Contents In the Middle Associate: Alex Gibbon
Music & Clubs
Elle Palmer
4
It’s a Song: The Music of Channel 4’s LGBTQ+ Hit Show
6
The B-52s: Pioneers of LGBTQ Activism in the New Wave Scene
7
Reviews: Slowthai and Arlo Parks
Fern McErlane Ishmael Silvestro Liam Cattermole
Fashion
Bella Wigley Faye Clayton
8
The Future of Gender-Neutral Makeup
Arts and Culture 12 LGBTQ+ Films to Stream 13 14
Brideshead Revisited: Classic Literature and the power of LGBTQ+ History The Greatest Fictional Queer Romances
Blogs & Lifestyle
2
18
Leeds’ LGBTQ+ Legacy
20
The LGBTQ+ YouTubers You Need to Watch
10
History in Fabric: Fashion’s Role in LGBTQ+ Activism
Lizzie Wright Ruby Mae-McAuliffe
Delphie Bond
15
It‘s a Sin Not to Watch ‘It‘s a Sin‘
16
In The Middle with Ejiro Imiruaye
Emily Parry Owen Frost Phoebe Walker Rory Yeates Sinead O‘Riordan
20
Ask Aunt Bonnie
21
Photography by Emma B Fox
Anushka Searle Beanna Olding
Front Cover
Back Cover
Photograph by Emma B Fox emmabfox.co.uk
Illustration by Carmen Walker-Vazquez @lots.of.clowns
Georgie Wardall Lucy Abbott
Listen
Contents
Full Frontal
alex gibbon
If I took a political campaign to Grindr, I would be the Vice-Chancellor by now.
BBC
Queer Britannia by Waxing Gibbon on LSR, yours truly has compiled a show that traverses the long, fabulous and turbulent road of queer val footage is interspersed with pumping gay bangers, this 100 minutes of ecstasy is educational as well as down right electrifying.
wear
Bright Colours
Life is far too short to play it safe with neutral tones. Inject some vibrancy into your wardrobe by donning the biggest, boldest and brightest colours that you have.
see
Hot on the heels of Valentine’s Day, I’m not feeling lovedup at all. In fact, if there were a year to censor the social media posts of co-habiting couples for the sake of bitter, lonely, cynical singles, this would certainly be it. But I guess that’s why I have been given a column. Nevertheless, election season is now upon us as LeadLUU, one of biggest student democratic processes campaign trail for most will be bed to desk to toilet to fridge, I’m sure that won’t stop the candidates hara few of them boldly take their campaigns to Tinder, an innovative approach. If I took the same mentality onto Grindr perhaps I would be the Vice-Chancellor by now. Vote Picks for Scrote Pics, anyone? Obviously if, hypothetically, I were running in the upcoming election, I couldn’t possibly tell you about it because that would be breaking the rules for campaigning. However, if you want to see who is running for what plus all their manifestos, head over to voting. luu.org.uk/leadluu.
er days of the week have become irrelevant. There is something about grown men in wigs proving their chops through rhinestones, jump splits and a myriad of dick jokes that makes the world seem bearable. Having said that, the plan for easing locking restriccrawling into a drain with Pennywise as long as he asks nicely, I’ll take any smidge of hope I can get right about now. Up until this point, I thought my social life would forever consist of doing laps around Woodhouse Moor with a gradually decreasing circle of friends until I lost the ability to walk. For those of us interested in state-sanctioned shagging, overnight stays of mixed households could be allowed from as early as May 17th. This means that I have 3 months to absolutely
However, it’s the possibility of clubs reopening on 21st June that has reinvigorated everyone with a will to live. Never again will I complain about the length of a queue. On my way into the club, I will kneel and kiss the bouncers ring like he is the pope himself. My life has been stuck on Chromatica II for far too long and I am ready for the transition to 911 – if you don’t know what I am referencing, have some respect, it’s LGBTQ+ History Month for God’s sake.
Considering it is LGBTQ+ History Month, I feel like it’s Bon Boulash’s Drag Race. Fine - I, of course, mean Rulebrities that only straight people like (See: Ellen Degeneres; Elton John; Pete Buttigieg) I have to admit that the 60-year-old full-time Glamazon and part-time fracker has given me a lifeline during this late stage of deepest, darkest lockdown. Since all my weeks have started blurring into one, I now set my calendar by Drag Race UK Day and Drag Race US Day; the oth-
undraw.co
Meet the editors The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson
If you want to pay respect to the queers who paved the way for liberation, educating yourself on Marsha P. Johnson would be a good place to start.
do
In each issue we will be getting to know a member of the team a little bit better. This time it’s the Eleanor Noyce What song would you like played at your funeral?
What is your favourite drink?
I would start with something uber emo and dramatic, like ‘Helena’ by My Chemical Romance, and then I’d bring the party with ‘UK Hun?’ by The United Kingdolls. It would be how
and I’m also a massive fan of an iced coffee. My favourite alcoholic drink – something really boujie, like prosecco or
What is your favourite word? Probably ganache. Quite random, but it just rolls off the tongue nicely.
Royale. What are you currently studying and why? English Literature and hated it (sadly), so I changed course because 1) I almost chose Politics anyhow and 2) I have many, many opinions. Who would you go with on your dream date? I’m bi, so I’d probably maximise that and pick both Robert
Voguing some of that pent-up lockdown energy There are plenty of tutorials on Youtube so go on and live your Willie Ninja fantasy.
If you could go back in time, where would you go? If I could go back in time, I’d either go back to Fuzzy Logic when it was at Wire (RIP), or to the time I saw Radiohead play at Old Trafford in 2017. Best moment of my life. On a personal level, I’d also love to go back to being a kid sitting in my grandma’s kitchen, watching her cook.
3
In The Middle
The B-52’s
Pioneers of LGBTQ+ activism within the New Wave scene The punk and new wave scene of the late 70s and 80s is often seen as dominated by the angry voices of straight white men. The bands from that that theory. In 1976, however, a band formed in Athens, Georgia, over a bands to come out of that scene, but one of the greatest bands in history. The B-52’s, over the course of their history (1976-present) have created some of the most brilliantly original songs of the 20th Century. Borrowing from a plethora of genres such as doo-wop, surf, psychedelia and everything
queer — as in eccentric,“ they said, which might explain why the B-52’s are so criminally overlooked when exploring the history of LGBTQ+ within music.
about the crisis, producing a public service announcement for AMFAR (The disease’s criminal treatment from Margaret Thatcher in the U.K. and Ronald Reagan in the US meant that very little was being done to curve the crisis. Even
them solely on ‘Rock Lobster’ or ‘Love Shack’, their most commercially
come out of that era of new wave. From the high energy of ’52 Girls’, to the experimental fever dream of ‘Quiche Lorraine’ and to the 50s surf inspired ‘Give Me Back My Man’ - do yourself a favour and listen to a B-52’s album in its entirety. You will come out of that experience a better person.
number of people, the B-52‘s were doing an incredibly important service. The impact of the B-52’s on the LGBTQ+ community, and pop culture in frontman Fred Schneider appeared on two separate albums by Jinkx
Throughout their entire history, the B-52’s have been fearlessly going against the grain of the punk scene that bores them. The art school kids from Athens swapped mohawks for beehives, bondage trousers for vintage dresses, and it was
Birch also recently shared a lip sync video of ‘Give Me Back My Man’, which is well worth your time. The history of the LGBTQ+ community and the history of
to LGBTQ+ audiences in a way which was not really seen by many other new
The B-52’s have always been, and should be remembered as, an indescribably
album in 1979, ‘punk’ had become a conformist fashion trend, much of the new music being released had congealed into the same boring sound concerned with clichéd, macho adolescent anger. The B-52’ s, however, never bought into those ideals to begin with – they were always unapologetically non-conformist.
and have constantly supported the LGBTQ+ community and all those who identify with it. A quote from Pierson, speaking to Lesbian/Bisexual women’s publication AfterEllen, puts it best in the quote: “One of the things the B-52’s wanted to accomplish was for people to embrace their difference and encourage people to be who they are and accept themselves.”
In fact, vocalist, lyricist and organ player Kate Pierson said they never considered Image: billboard.com
Slowthai - TYRON Slowthai has always positioned himself as a social renegade. The Bajan-British rapper’s debut album disputed half of his heritage, questioning England’s eminence through depictions of poverty, class hostility and austerity. Nothing Great About Britain revelled in the precariousness of our country, but also offered a more intimate image of Thai that many die hard fans would have appreciated. It was, therefore, disappointing that his NME awards show antics undermined the endearing demeanour we knew him for. A relentless, drug-fuelled international touring schedule seemed to have got the better of him; he was caught like a rabbit in the headlights, unable to cower from the Twitter mob that formed against him. No one can justify Slowthai’s actions, and on this album, he doesn’t necessarily ask for forgiveness, but instead for us all to listen. Made predominantly in the solitude of lockdown, TYRON
Embedded in a sea of distortion, to one with more rhythm. The lyrics remain humorous, as Thai dichotomises acts of laddishness with alternative aspirationalism, like reading kinfolks with his mates. Across the opening 7 tracks, Thai hits you with a straight punch to the gut. He reminds us of the roots that have shaped him, romanticising a mosh-pit energy that we can only hope to experience as soon as possible. i tried enlists a boom bap instrumental and exposes a juxtaposition to the excitable veneer of terms addresses the terms and conditions of fame, but reminds us that he remains a boy nurtured by the streets of Northampton. push Never , who contrasts
album assures us that if everyone stops seeking perfection, they can discover the peculiarities managing to forgive himself for the mistakes that have hung over his head throughout his life. Liam Cattermole
Arlo Parks - Collapsed in Sunbeams It is hard to believe that Arlo Parks is only 20 years old. The wisdom and maturity that Collapsed in Sunbeams length glimpse of a young artist with an extremely promising career ahead of her. It is Parks’ lyrical prowess that really carries the album; and opening with a minute of spoken word on its titular track is the perfect way to draw attention to this fact. It’s a
Parks has an impressive ability to balance the seriousness of her lyrics with perfect-pop hooks that will inevitably be stuck in your head for days to come, lamenting “Wouldn’t it be lovely to feel something lovely to feel something for once/wouldn’t it be lovely
Image: Bandcamp
Throughout the rest of the album, Parks continues to switch between poppy choruses and stories of relationship strains and breakdowns, the album never feels like a broken record. Parks chooses not to get bogged down by self-pity, focusing instead on healing and moving
The real strength in Park’s lyrics lies in her ability to balance relatable themes
second person narratives, without ever losing the broad accessibility of her lyrics. standout moments of the album; where Parks narrates the breakdown of a relationship, and proves that it is not just the lyrics, but also her vocal range that are worthy of acclaim.
spending time with a friend who knows just the right things to say. It’s a pretty impressive feat for a 20-year old. With a few more years of life experience behind her, Parks could soon be unstoppable. Isabel Ralphs
Image credit GHE20G0TH1K
5
In The Middle
it’s a song: the music of channel 4’s lgbtq+ hit show The 2021 blockbuster drama It’s a Sin, created by queer screenwriter Russell T. Davies, explores the lives of young people affected by the emergence of the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. The Gryphon music editor Fern McErlane takes a close look at the eighties-inspired soundtrack, and how music is used within the show. Warning: this article contains spoilers... It’s a Sin has taken over the internet by storm,
the-bone representation of the experiences of
poignant foil to the action onscreen. On the morning
are mainly non-diegetic, and deliberately timed to
onscreen.
referencing the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the
dark content, happiness and horror, extends across
William
6
Image: Channel 4
Image: Channel 4
“What is important to say about all the music in the show is that these songs are still being played now. They’re still being heard in clubs and pubs. The way that many of them have been embraced by queer people is incredible. These songs weren’t written for those reasons, but they now have another life and language to them, which is ours.” - Peter Hoar Their next performance is comic relief, a sugary sweet rendition of Carmel’s ‘More, More, More‘ complete with synchronised jazz-hands; yet this is now marred by the overarching presence of AIDS, as alongside the music we duet, a jubilant, harmonious rendition of ‘Only You‘ by The Flying Pickets, is served up surrounded by their friends. It is one of the last times they seem truly happy.
the culmination of their love and trust; Jill is now looking after Ritchie as he suffers from the physical effects of AIDS. It is brilliantly set to Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)‘; lyrically, it focuses on the relationship between a man and woman and how, in Bush’s own words, if would understand each other better and would resolve their differences.”
she could. She’s based on a real person, a friend of Davies’- Jill Nalder- and appears in the show playing her namesake character’s mother. It’s impossible to ignore the overarching presence of the Pet Shop Boys in this show, with the title - ‘It’s A Sin‘ – lifted directly from that of a track from their 1987 album Actually. A campy, theatrical single with winkingly choral undertones, it was initially about the effects of a Catholic upbringing- but translates neatly into describing the experiences of gay people in the face
home to the Isle of Wight after his AIDS diagnosis. Yet, the cover version by star actor Olly Alexander (who plays one of the show’s protagonists, Ritchie Tozer- and is also popularly known as the vocalist for synth-pop trio Years & Years) is much more sombre. With mournful, pared-back keys, it matches the atmosphere of fear, anxiety and suffering developed at this point in the show. Alexander’s yearning vocal delivery is haunting: “When I look back upon my life / It’s always with a sense of shame / I’ve always been the shame and stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS in It’s A Sin, a legacy that still remains today; Davies strives to negate this, showing us that none of his characters deserved to suffer due to their sexuality, much like how the very real people affected by AIDS were treated- as if their love were a sin. It’s important to keep their memory alive. Music is used to celebrate and to comfort, to support and highlight the LGBT+ community within It’s A Sin. Each song choice is important and poignant in its own way. In director Peter Hoar’s own words, “What is important to say about all the music in the show is that these songs are still being played now. They’re still being heard in clubs and pubs. The way that many of them have been embraced by queer people is incredible. These songs weren’t written for those reasons, but they now have another life and language to them, which is ours.”
7
Fashion
History in fabric: fashion’s role in LGBTQ+ activism
Image: RuPaul in the Guardian
Image: Temple Archives
Contemporary politics and events have tailored the trends of every era, documenting the mood of society at different periods of time. When World War One led to a rationing of clothing dyes, fashion was placed on a limited spectrum of blues, tans, black, and white. The clandestine and rebellion symptomatic of 1920s prohibition was translated into clothing, with shorter hemlines, sleeveless dresses, and heavier makeup becoming popular. 1960 brought with it the birth control pill, sexual revolution and, as a result, the mini skirt and Vivienne Westwood’s iconic era of punk arose out of the social and political unrest of the wardrobe, again proving that styles and trends preserve the time in which they were popular. As Eleanor Lambert once said, “Fashion is history in fabric.” The evolution of LGBTQ+ activism is, too, measurable by the extent of which popular style has developed over recent years. I don’t mean LGBTQ+ fashion in particular by this – there is no singular queer aesthetic – but, rather, the way in which the mainstream popularisation of certain modern trends mark a society that has drastically shifted its attitudes towards gender, sexuality, and ‘appropriate’ clothing. Fashion is undoubtably becoming less gendered. There is rising demand for unisex clothing lines like COLLUSION and an increase in popularity of male MUA’s such as James Charles or Bretman Rock. Women wearing suits or shaving their heads is today considered cool and stylish, while Harry Styles donning a skirt for his cover on Vogue induced more wide-spread appreciation than controversy. Though they may seem trivial, these trends come off the back of a long history of activism.
8
Image: Brittanica
Up until 1969, gay rights protests such as The Annual Reminder had a strict dress code: dresses for women, suits and ties for men. Frank Kameny, the event’s organiser, adopted this rule in the hope that the protesters would be perceived as ‘presentable’, and their plea for equality would be taken more seriously as a result. The relationship between fashion and LGBTQ+ activism can be seen explicitly in these early protests; the two are linked because physical appearance has everything to do with public perception. However, the goal of what this
In The Middle In 1969, police raided The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. And when they became violent towards the patrons inside and began issuing arrests, riots ensued. This uprising against police ended up involving thousands of people and went on for six days. The monumental events of that week galvanised the LGBTQ+ rights movement, leading to the formation of several activist groups: the Gay Liberation Front, Human Rights Campaign, GLAD and PFLAG to name a few. Stonewall had a long-lasting impact on the lives of LGBTQ+ people, and these changes have been echoed in fashion. Because, whilst the rioters clothing was not particularly striking (although people were arrested for breaching the ‘genderappropriate clothing statute’ - cross dressing and drag was literally illegal), these riots triggered the LGBTQ+ community’s move away from public conformity and catalysed the creation of a space in society which permitted true self-expression.
fashion scene which welcomes a huge range of styles and identities. The minded nation. It is true that current trends immortalise the political landscape this landscape too. Pride parades and mainstream LGBTQ+ representation act as a gateway between clothing and politics. Because, as mirrored in the correlation between the de-gendering of clothing and makeup in recent years and an increasingly wide-spread acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, fashion that pushes boundaries implores society to do the same. hard work of LGBTQ+ activists. But in turn, these trends continue to generate a shift in wider societal values - making fashion a vessel for change in itself. Bella Wigley
took place in New York in 1970 to commemorate Stonewall, with London following suit in 1972. These marches strayed from the dress code of earlier protests, and instead were – and still are - a colourful showcase of individuality and pride. The parade acted as an imagined world of acceptance which is, though we have a long way still to go, now becoming a reality. 2019, and the success of LGBTQ+ activism can be seen even beyond these numbers.
Image: BBC
Image: Smithsonian Magazine
“Fashion that pushes boundaries implores society to do the same“
Image: Smithsonian Magazine
Image: BBC
Image: Dazed
9
In The Middle
10
The Future of Gender-Neutral Makeup
Fashion
It‘s never been just cisgender women who wear makeup. Has the beauty industry caught up with this yet? Faye Clayton investigates. Whilst makeup has traditionally been regarded as a product for women, times are changing. The beauty industry is beginning to drop its female label and pick up a new genderless identity. Makeup means a lot of different things to different people: some choose concealer and mascara to cover up so-called imperfections and others utilise makeup as an act of political self-expression. Either way, it‘s constantly evolving. Whilst the LGTBQ+ community have long worn makeup and used it to express their identity, this was not represented in the beauty industry until somewhat recently. Men wearing makeup is not something new nor radical. Rather, it has been imprinted in history since ancient times, dating back to the Egyptians and Romans. More recently, in the late twentieth-century, painted faces were donned by the most famous celebrities and pop stars in the world, such as David Bowie and Prince. The makeup used here was dramatic and eye-catching as glam rock and new romantic stars aimed to make a statement. This was not widely replicated in society and marketing stuck to appealing to women, who were more likely using it daily. However, this is now changing. In the 21st century, the ways in which makeup those identifying as female. A wider variety of people use it, not only to make statements but also to feel pretty for themselves. So, whilst it is not entirely unusual for us to see a variety of people expressing themselves with makeup, the beauty industry took a while to catch up to providing products for them. This wait has been disappointing, particularly as makeup trends have been
reliant on the LGBTQ+ community for decades. This is still potent in the modern-day as, for example, drag queens regularly impact the biggest makeup crazes. This can be easily spotted in trends such as cut creases, strobing, strong highlighter and baking. These are fads that have been capitalised on by the likes of ciswomen such as Kylie Jenner but have their roots in the from queer folks yet struggled to broaden their market to include them. The motive behind this can and should be debated - to what extent is it a sincere attempt at being more inclusive, or more likely, a marketing ploy to sell makeup to even more people? Regardless, many companies have taken even to entirely gender-neutral brands such as Fluide. Milk makeup has also teamed up with Very Good Light to produce a campaign with individuals of all sexualities and identities. Therefore, we can see that the market is beginning to neutralise its strong attachments to femme ciswomen. This is good news. To more and more people, makeup allows expression of one‘s sense of self. The beauty industry needs to keep reinventing itself to keep up with this. Considering how much makeup has evolved and will continue to do so, it will be exciting to see the future of the beauty industry unfold.
Image:Milk Makeup/ Very Good Light
Image: The Drums
Image: Hypebae
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LBGTQ+ HISTORY MONTH
Arts & Culture
The best films streaming now
February is LGBT+ History Month, which celebrates the history of LGBTQ+ community in the UK. The aim of the event is to bring visibility to the stories of the queer community, which have been hidden in the past. One of the ways
AMAZON
NETFLIX
Prime subscription service, or to rent or buy. But
streaming site in the world, has its own LGBTQ+ section dedicated to queer comedy Booksmart (2019), can be streamed on the UK version of the site; as can independent dramas Boy Erased (2018), Beach Rats (2017), and Post (2018). South Korean thriller The Handmaiden (2016) is also available to
(2000) has been
to watch as part of the Prime subscription is available to rent or buy on the Amazon website lable on the site include Moonlight (2017) and Brokeback Mountain (2006). One of my personal favourites to rent or buy on Pride port the Miners campaign in the 1980s. Another on Amazon was Tangerine two transgender women in Hollywood.
MUBI
featured a cast with no previous acting LGBTQ+ features is Mubi, which currently has a large collection of documentaries produced all around the world. Recently added mentary
Awards campaign for transgender actre
(2020), about queer rave culture in the
(2018), directed by comedian and writer Simon Amstell, features an array of British talent and
such as Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2020), Tomboy (2011), and Water Lillies (2007).
NOW TV BFI PLAYER and archival footage all being available have a subscription service with an LGBTQ+ collection; a personal highlight for me being The Watermelon Woman
Now TV also has a wide selection of LGBTQ+ cinema as part of their Film package, with many of them also being available to watch on Sky and gone, Happiest Season (2020) you need your festive Kristen Stewart collection of biopics; titles include Milk (2008) and Rocketman (2019).
The Watermelon Woman is a landmark in
Chloe-Nicole Arnold
Images: ABC News; Pinterest; theyoungfolks.com; Artsploitation; Decider; Wordpress; Youtube
In The Middle
Brideshead Revisited: Classic literature and the power of LGBTQ+ history
Facing the intersection of lockdown and LGBTQ+ History Month, Séamus O‘Hanlon decided to read the classic novel, Brideshead Revisted. Whilst aware of its popular television adaptations, Séamus investigates LGBTQ+ representation in literature, Brideshead‘s and the power of reading for life.
Most of us are likely tired of hearing how the pandemic of the past year has been a historic event; we are surely even more tired of the endless talk about the unclear future. The news, snapshots of each rough unpredictable day, steadily builds to create a narrative for the media. However, the news does not often ever say anything real or substantial about the complexity and strength of the human condition in crisis. Good literature helps us step into each other’s shoes, so this month dedicated to LGBTQ+ history is the perfect opportunity for us all to read widely. For us to read and listen to these largely unheard voices is a chance to learn more deeply about the past. The LGBTQ+ community has made monumental progress and to to actively discover our own history – true, provocative and unburdening. The power of reading past LGBTQ+ voices today is that it ensures that history is enjoyed and continually reinterpreted. Looking back is the theme of Brideshead Revisited, the 1945 novel by Evelyn Waugh that was later captured in the 1981 ITV Granada mini-series. A faithful adaptation deserving of its many awards, but for me its long running time and well-done ‘love that dares does not speak its name’ emotionally susceptible lockdown. The daily consciousness with the distinctive music back in my mind when the third lockdown began. A small memory that made me think of the characters and think of the gay experience. There are special thoughts you have when you are LGBTQ+, thoughts that do connect you to living people before and this empathy is true to all good historical favourite discovery in picking up Waugh’s famous novel was how relevant Brideshead’s social commentary still is to anguished pandemic Britain.
The novel Brideshead Revisited is about and, like many gay men of the twentieth century, is not able to live the life he wants. Charles’ character is almost dictated by his whole world’s overbearing, restricting and divisive nature, epitomised in one of the novel’s main settings: a hierarchical 1920s mens-only Oxford college. Waugh’s strong writing succinctly passes through the 1920s to early 1940s, astutely touching on the General Strike, on socialism and on the gained emancipation of women which regresses – integral to the novel. Charles lacks a backbone to say the least and is terribly ‘lookist’, the best word to describe his prejudice against the men who are not in his eyes sexual objects and women who are essentially dehumanised from younger sisters to maligned wives. This obsession with appearance, with youth and with celebrity is still present in today’s society, but what the novel hints at is how the ideals of beauty develop into fascist ideals. This mindset clouds the gay
men with marriages which further imprison women. We need more excuses to read as adults. LGBTQ+ History Month is a great start for anyone to get back into reading and Brideshead Revisited was a great introduction. It made me want to read more: about Evelyn Waugh, about gay oppression and liberation. Embrace history, be proud and further educate yourself through literature.
Séamus O‘Hanlon
and it brews in this case into a lost gay man choosing to further harm in his life. Charles falls in love with the gorgeous Sebastian, his appearance poured over. Charles is complacent with the way his should-be good friend Anthony Blanche is racially picked out and discriminated against. The novel escalates to war and permissive Charles himself is responsible too. The roots of fascism can be plucked out from the history of individuals. The greatest insight from Brideshead Revisited is its layered, politically ambiguous scenes complicated, anti-Semitic, racist gay man.
Brideshead Revisited reminded me much of An Inspector Calls, another work of literature that straddles the two World Wars. I found Brideshead far more sophisticated, opening up important deeper discussion on race, sexuality and insidious British fascism. The central aristocratic family in the novel, a rare Catholic horror, are detailed to reveal how the past upper class wrangled their children as well as any unconventional love. This is linked to the portrayal of how class imprisons gay
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Arts & Culture
The Greatest Fictional Queer Romances In The Middle is celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month in this issue but, with the smell of Valentine’s Day roses still lingering in the air, when would be a better time to add a bit of
Shakespeare & The “Fair Youth” – The Sonnets
-
Although February 14th is often as hetero-
inclusion of one of literature most debated -
David and Giovanni – Giovanni’s Room
Johnny & Gheorghe - God’s Own Country
a young American and an Italian bartender -
beauty - ‘A woman’s face with nature’s own
beautiful Yorkshire Dales, Frances Lee’s debut Romanian migrant worker blossom in the face
which ultimately brings about a tragic end to
the creation of some of the most romantic Carol & Therese - Carol
Achilles and Patroclus – The Iliad
Todd Haynes’ romantic drama, based on a
smile and moment of sustained eye contact
Nomi & Amanita – Sense8
-
Mitch & Cam – Modern Family
-
and, quite frankly, we all wish we had what
-
Image: IMDb
bring a tear to the eye of the most stone-he-
century sitcom with its biting social commentary, bold and barmy cast of characters and its takedown of the traditional nuclear family
Alex gibbon
husbands and fathers who show the highs and -
A new rendition of Giovanni‘s Room, Image: New York Times
Image: shakespeare.org.uk
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Image: IMDb
In The Middle
It’s a Sin Not to Watch it‘s a sin
Channel 4 has recently remini-series, It’s a Sin. The
show tracks the life of 1981 to 1991. The lead by Years & Years singhis friends are young,
er, Olly Alexander) and queer and excited to -
nity and life in London. of Ritchie and his comthe early years of the We see how the HIV/
AIDS crisis drastically imfriends alongside the gay The show illustrates the chotomy of a communithe darkness and dread
community as a whole. heart-wrenching dity that are at once so ment of youth, sex and taneously shrouded in of a deadly disease.
tably has garnered a lot of attention. But it’s the honesty of It’s a Sin that makes it outstanding.
-
stole, and broke, my heart. to AIDS was shockingly inadequate. HIV/AIDS, branded as a ‘gay disease’, was a source of great shame and disgust
much that I wished I’d known before. The show demonstrates how HIV/AIDS did not discriminate, but how society did. KITTy HANDFORD Image: The Guardian
In The Middle
“Beware the ides of march“ In the middle with ejiro Imiruaye Ejiro Imiruaye is the writer and director of the brilliant and hilarious The Assassination of Julius Caesar, a new radio theatre piece that debuted on Leeds Student Radio and is available to watch on Youtube. Phoebe Walker chatted with Ejiro about his inspiration, adapting theatre to the “new normal” and the excellence of Armando Iannucci.
What inspired you to become a writer? What inspires me to write? That’s a big question. I don’t think I’ve ever not been a writer. I would say that ever since I was a young boy, I was really obsessed with story-telling and I still am. I think story-telling is one of the most powerful inventions in human history, the ability to conjure an imaginational narrative that doesn’t exist and how that can affect people, that’s so beautiful to me. From that point on, I just couldn’t stop writing. Like even when you’re young, like 5 or 6, and you write really cheesy short books, the idea of telling stories and giving people something, was a feeling I never escaped, so it’s in me fully. Has your background shaped your writing? My background does shape my writing. I sort of grew up in urban London. I guess there aren’t really a lot of opportunities to do big writing things around, just because it’s not Central London. My experiences, I used to basically just write my experiences, like what happened in my life, the kind of friends I’d met, the kind of people I’d come into congrew older, and gained more education, and I started learning more about the world, I think that inspired me a lot more. I think, personally, for me, I’m more inspired by things, things I don’t know. Because they normally say to write what you know; it only works to a certain extent. I think it’s like, it should probably be to write what you are interested in, in a sense, because in this case, you know Julius Caesar, Roman Empire, I don’t know if anyone is going to really have experience of that, haha. But I really love history, the history of Rome, that were there... and that sort of inspired me to do this and that’s pretty much a lot of my work. Things I’m interested in, from movies to history, or economics and books, everything just comes into one. How do you begin to come up with something like this? I was very much inspired by my obsession with Roman history and sardonic comedy, the
two seem to go quite hand in hand surprisingly. It felt like an idea that should’ve existed already, to be honest. This project is produced by Open Theatrewho are they and how did they help you to get this project off the ground?
listeners back again and remind them that this was a real event, not an all-out comedy farce. I guess it tells you how nobody really takes a political situation seriously until major violence occurs, whereby it’s then too late to do anything. Look to the storming of the US Washington Capitol as exhibit A.
Open Theatre are an experimental public theatre society spawned by the University of Leeds, they put on great live performances consisting of great stories, actors and ideas. I had to go through a round of pitching this idea to them and going through meetings and interviews. It was all really chill though and all I had to do was make my vision very clear to them, and to my luck they got it and were fully supportive to help me in putting it on.
Is this a project you’ve been working on for a while?
references,such as Veep and The Death of Stalin?
mic so I’d originally planned this for stage, but eventually, I was told that it would have to be a radio piece. So in that sense, it made me tely made the play much more verbose than its physical counterpart would have been.
I love Iannucci’s comedies, as those references are really works of his and his teams. I think they are the epitome of British comedy and humour, which might be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. I also thought that giving people that reference point of what the production was trying to imitate would help them in knowing what they were walking into, rather than expecting a Shakespearean piece and then being turned off by the constant f-bombs. How hard is it to balance humour with history and violence? I think it’s easier than expected, particularly in this case because the planning to kill Julius Caesar was such a mess. It’s surprising how they actually got away with it. So I think there’s some humour to be seen in the initial stages of the setup of their assassination attempt since it was so messy and simplistic. However, the violence itself is when we stop laughing and realise just how chaotic the consequences of human actions can be - the assassination in the production, you’ll which I did intentionally so as to ground the
Well I’d been thinking about it and researching for a while, but it only took me a few days to actually write the full script. The idea and setup was so strongly laid out in my head that it became a quick weekend job of drafts and re-drafts. Did lockdown change the means of performing the production?
Would you edit or alter the script if you were to perform it on stage? some dialogue cues I’ve set up in the radio version where a character would signal what they are doing or where they are going. You wouldn’t need something like that on stage as the audience would just simply see it. Did you look at Shakespeare’s play at all? I’m aware of how he’s dramatised it. It taught me not to dare attempt to do the story the same as he did, simply because I knew I wouldn’t make anything nearly as dramatically powerful as his version. So that further fuelled me to turn the take into a short-form scathing comedy, to give the assassination a different spin than what Shakespeare has made everyone used to.
Arts & Culture
What made you decide the language was appropriate? The language was necessary in order to put the listeners squarely in the shoes of the Romans. I wanted to remove that periodical barrier we have from Rome. I wanted to show what it probably felt like to live in Rome back then without the romanticism attached to it. The language used amongst the senators towards each other would have probably been even uglier than what I’ve written. If the recent president of the United States could get away with the things he’s said in the past, imagine what Roman politicians centuries ago would have gotten away with. How closely did you interpret the history of the event? Every action and decision made is all accurate, not a note was missed in terms of their planning. I wanted to make this as accurate as possible, otherwise there’d have been no point to telling the story. The goal was to deconstruct just how absurd and comical the entire planning and execution was. The language is the only thing I changed, my reasons already mentioned.
Maybe it’s a result of going to an all-boys secondary school. There’s a mindset you’re sort of moulded into adopting, it’s either eat or be eaten. It’s not actually too different from the Roman senate in general, come to think of it. I reckon I could then say that I’ve had experience in dealing with the same cast of characters in the play, in real life, so I have an ear for vulgar, scathing and downright destructive language. I still don’t know if I should be proud of that... dio, as opposed to on the stage?
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Surprisingly no, all the actors were so enthusiastic and excited to work on a production they genuinely believe in, so it turned out to be a real blast working with them. I think there’s something about acting in your own home that makes you feel more comfortable than when you’re acting in front of live audiences. What inspired the gender-blind casting?
Was retelling history the focus of the even or was it a means of communicating your message?
I knew I’d do gender-blind casting with this production before I even wrote it. This is because I’ve been so impressed with the aalibre of actress’s I’ve seen in Open Theatre. Their plays have some of the most wonderful and talented
It was a bit of both to be honest. I do love the drama and scandal of the history, so I’d never pass on a chance to tell it to others in an entertaining fashion. However, the message was half the driver too. The story and the insanity of it feeds into the message.
them. So as much as this play is technically a boys‘ club, I think the right actresses can play boys just as well as actors, sometimes even better. (Although the Male actors are still incredibly talented too, don’t get me wrong. I had the best cast of male actors for this play I could’ve asked for too).
What was the message behind it?
Was it hard to direct something with just voices, sound effects and musical choices?
There’s multiple messages I’m trying to communicate in the piece, but to keep it succinct, the overall idea was to notice how similar such an ancient period in history was to our time. The idea that no matter when or where humans are placed, we’re still marked with the same destructive qualities - vitriol, hatred, cunning, petty quarrelling and overall violence. Violence is the one drug human beings are unable to unhinge themselves from. No matter how far we think we’ve moved on, we’re still just as animalistic and tribalistic as our counterparts in eras long passed. It’s a pretty dismal message but I think it’s the truth. Human beings today aren’t that much better than the guys in Rome planning to murder Caesar. Why do you feel this play is relevant to now? This continues from the message that I wanted to communicate. Right now, violence, storming and rioting seem to be ways we are trying to solve our political problems today, and it’s destructive to a civilised society. The general mood some cases, but the way we deal with that anger is not through the mass violence we’re getting accustomed to seeing on the news. This production is an attempt to warn many of the bloody and chaotic consequences we gain when we don’t control that incredible vitriol we all have towards each other. We need to mould that anger into something much more constructive, as that’s the only way we’ll ever move forward as a unit. Nothing will be solved if centre. As the writer, why did you feel you were the right person to direct this piece? I felt the kind of humour was up my alley more so than others. I tend to adopt a very sardonic and brutal sense of humour that I utilise on myself and my friends. Most notice that about me quickly. It’s all in good fun though, I just
It was actually quite fun and easy for me. Due to my experiexciting to piece together the play in the editing room. My mind and ability is naturally tuned towards audio-visual editing, so I’ve developed a lot of skills in that. I had a blast piecing the SFX, music and voices. I also was aided by a great production crew too, they’re all credited in the description of the play, but they were amazing and really helped me not screw the whole thing up, due to their discipline, problem-solving abilities and all-round support singular effort.
In case you’ve never seen them or simply need a fun revisit, all ten series of Taskmaster are streaming now on All4. The show is hosted by the amusing comic duo, Greg Davies and Alex Horne, against each other across a series in a number of ludicrous tasks. pWithAll4 message and is a show I can wholeheartedly endorse for its light entertainment value. Owen Frost
In a vain search to seem interesting and worldly, I started listening to Power Corrupts. It’s a podcast devised often joined by topical experts. The tag of the show is that it’s a podcast that examines the “hidden, and often nefarious forces that shape our world” and it does just that. It’s all about corruption and leaves you with the perfect mix of hopelessness and anger. I recommend the episode about Sinead O‘Riodan
When theatres re-open, would you like to see your show performed on stage? I would love to see it on stage as I think a physical theatrical performance is an art that is yet to be topped by anything. There’s nothing better than getting that visceral feeling in the Hall when you see an incredible group of actors and a great story unfolding right before your very eyes. It’s an art that must be preserved through to the ends of time, no matter how removed social media has made us feel from each other. What would you like audiences to take away from this? time, it is a comedy after all, I’m not trying to change the world with the production. However, I do want them at least to have in the back of their minds that idea of unchecked anger correlating to massive violence, and how it’s repeating itself in our current society today. It’s a theme humans just can’t seem to escape from, no matter where they are in the timeline of history.
Channel 4 has been offering up entire boxsets to help banish the lockdown blues. It’s latest addition is hailed as one of the greatest TV shows ever written. The West about the action and political intrigue that explores the intrigues and insights of American politics. If you’ve become interested in American politics as a result of Trump’s administration but are tired of all the idiocy, the show is a nice divergence from that. A nuanced mixture of politics, drama and comedy, this show is certainly deserving of its 26 Emmy wins. Phoebe Walker
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In The Middle
Leeds’ LGBT February is LGBT History Month in the UK, which aims to celebrate and educate the nation on the history of the LGBTQ+ community. Stories of the queer community have often been unfairly misrepresented or even neglected, despite the LGBTQ+ community making up a large part of society. Part of this was due to Section 28 being implemented in the UK’S education system, which ran from 1988-2003, preventing the accepting of homosexuality being taught in schools. Despite this being abolished for almost two decades, there’s still a long way to go in the teaching of queer history. Leeds is a famously accepting city of LGBTQ+ culture, with 2012 figures estimating that around 10% of the population identify as LGBTQ+. Leeds Pride is one of the biggest events in the North of England, with tens of thousands attending every year. Thanks to projects such as West Yorkshire Queer Stories (WYQS), local history of LGBTQ+ is becoming more readily available. Here is a selection of events and landmarks in the 20th century that are principle to understanding LGBTQ+ history in Leeds.
Image: Leeds Pride, Squarespace
LGBTQ+ History in Leeds
Leeds has always had a rich gay nightlife; in the 1950s, the Hope + Anchor pub was one of the first safe spaces in the country for members of the LGBTQ+ community. After a period of closure in the late 60s, partly due to an attack from football fans, the venue reopened in 1975 under the name The New Penny. Another safe-space for the gay community in the 1950s was the Mitre Hotel, which became a discreet meeting place for men. In an interview for the WYQS about visitors of the pub, 77-year old gay man Barry Broadbent revealed that to advertise your sexual orientation in the hotel, you could be identified by wearing suede shoes and a cravat.
The mITRE HOTEL
The New penny
Image: leodis.net
Image: Time Out
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Blogs & Lifestyle
TQ+ Legacy The 1970s was an extremely active decade for LGBTQ+ people in Leeds; The University of Leeds’branch of the Gay Liberation Front began operating in the early 70s, attending demonstrations and protests across the country. The organization also sided with Northern Ireland after Bloody Sunday in 1972, demonstrating with them in solidarity. The University of Leeds was a progressive institution for LGBTQ+ rights in the 70s; it also held a national convention called Transvestitism and Transsexualism in Modern Society in 1974, the first of its kind in the UK.
Image: leodis.net
In 1982, Leeds Lesbian Line offered telephone support to gay women across the city. The 80s was also one of the most active decades for the Swarthmore Education Centre, which at the time was the home for the Leeds branch of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality. Now known as Leeds Gay Community, in the late 20th century the group was known for their activism and protest work for gay rights.
Image: The British Library
Image: PinkNews
The 1980s and 1990s were important for the growth of gay nightlife in Leeds, with the area known as Leeds Gay Quarter (The Calls and Briggate area) expanding to include bars, pubs and clubs that were all safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community. The 90s were also an important decade for AIDS-based activism in the city, with the pressure group Act Up Leeds taking part in various demonstrations to raise awareness.
Chloe-Nicole Arnold
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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In The Middle
The LGBTQ+ YouTubers you need to watch Joel Rochester
Channel: FictionalFates
Rose Ellen Dix & Rosie Spaughton
Bio: Rose and Rosie are a married comedy duo; they have been married for 5 years and you can watch their beautiful wedding video their channel. They both had individual YouTube channels in 2011, before making their first combined channel, Let’s Play Games, which was a gaming channel. They then made their channel Rose & Rosie where they do comedy skits along with more personal videos, including Rose’s experience of having OCD and Rosie’s experience of being a bisexual woman in their BISEXY SERIES (Rose and Rosie Vlogs). They have recently started their podcast Rose and Rosie: Parental Guidance which discusses their experience of trying for a baby through IUI.
Bio: Joel identifies as a “bisexual Black British boy.” He is currently in his third year at university, studying English Literature and Creative Writing. He began his bookstagram and blog back in 2015 and this encouraged him to start his booktube account last year, which is already at 50.2k subscribers. Joel was particularly encouraged to start his channel because of BLM, as he felt “more empowered to use… [his] voice in spreading diverse reading and representation and showing that Black lives matter.” Indeed, he also amplified his voice through the format of literature, as, in 2020 Joel wrote a short story, The Boy & The Dragon, and is in the process of writing his first novel.
Video recommendation: Rating Gay Ships on Netflix/Discussing My Trauma | EMDR therapy | PTSD and OCD (uncut)
Video Recommendation: how I organise myself as a reader + student / let’s talk about black books, baby
Channel: Rose and Rosie
Image: Goodreads
Channel: Melanie Murphy Bio: Melanie is an Irish YouTuber, author and mother. Her content centres around empowering others by representing her true self. Melanie shares her bodily insecurities and mental health struggles. Along with this, she discusses and tackles “taboo” subjects such as: abortion rights, sex, sobriety and biphobia. Notably, her PMS PARTIES series portrays the often overlooked subject of PMS, visually representing the struggles that people with periods face. Melanie also creates shorts, including FEMME, a spoken word film about her sexuality, and CHOICE, a film to tackle abortion rights in Ireland. She uses her creative format to speak-up for the LGBTQ+ community and actively tries to educate her viewers, including LGBTQ+ sex and relationships education which is very limited in the UK curriculums.
Melanie Murphy
Video recommendation: Why We Still Need Pride/FEMME Image: divamag.co.uk
Image: YouTube
by Anushka Searle
Q How do I unwind after an intense day of online study? yourself a time when you close your laptop/stop doing uni work completely every night, so you don’t burn yourself A Set out. Have a nice long bath or shower, maybe read a book and cook a meal you enjoy; it’s simple things you can do to unwind which makes the most difference. I find self-care the most beneficial way to shut off after an intense day.
Q Do you have any TV recommendations? the moment, I’m recovering from my Bridgerton binge – I would highly recommend it! I’m watching/re-watching loads of A Atdifferent things. I would recommend Gilmore Girls, Suits, Gossip Girl and most importantly RuPaul’s Drag Race (UK and US). Q How do I feel less sad that I haven’t found a girlfriend at uni? is a big misconception about uni – not everyone meets their ‘soulmate’ during their uni yeA This ars! Everything happens for a reason, so stop putting the pressure on yourself to find a partner, and just enjoy your uni experience in terms of the friends you have made and the things you have learnt.
Q How can I manage the difficulty of being constantly rejected from grad schemes? A Try to pick the positives out of the rejection. Whilst it will inevitably hurt at first, try to think of what experience you got out of writing the application and the interview. If you do this, it will make you a stronger candidate for the grad scheme you eventually get! Remember, everything happens for a reason so don’t be harsh on yourself.
Q How do I stop buying fast fashion? (I know it’s bad but I can’t help myself ) A The thing that worked best for me (I’m also trying to cut down) is to unsubscribe from fast fashion brands’ email
mailing lists. You know the companies that bombard you with emails captions ‘50% off everything!!!’, making it really easy to get sucked in. Also, stop yourself from purchasing a yearly delivery subscription from places like NastyGal and ASOS, because you will inevitably buy more as you feel the pressure to get your money’s worth.
Illustration by Molly Coathup
Q Is it worth joining a society halfway through the year? 100%! If you feel like you missed out joining at the beginning of the academic year, then go for A Yes, it now. Most societies accept people anytime of the year and it’s a great way to meet new people. Q How can I focus more on my dissertation? A I’m sure many of us final years are also struggling with our dissertation. Being in a lockdown and stuck at home isn’t
the best for motivation. Things that helped me are writing out a few realistic bullet points in the morning (or the night before) on what I want to achieve that day – ticking things off your to-do list throughout the day helps with motivation. I would also set timers (about 45 minutes each time) to complete a task and stay completely focused for that time period.
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Photography by Emma B Fox
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