LGBTQ+ Pride Month is a chance to celebrate and shed new light on the history of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and queer communities. Pride Month is celebrated annually in June to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan 🏳️‍🌈

In 2022, 71 jurisdictions criminalise private, consensual, same-sex sexual activity. 15 jurisdictions criminalise the gender identity and/or expression of transgender people. In many more countries transgender people are targeted by a range of laws that criminalise same-sex activity and vagrancy, hooliganism and public order offences.

To mark the month, we are showcasing digital magazine issues from four of Exact Editions’ publishing partners that contain articles centred around the history of activism, the turbulent relationship between religion and sexuality, and the celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.

BBC History Revealed ‘The Stonewall Riots’ (July 2019)

The Stonewall Uprising began in the early hours of June 28, 1969 when New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club located in Greenwich Village in New York City.

Jon Savage explores the flashpoint that launched the LGBTQ+ movement in the United States.

The location of the club in the heart of Greenwich Village — an area popular with gay people — was important, as was the street nature of the clientele. Though the raid can now be seen as the straw that broke the camel’s back, it had been a long time coming.

Read the full article, pages 37–42, here.

Positive News Magazine ‘Keep the Faith in Love’ (Issue 101, Apr-Jun 2020)

Religion has often gone hand in hand with social conservatism, however, thankfully this narrative is changing. Groups for LGBTQ+ people of faith are showing that love for a partner, whoever they are, can go hand in hand with love of God.

In 2002, Joe Stanley began attending a twice-monthly mass for LGBTQ+ Catholics in Soho, and three years later was elected chair of the organising council.

It was very successful in reaching out to a lot of people who hadn’t felt at home in a church before.

Read the full article, pages 68–71, here.

The World Today ‘Beirut Pride’ (April & May 2018)

In 2017, Beirut became the first Arab capital in the Middle East and North Africa region to host Pride week. There had been other anti-homophobia protests in previous years, but this was an important step for the LGBTQ+ community.

Nicole El Khawaja reports on ‘Pride in Beirut’.

‘Pride in Beirut’ had been a long time coming. In line with a broad perception of Lebanon as one of the more socially liberal countries in the Middle East, local LGBTQ+ organizations have operated there for more than a decade, built on a community that had previously existed underground, mainly in a few nightclubs and private homes.

Read the full article, pages 38–39, here.

Hunger ‘Kings & Queens in Their Castles’ (Issue 12)

In the photo series ‘Kings & Queens in Their Castles’, Tom Atwood photographed more than 350 LGBTQ+ subjects at home. These personal landscapes are both a witness and a celebration, providing valuable insight into the LGBTQ+ experience in the United States.

Tom Atwood highlights that the most fascinating phenomenon from his series was how many creative and cultural leaders are LGBTQ+.

“Alternative sexuality or gender practices and extraordinary talent in arts and culture often seem to be intertwined. So the assemblage of LGBTQ creative and cultural leaders in my book should come as no surprise.”

Read the full article, pages 412–421, here.

Access to the digital magazine issues included in this post will be active until the 1st August 2022.

Fully-searchable digital subscriptions to BBC History Revealed, Positive News, The World Today, and Hunger are all available in the Exact Editions individual and institutional shops.

For more information, visit the ‘LGBTQ+ Community’ section of the freely-accessible Feminism & Gender Equality Digital Resource Page.

An up to date list of petitions fighting for LGBTQ rights can be found here.