Queer Beyond London: Lesbian Migration and Settlement in English Provincial Cities 1965-2013.

How does a study of locality change current debates in histories of sexuality and migration?  This paper will report findings from a major research project, “Queer Beyond London: Sexualities and Localities 1965-2013”.  Challenging existing narratives of British LGBT history, this project compares two provincial cities well-known as gay hubs (Brighton and Manchester) with two that have distinctive but less obvious queer subcultures (Leeds and Plymouth).

The expansion of regional universities and wider employment opportunities fostered new channels of migration for British women from the 1960s, while overseas migration to the UK from the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent also influenced the distinct lesbian and gay sub-cultures that developed in these cities. Leeds became an important centre for separatist lesbian-feminist politics from the 1970s, in the context of the ‘Yorkshire Ripper’ murders. Lesbians were also involved in the anti-racist activism of the 1970s and 1980s in Leeds’ Chapeltown district as well as setting up feminist media projects which continue to the present.  Smaller cities such as Plymouth and Brighton saw more sharing of social spaces and activism with gay men.

Using oral histories collected by LGBT community groups, this paper will examine how patterns of lesbian migration developed and changed over time, and compare them with the migration and settlement patterns of gay men.  How did the intersection of sexual, gender, regional and ethnic identifications create particular lesbian neighbourhoods and social networks between and within these regional cities?