Stella Michaels presents her positive photographic images of trans people at the Marlborough Hotel, Princes Street, Brighton starting July 19.
Stella says:“If you are trans, life will not have been easy. Your relationships with parents, friends and neighbours may have been fraught. The media will have lampooned you, and you may have had to live some or of your life in stealth in order to live at all.
“Or, your secret may have been discovered after a lifetime, and the repercussions may have cost you your partner, or your children, or your health, or your job, or your home. Or all of them.
“You will know all about low self-esteem, feelings of isolation. Feelings of not being the same as others. You may have suffered loneliness, hate crime or violence. You may have self harmed or considered suicide.”
You may even have been successful in the latter: as many as 40% of trans people are.
A key indicator is employment – or the lack of it.
Unemployment and its fellow travellers, poverty and ill-health, are common in the trans community. These are often due to the individual’s low self-esteem.
Yet the determination of some trans people has found a way through.
It’s been a long time coming, but it’s here. Being trans is ordinary and to reflect that Stella has produced a wonderful series of photographs of trans people at work.
Event: TRANSWORKERS – An exhibition by Stella Michaels – Positive images of trans people by trans people
Broadcaster Simon Fanshawe traces the history of the gay community in Brighton over half a century in Brighton: 50 Years of Gay on BBC One South and South East on Monday July 31 at 7pm.
To mark the 50th Anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act and the subsequent decriminalisation of homosexuality, Broadcaster and Gay Rights campaigner Simon Fanshawe charts the turbulent story of Brighton’s gay people over the last five decades – in Brighton: 50 Years of Gay.
Made by Brighton-based production company Factory Films, the 30-minute documentary highlights the major historical developments that have impacted on gay people, not only in Brighton, but across the UK, taking in 1957’s influential Wolfenden Report, the devastating emergence of HIV and AIDS, the controversial Section 28 law of 1988, the emergence of the PRIDE movement and the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2014.
Featuring revealing new interviews with prominent figures from Brighton’s gay scene including comedian Zoe Lyons, broadcaster Melita Dennett and activist Simon Watney, the film explores what it has meant to be gay over 50 years of legal change and shifting societal attitudes and highlights the ongoing struggle of Brighton’s gay community in its fight for tolerance and acceptance.
In the film, Simon Fanshawe meets author Colin Spence, 94-year-old Gay rights campaigner, George Montague and actor Johnny Worthy who recall how they were stigmatized and harassed by members of the public and the police in the 60s and 70s;
Author and co-editor of Queer in BrightonMaria Jastrzębska reveals the plight of the lesbian community and the refusal of the law to even acknowledge its existence;
Brighton resident, Allan Dover talks movingly of how his diagnosis as HIV positive felt like a death sentence back in the 1980s; and
Comic, Zoe Lyons describes how increased visibility on television and in the media in the 1990s finally gave the gay community something on-screen they could relate to.
Modern historian Lucy Robinson from the University of Sussex outlines the wider political and historical context.
Simon says:“Meeting those from the South East who were leading voices in the early gay movement, I was bowled over by their modesty, their urgency at the time and their resilience. It was just not easy to lose your job, your health and be vilified to fight for your and other’s freedom. They moved and inspired me.”
“It was inspiring to hear the stories of Brighton locals who’d been involved in the fight for gay rights over the last 50 years,” says Julie Heathcote, Factory Films. “Their stories were varied but they all spoke of their love of a liberal city that had ultimately embraced their sexuality and let them be themselves – often for the first time in their lives.”
Brighton: 50 Years of Gay is made by Factory Films for BBC South and BBC South East. It will be broadcast on Monday, July 31 at 7pm.
Brighton resident Keith Biddlecombe, a member of Brighton GEMS, the social networking group for elderly gay men, is honoured at the Attitude Pride Awards.
Keith was imprisoned in 1956 after being found with another man while he served as an officer in the Royal Navy. He was just 20 years old found and celebrated his 21st birthday in prison, at Her Majesty’s Pleasure.
The Attitude Pride Awards, celebrate unsung heroes from LGBT+ communities. They took place on July 7 at London’s luxury Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park hotel.
Celebrity presenters including Davina McCall, Nick Grimshaw, Kele Okereke, Owen Jones, Robert ‘Judge’ Rinder, Stephen K Amos and Coronation Street’s Helen Worth attended the ceremony which was benefitting Pride in London.
Hosted by TV personality, author and fashion consultant Gok Wan, the exclusive, invite-only lunch formally kicked off Pride in London celebrations, celebrating the lives of ten individuals who had made a significant contribution to LGBT+ communities all over the country.
The Attitude Pride Award winners 2017 were:
Keith Biddlecombe was imprisoned for being gay in 1956. He received his award from journalist and commentator, Owen Jones. Keith, accepted the award on behalf of all the men who were imprisoned before the decriminalisation of homosexuality. He is a members of Brighton GEMS, the social networking group for older gay men and designed and made the cover for the Brighton Aids Memorial when it was unveiled in November, 2009. To view video, click here:
Martyn Hett, was one of the twenty-two victims of the Manchester terrorist attack earlier this year. He was awarded an award posthumously to recognise how living life openly, honestly and being unashamedly proud of your sexuality is in itself a powerful form of activism. A huge fan of Coronation Street (Martyn had a Deirdre Barlow tattoo on his leg), the award was presented by Coronation Street actress Helen Worth and collected by Martyn’s sisters, mother and partner.
Dean Eastmond, was recognised for his campaigning work for equal fertility rights for men in same-sex relationships, raising awareness of issues around sexual assault, and his personal battle with cancer. He received his awarded by Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw.
Former Attitude editor Matthew Todd was presented his accolade by Davina McCall in light of his work to encourage awareness of gay mental health and addiction – following the release of his book Straight Jacket.
African Rainbow Family founder Aderonke Apata was recognised for her relentless fight in campaigning for equal asylum seeker rights for LGBT+ communities. Aderonke received the award from Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke.
Bernard and Terry Reed, founders of the Gender Identity Research Education Society, were recognised for their work in support of their trans daughter, who experienced mental health issues due to gender discrimination and bullying. The award was presented by Robert ‘Judge’ Rinder.
Comedian Stephen K Amos presented an award to Lady Phyll, the longstanding director and founder of UK Black Pride.
Channel 4 News’ Cathy Newman presented an award to Booan Temple, one of the activists from ‘Lesbians Against the Clause’, the group who famously gatecrashed a live BBC News broadcast and abseiled into the House of Lords in protest of Section 28, which specified that local authorities should not promote or discuss homosexuality.
Gay Muslim drag queen Asifa Lahore presented an award to Manjinder Singh Sidhu for his activism in the gay Sikh community.
Author Juno Dawson presented an award to Natalie Scott, a transgender LGBT+ activist and support worker who continues to do significant and important work in raising the profile of trans issues in Scotland.
Awards host Gok Wan, said:“It was an absolute honour to host the Attitude Pride Awards today on the eve of Pride in London. The team at Attitude have done a great job of recognising the achievements of these 10 incredible, truly inspiring people and highlighting their powerful stories.”
A government loan could pave the way for a new GP surgery in Brighton & Hove.
Cllr Warren Morgan
On July 13 2017, Brighton & Hove councillors on the city’s policy resources and growth committee will be asked to consider applying for a government loan that would turn one of its city- centre owned buildings into a GPs’ surgery. It would mean that an existing practice, Ardingly Court, would move from its current location and expand its services as well as increasing patient numbers from 8,500 up to 12,000.
The loan to cover the cost of work needed to make the building suitable is £850,000, which would be repaid over the 20 year lease period by Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
Leader of the Council, Warren Morgan, said:“There is an increasing demand for more doctors in the city yet we’ve had several surgeries close in recent years leaving current providers oversubscribed and overstretched. This makes it more difficult to get an appointment and leads to longer waiting times for patients at the surgery.
“The good health of residents is a key priority for us so using a combination of government money and council owned assets to help achieve this is exactly the right thing to do.
“We would recoup the money from the practice over time but most importantly, many thousands of residents would benefit by having easier access to health care and services when they need it.”
Latino film maker Pablo Herrera is passionate about increasing awareness in his films of some of the issues that face young gay men today.
Pablo Herrera
Ravensbourne student Pablo Herrera is generating a lot of interest with his new short film Straight Jacket (We Can’t Stop) and is attracting attention from across the industry.
Born in Madrid to Ecuadorian parents, the 20-year-old moved to London with his mum when he was 16. He regularly spends time in Brighton and is being spoken about as an emerging young talent from within London’s Latin community.
With no budget available Pablo wrote and directed the five-minute film before editing it on his laptop. After viewing it recently the best-selling author and media commentator Matthew Todd tweeted that having made “a provocative and moving film”, Herrera has an “exciting and bright future”
Set to the music of Miley Cyrus’s,We Can’t Stop, it questions why so many young gay men are struggling with damaging mental health and behavioural problems at a time when there is full equality under the law and the gay community in the UK is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales.
Pablo says: “The UK was an amazing place to move to in my teens as London and Brighton have such exciting and vibrant gay communities and also offer the opportunity for so many different cultural experiences. I love going to theatre and film festivals or dancing at clubs like Exilio and Revenge but I have also become far more aware of the huge pressures young gay people are under, especially those who, like me, have come from other countries and cultures.
“The inspiration behind the film for my end of year project came when I read a book called Straight Jacket by Matthew Todd, the former editor of Attitude Magazine. It had a massive influence on me. It exposes the major self-destructive issues that affect many gay teenagers and provides analysis and information through stories that I could relate to.
“I wanted to make a short film set to We Can’t Stop in an attempt to raise awareness about the way bullying, depression, suicide, bulimia, homelessness, drug abuse and chemsex are very real problems for some young gay men who can lack the information or role models to help steer them through a period in their lives when they are often facing emotional turmoil and are vulnerable to exploitation, especially when Grindr, Tinder and all the other GPS linked dating apps make it easier and quicker than ever before to meet people.
“I’ve had to deal with some of those issues myself and it can be very frightening when you have no idea where to find advice and support, especially if you don’t have English as a first language. I think we are encouraged to wear a mask. To pretend that of course everything is ok, but inside we are not. That is what I wanted to draw attention to although I hadn’t expected to also end up being the main performer.
“I was planning to show a group of seven or eight gay friends who were happy and having a party in a place where they all felt safe and comfortable together and to then change the mood by introducing the various issues.”
Through someone he knew, Pablo arranged for a group of actors to help him and explain to them what he was trying to achieve.
Then, just a few days before they began filming, the guy who had provided the actors started sending Pablo messages insisting that he go and have sex with him, implying that he owed him, as he had helped him out.
Pablo continues:“I was shocked and had no option but to cancel them and step into one of the roles myself. He just didn’t get the irony of the situation or the fact that his behaviour was an example of the very problem I wanted to draw attention to!
“I’ve been very happy with the reaction and the kind comments to the film so far and am really pleased to have had messages from other young men saying they can empathise with it, because I also like films I can relate to or that teach me something.
“‘Life is Beautiful’, for example, helped me to understand that in life you experience a lot of pain and chaos but it is your choice about how you behave and react and to ensure that something good and positive can come out of it.
“A few months ago I saw Tangerine, a very raw and unusual comedy-drama about the life of a transsexual sex-worker in Hollywood. It was filmed on three i-phone 5 smart phones and proves that anyone now has the opportunity to make their own film and without needing a massive budget.
When he was younger, Pedro wasn’t a big fan of Pedro Almodovar, but recently he saw Volver and loved the way Almodovar created strong female working class characters who survived tough lives in their small town.
“Those women are seen as independent and determined and that inspired me and made me think of my Mum as she is very strong and was incredibly mature at a young age.
“She was just 16 when she became pregnant and her family threw her out of their home in Ecuador, leaving her to sleep in a park. She reacted by booking a flight to Spain where she had me and created a completely new life for herself so I feel a bond with Almodovar’s representation of characters like her.”
Although passionate about film Pablo had never thought of it as a career option until he took Media Studies at GCSE and won a prize for a charity video he filmed and edited.
“I realised this was what I wanted to do so I applied for the access course at Ravensbourne and have now been accepted onto their degree course.”
Pablo sees film also as a form of therapy for himself to express his feelings, frustrations and fears as well as his happiness, culture and ideas and whilst he knows he is young and has so much to learn, he is currently planning his first feature and looks forward to meeting and working with many interesting and creative people at university.
“To be a filmmaker is my dream and my ambition is simply to make more and make them better and to hope that people can connect with my films and be inspired by them, as I have by so many others.”
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