LGBTQ+ History Month

  • LGBTQ+ History Month events for February 2022

    Oxford Brookes is proud to be part of the annual celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month, joining universities, schools, local authorities, voluntary organisations and employers, with a programme of events and activities to highlight the history and achievements of LGBTQ+ communities and perspectives on LGBTQ+ inclusion.

    The LGBTQ+ Staff Forum, Brookes Union and the LGBTQ+ Society have planned a range of events for February and the University will be raising pride flags on each campus and lighting up Lloyd Building in rainbow colours to celebrate the month. You can also find a new LGBTQ+ resources list created by Special Collections for LGBTQ+ History Month.

  • Sara Ahmed: Complaint as a queer method »

    16 February 2022, 6.00pm, online
    Join us in conversation with Sara Ahmed, feminist writer and independent scholar. In her recent book Complaint! She draws on testimonies shared by academics and students who have made complaints about abuses of power or unequal working conditions in universities.

    This lecture will explore how complaints about hostile environments (such as transphobia and racism) are often made in hostile environments, which means that to complain is often to experience an intensification of the problems being complained about. Sara reflects on individual and collective complaint activism and making complaint a queer method.

    All welcome

    Flag-raising and light-up »

    1 February 2022, 5.00pm, outside Headington Hill Hall
    Join us to raise the Progress Pride flag and light up Headington Hill Hall to mark the beginning of LGBTQ+ History Month.

    Brookes students and staff are welcome to join us outside Headington Hill Hall. Please wear a face covering.

    Brookes Together: LGBTQ+ History Month Quiz »

    1 February 2022, 6.00pm, Union Bar
    An open-to-all quiz focusing on LGBTQ+ History month, run by Brookes LGBTQ+ Society and Brookes Union.

    LGBTQ+ History Month Film Screening: Pride »

    2 February 2022, 5.30pm, JHB 208
    Realising that they share common foes in Margaret Thatcher, the police and the conservative press, London-based gay and lesbian activists lend their support to striking miners in 1984 Wales.

    LGBTQ+ History Month Film Screening: Moonlight »

    9 February 2022, 5.30pm, JHB 208
    A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality alongside the struggles of childhood, adolescence and adulthood.

    LGBTQ+ BAME Careers Talk with Mayur Gupta »

    10 February 2022, 4.00pm, online
    In celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month, Brookes Union presents a digital careers talk with speaker Mayur Gupta: founder and CEO of Career Accelerator, an education business that aims to help young people from a diverse range of backgrounds as they enter into the professional workplace.

    DragProv Revue: LGBT History Month »

    18 February 2022, 7.30pm, Union Hall
    Brookes Union welcomes...DragProv Revue, as part of our LGBT History Month celebrations.

    Lovable soft-boy 'Christian Adore’ and sassy queen 'Eaton Messe' are a drag double act, who, using the audience’s suggestions, create dazzling songs, sketches, and spontaneous raps. RuPaul's glamour meets ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway’ style improvised comedy. Serving you wit as sharp as their contour; jinks as high as their brows; memories that will stick with you longer than last night’s glitter, we present to you 'The Dragprov Revue’. The event will feature special guests, including Brookes’ very own DJ D’vey, as well as a colourful after party with exclusive deals at Plush.

    LGBTQ+ History Month Film Screening: Rafiki »

    23 February 2022, 5.30pm, JHB 208
    The story of a romance that grows between two young women, Kena and Ziki, amidst family and political pressures around LGBT rights in Kenya.

    LGBTQ+ History Month Quiz - FULLY BOOKED! »

    24 February 2022, 7.00pm, Sports Bar, Brookes Sport Headington
    Join the Brookes LGBTQ+ Staff Forum and Amnesty Oxford City Group for this year's LGBTQ+ themed fundraising quiz.

    All welcome. Up to six people per team.

    We need to limit numbers attending this year's quiz and it is now fully booked. Apologies if you've been unable to register a team. We hope to see you at a future event.

    LGBTQ+ Allies Workshop (Brookes staff only) »

    25 February 2022, 10.00am, online
    LGBTQ+ Allies Workshop to support awareness and confidence as a proactive ally for LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion (two hour online workshop).

    This event is for Brookes staff only.

    Book now »


    Events around Oxford

    Heterocolonialism and the Making of the ‘Gay International’

    Wednesday 2 February, 5.30 - 6.30pm (online)
    Please join us for the first talk in Worcester College Oxford's Decolonisation Lecture Series.

    We are delighted to welcome Dr Andrew Delatolla from the University of Leeds, who will be discussing the relationship between sexuality and decolonisation.


    Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust: LGBT+ History Month programme

    We are delighted to invite you to the week-long programme of MS Teams live events that will run from Monday 14 to Friday 18 February 2022.

    • Monday 14 February, 12.00pm - 1.00pm - Rainbow Cuppa
    • Tuesday 15 February, 11.00am - 1.00pm - Gender, Sexuality & Mental Health
    • Thursday 17 February, 11.00am - 12.00pm - Let’s Talk About Trans and Non-Binary Inclusion
    • Friday 18 February, 9.30am - 11.30am - Gender, Sexuality & Mental Health

    Download the LGBT+ History Month programme for more information.

    Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust LGBT+ History Month programme

    Thoughts on separating artist from the art; the scientist from the science

    Thursday 17 February, 2.00pm (online)
    Dr Clara Barker will discuss aspects of this year’s LGBT+ History month theme ‘Politics in Art' in this talk.

    In an age where distrust of science is high, and when people with no expertise in subjects have a huge audience who trust their words, what can we and our University do to maintain and promote scientific integrity?

    Dr Clara Barker


    LGBT+ History Month Lecture with Professor Stephen Whittle

    Wednesday 23 February, 6.00pm (online)
    Please join us for the 2022 University of Oxford LGBT+ History Month Lecture with Stephen Whittle, Professor of Equalities Law at Manchester Metropolitan University.

    This is a joint event organised by the LGBT+ Staff Advisory Group and the Equality and Diversity Unit.


  • Past events

  • 9 and 16 February 2021, 12.30-2.00pm

    LGBTQ+ Lunchtime Showcase

    Oxford Brookes staff and PhD students showcase their research on LGBTQ+ topics at this LGBTQ+ History Month event.

    LGBTQ+ Lunchtime Showcase

    10 February 2021, 6.00pm

    Liv Little: A little more conversation? Takeovers and untold stories in the media industry

    Liv Little is a journalist, author and curator who founded gal-dem, a media company committed to spotlighting the creative talents of women and non-binary people of colour, whilst at university, due to frustrations with the lack of stories being told from marginalised voices in the media and publishing industries.

    For our LGBTQ+ History Month Lecture 2021, Liv will share her experiences and offer insights on storytelling and community building.

    Liv Little

    15 February 2021, 7.00pm

    No Box For Me. An Intersex Story

    The Oxford Brookes University Documentary Club will be screening No Box For Me. An Intersex Story for LGBTQ+ History Month.

    M and Deborah, like an estimated 1.7 percent of people, were born Intersex - with sex characteristics that are different from the binary understandings of male or female. Like many, M and Deborah were forced into unnecessary medical surgeries to “normalize” their body as a child—before they could understand what was going on.

    No Box For Me. An Intersex Story

    18 February 2021, 1.00-2.30pm

    Bi and Pansexual Allies workshop

    The Bi and Pansexual Allies workshops are run by the LGBTQ+ Staff Forum and provide an introduction to Bi and Pansexual identities, the challenges Bi and Pansexual people face, and how to be an ally.

    Bi and Pansexual Allies workshop

    18 February 2021, 7.00pm

    Queering the campus: Harcourt Hill, the architects behind the buildings

    Seely and Paget’s story contributes to the architectural history of Harcourt Hill Campus. Always known as ‘the partners’, their relationship went beyond a business arrangement: as Paget put it, ‘we became virtually one person’. Yet, in a time when sexual activity between men was a serious criminal offence, it is impossible to know how intimate their relationship really was.

    History Society talk.

    Queering the campus: Harcourt Hill, the architects behind the buildings

    22 February 2021, 7.00pm

    A Secret Love

    The Oxford Brookes University Documentary Club will be hosting a Netflix watch party screening of A Secret Love for LGBTQ+ History Month.

    A former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player and her partner, Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel, ran a successful interior decorating business, while keeping their lesbian relationship a secret from their families for almost seven decades. But coming out later in life brings its own set of challenges.

    A Secret Love

    25 February 2021, 7.00pm

    LGBTQ+ History Month Quiz

    Join the Brookes LGBTQ+ Staff Forum and Amnesty Oxford City Group for this year's LGBTQ+ themed fundraising quiz.

    Quiz night