Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is annually celebrated in the month of June to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan.

In 2021, sadly there is still a lot more to be done to protect LGBTQ communities against hate crimes and provide young transgender people access to advice, guidance and medical support.

To mark the month, we are showcasing digital magazine issues from four of Exact Editions’ publishing partners that contain articles concentrating on the history of activism, the celebration of same-sex relationships and the systemic prejudice faced by the LGBTQ community across the world.

BBC History Magazine ‘Out of the Closets and Into the Streets’ (Issue 16)

In the 1960s, no form of same-sex relationship was legally recognised anywhere in the world. In America, those who publicly revealed their sexual identities were ostracised, disbarred from professional associations, harassed by the police and assaulted.

Chris Parks explores how the Stonewall Uprising became an emblem of a revolution, transforming the lives of the LGBTQ community around the world. 

“The events that unfolded over the following hours and days transformed the social, political and cultural landscape for sexual minorities in the United States, and reverberated across borders and down generations.”

Read the full article, pages 52–61, 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 America.

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.

New Internationalist ‘On the Pink Corridoor’ (September/October 2020)

Honduras is one of the most unsafe places in the world to be a transgender woman — experts put their life expectancy in the region at only 30 to 35 years. Transgender people are murdered and assaulted for activism denouncing crimes against their community, or for engaging in sex work.

Nicolle, a transgender woman from Tegucigalpa, explains the State is largely responsible for perpetrating discrimination and violence against the LGBTQ community. 

“It’s crazy to say but outside we often feel more vulnerable… Even though in prison we’re at the mercy of the gangs, they also somehow support and protect us.”

Read the full article, pages 56–59, here.

Modern Poetry in Translation (The House of Thirst)

‘The House of Thirst’ Issue gives LGBTQ poets a space to showcase their poetry, which focuses on love and the degradations and desires of the living body.

In 2020, The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association found that 69 countries continue to criminalise homosexuality. Clare Pollard explains in the ‘Editorial’ why LGBTQ poets are rarely heard, let alone translated due to censorship and fear of arrest.

“Even if a writer is not deterred by systemic privilege, prejudice and abuse, to send a poem out into the wider world can require a great deal of bravery, not only from themselves but from their translator, editor, publisher and even bookseller.”

Read the full issue here.

Access to the digital magazine issues included in this post will be active until the 1st August 2021.

Fully-searchable digital subscriptions to BBC History Magazine, Hunger, New Internationalist & Modern Poetry in Translation are all available in the Exact Editions individual and institutional shops.

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