Three Decades of Changing Minds
Glasgow Women’s Library (launched in 1991), and Women in Profile (the organisation that GWL grew from), involved LGBTQ+ people right from inception in 1987.
For over three decades we’ve played our role as activists, delivered events, commissioned writers and artists, created life-changing projects and helped to impact on government policies to make Scotland better for LGBTQ+ people.
Part of a two year project, Three Decades of Changing Minds, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, this OUT in the Archive exhibition starts to bring this aspect of GWL’s history and work to the fore.
Over the next two years, we will be cataloguing GWL’s own organisational records, digitising materials and making them more widely accessible.
In the meantime, OUT in the Archive offers a glimpse into some of GWL’s own LGBTQ+ history, from staging lesbian pantos (oh yes, we did!) to setting up a zine for queer feminists; from creating a Glasgow ‘Chapter’ of the Lesbian Avengers to rescuing one of the UK’s most significant LGBTQ+ archive collections.
(Fun)draising
In the absence of any funding, we organised many different activities to try to raise money for Women in Profile and then, later, for Glasgow Women’s Library.
The lesbian pantos, Cinderella in 1992 and then Panto Most Horrid the following year demonstrate how we put the ‘fun’ into fundraising. As this correspondence, published in Harpies and Quines in 1993 shows, we’ve not always been able to please everyone over the past thirty years!
Connected posts
Our ‘women’s discos’, held upstairs at ‘The Vic’ at Glasgow School of Art, became legendary, with DJ Michelle pulling in packed houses.
Activism - Changing Hearts and Minds
The Women in Profile and Glasgow Women’s Library premises have always been hubs of activism.
In 1993 a GWL visitor alerted us to the use of Section 28, a law passed by the conservative government in 1988 prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality by councils and schools, in funding applications by (the now disbanded) Strathclyde Regional Council. GWL joined forces with GALLUS (Gay and Lesbian Liberation and Unity in Strathclyde) and provided space to meet, mobilise and make placards, culminating in a colourful and noisy protest outside the Council headquarters to lobby elected representatives as they entered a Council meeting.
As a result, community representatives were invited to meet with Council leaders and the West of Scotland Lesbian and Gay Forum was set up, initiating regular and effective meetings between senior council officials and community representatives. These led to policy changes and more inclusive initiatives across council departments.
The Forum, which included GWL’s Sue John, had a significant and long-term impact on Glasgow City Council for many years, leading to, among other things, the setting up of the Glasgow Lesbian and Gay Centre in 1995.
Sue John would later become Chair of the West of Scotland Scrap the Section campaign, working with others across Scotland towards the successful repeal of Section 28 by the Scottish Parliament in 2000 - a historic day in LGBT history.
Glasgow Women’s Library’s unpaid workers played a central role in establishing the Glasgow Chapter of the Lesbian Avengers, with GWL’s Trongate premises forming the hub of Scottish Avengers activism.
A photograph of a flyposter protest by the Glasgow Lesbian Avengers against some sexist adverts.
Evening Times article reporting on the Glasgow Lesbian Avengers protest of sexist nightclub posters.
Among the Avengers most high profile and important actions was the protesting of the Mitchell Library. This iconic, well-loved central Glasgow Library stocked The Pink Paper, a free weekly LGBT publication, but in 1995 decided that it would only make it available to read on request, citing Section 28 as the reason.
The Lesbian Avengers protested every day outside - and on one occasion loudly and proudly inside - the Mitchell Library until this position changed.
This successful action made headlines and the Avengers were encouraged by messages of support from many Mitchell Library staff, who disagreed with their management’s stance.
When the issue was resolved, the Mitchell Library worked with GWL to stage an exhibition on Section 28, shown in the main foyer of the Mitchell Library - now part of the GWL archives. A measure of how far things had changed, GWL was to relocate to the Mitchell Library as its temporary home between 2010-2013!
Change Making
In further initiatives towards equality, and as a continuing impact of the work of the West of Scotland Lesbian and Gay Forum, Glasgow City Council commissioned Glasgow Women’s Library to undertake a major ground-breaking research project in 1999, Poverty and Social Exclusion of Lesbians and Gay Men in Glasgow.
In 2005, Glasgow Women’s Library completed and launched a further commissioned piece of work, funded by Glasgow City Council - Homophobia: Taking No Pride in Prejudice. Raising Awareness of Homophobia and its Effects on the Lives of Lesbians and Gay Men.*
This practical handbook was circulated to all council departments and was praised by the Trade Union, UNISON:
‘Conference urges all branches to obtain a copy of this document and urge their employers to conduct similar research in their areas. This document can be used by employers and branches as a training tool which raises awareness of the issue and provides useful “ideas for action” which employers and individuals can use to tackle homophobia on both a general and personal level’.
UNISON Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Conference, 29 July 2005.
The publication also stated that although the term ‘Lesbians and Gay Men’ was used (a policy position of Glasgow City Council at the time) it recognised that increasingly debates are focusing on a broader, more inclusive and diverse agenda, to include Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender issues.
Activism - Changing Hearts and Minds
GWL has a long history of participation in Pride marches, with our staff, volunteers and supporters always happy – and proud – to carry the GWL banner. We were there at the very first Pride Scotland in Edinburgh in 1995, and our museum and archive collections include hundreds of Pride T-Shirts and badges from over the decades.
Badges from GWL's collection from Pride events across the years.
Change Making - GWL Publications
Over our three decades of changing lives, we have tried to respond to stated needs and demands, and these three publications are examples.
The Lesbian Mothers resource was created in response to lesbians with children telling us that they needed support in the face of overwhelming hostility towards them and their families. Another way we supported their needs was to provide the services of a Lawyer who identified as a lesbian and who specialised in family law – she provided free monthly advice surgeries for several years in our Trongate premises.
Hens Tae Watch Oot Fur: The Zine for Queer Feminists is the popular occasional zine produced by GWL volunteers and supporters.
The last issue accompanied Stride with Pride, our LGBTQ+ Glasgow Heritage Trail, produced in 2019. Copies of the Heritage Trail can be picked up for free at GWL or downloaded along with an audio tour version from our website.
In addition to all the other ways that GWL has contributed to LGBTQ+ life, activism, politics, art and culture over these past 30 years, we’ve also delivered thousands of events championing and showcasing the work of LGBTQ+ creatives. Hundreds of writers, artists, designers, performers, actors, musicians have all contributed to and been supported by GWL, and their creativity continues to be an integral, inspiring part of GWL’s work and events programmes.
In 2012, to celebrate our 21st Birthday, we commissioned 21 writers and 21 artists to each create new works inspired by our collections. The resulting project, 21 Revolutions, culminated in an exhibition and stunning publication, and featured contributions from queer creatives and items from our collections that were LGBTQ+ related. Several of the works were bought by major galleries and museums across the UK.
More recently, we were thrilled to work with Ingrid Pollard, whose commissioned work, No Cover Up, was at the heart of a bigger project called Lesbian Lives: Revealing Hidden Herstories.
LIPS: Lesbians in Peer Support
GWL’s LIPS project is a good example of how activism can result in positive action, and transformative change.
As a result of various protests by LGBTQ+ activists against attempted uses of Section 28 by Councils the landscape changed in favour of LGBTQ+ equality policies and initiatives, some of which are documented in this exhibition. GWL was commissioned to undertake research into Poverty and Social Exclusion of Lesbians and Gay Men in Glasgow in 1999.
One finding that stood out was the urgent need for a project to support young lesbian and bi women who, according to the research, felt isolated from mainstream youth services due to heteronormative culture, and also felt excluded within LGBTQ+ contexts, where the needs of gay men dominated. The setting up of a project to provide support and a safe space was something that GWL felt was possible to achieve.
We made a successful funding bid to Comic Relief, and the result was a peer support project, LIPS, set up 2000 and running until 2006. The project was lively and successful, with the group meeting fortnightly in the Lesbian Archive space, and running many activities, events, workshops and residential weeks away in order to build up confidence, have a good time, as well as support and empower each other.
This exhibition includes examples of creative workshops, such as making self-portraits; and awareness raising initiatives, such as looking at domestic abuse. The programme was varied, from drumming sessions to personal safety classes; sessions on body image and eating disorders to Drag King workshops. LIPS were also involved in leading further ground-breaking research, funded by NHS Greater Glasgow: Something to Tell You: A Health Needs Assessment of Young Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual People in Glasgow.
The Lesbian Archive and Information Centre (LAIC)
The history of the LAIC is a long and complex one. Set up in London in 1984, it is widely accepted to be one of the UK’s most significant collections of materials relating to LGBTQ+ lives.
By 1995, its future looked bleak as funding cuts hit hard and the ability to cover premises costs became a constant struggle. Articles in the gay press demonstrated the urgency of the situation and the devastating consequences of the loss of this incredibly important collection and resource.
GWL’s Co-founder Adele Patrick took action, making a phone call to the LAIC to see if or how we could help – we had no funding either but we couldn’t do nothing. During the phone call, the LAIC representative jokingly said “…well, unless you have a few hundred square feet of empty space…” The rest, as they say, is history.
The Lesbian Archive arrived at Glasgow Women’s Library later in 1995 – we raised money for its safe removal and transport to Glasgow from Diva magazine and The Pink Paper among others.
For over 20 years we have cared for this collection, and are proud to have saved it for you to explore and enjoy.
Image of the Lesbian Archive when it first moved to GWL in 1995.
The Agency of GWL Volunteers
GWL continues to support and be supported by incredible volunteers, who each bring their skills, knowledge and experience to GWL. They also bring ideas and creativity that we are always keen to encourage and give agency to.
The setting up a contemporary Trans Archive is one example of a volunteer led initiative as are these brilliantly illustrated boards for the Acronyms exhibition, while the diversity of volunteer voices can also be witnessed in Blogs on the GWL website.
Below are some examples from the Trans Archive that were displayed during the exhibition.
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