Lesbian Not Criminal – the tour

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This month (12th – 19th) Lesbian Labour, in conjunction with the LGB Alliance hosted Norwegian Lesbian artist Tonje Gjevjon for several evening events across the UK. Tonje was facing a possible jail term in her home country for a facebook post stating Menn er menn uansett seksuelle fetisjer – Men are men regardless of their sexual fetishes”.

Tonje in a mg-shot style photo, holding a "Lesbian Not Criminal" sign

An excellent write up of the tour was written by Lily Maynard here. Below is our summary of the week.

The tour was a roaring success, both in raising awareness of the issues Lesbians can face when we assert our boundaries as women loving women (hence the name – Lesbian not criminal!), but also in getting women together for discussion, singing, music and dancing!

Several of our own members performed, chaired or spoke at the events, which were well attended by women – Lesbian, bi and straight – who wished to hear about Tonje’s siutation.

We kicked things off in Edinburgh. Chaired by Joanna Cherry KC, we heard from Tonje first then Rhona Hotchkiss, Nicole Jones and Paula Boulton for Lesbian Labour.

Tonje had unexpectedly heard from the Norwegian police that they were dropping the case against her as they had decided nothing punishable had taken place. What a way to start the tour. There was a lively Q and A and much joy at having defeated the GRR Bill in Scotland. We added an additional speech from Kate Harris before clearing the stage for the first performance.

Kicking off with Hungry Hearts we were treated to the spectacle of Kate Harris of LGB Alliance dancing away to the Vagina Anthem setting the tone for the rest of the week. The song may have been cancelled in Norway, but it was sung lustily in Edinburgh.

The one and only Elaine Miller had us in stitches regaling us with the full merkin moment story. She then dressed in her ceremonial vulva robs to present Tonje with a merkin of her own.

Next, an unofficial stop at Leeds’ Virago Women’s Workshop for an early art workshop followed by the tour’s most intimate  round table discussion about how to move things forward.

Cardiff saw women’s choir, Cwfen (Covan) welcoming women in and our own Bronwen Evans chairing a panel of Kate Harris, Dee McCullough, Paula and Tonje. Wales’ LGBTQ action plan and its disastrous consequences for Lesbians was discussed.

More singing and music followed including Calon Lan and the Vagina Anthem twice, which of course got Kate Harris up and dancing again. However, this time she was determined not to dance alone and got many other women up and dancing.

The tour officially ended in London, where around 100 women came to see the panel speak. Kate Barker chaired the panel and this time Tonje was followed by Aja, Jo Phoenix and Paula.

It was a shocking moment for Paula when she announced she was from Labour – there was a collective groan. Asking for a show of hands as to who was in Labour revealed half a dozen lonely women. Asking who had left labour resulted in nearly every hand in the room being raised. There were far too many hands raised when she also asked who had been investigated or expelled or suspended.

Music included the Lesbian Marching song, to which Julia Long led women marching around the room as they chanted and joined in at the appropriate moments.

Tonje, a lover of rap had chosen to finish the night with the acerbic, cutting lyrics of young lesbian rapper Trish who burst on to the stage with red hot anger and tore to shreds the nonsense that is self ID.

After more talking and a great deal of merriment, Tonje was off to Manchester for the final night of the tour where a meeting of around 30 women took place followed by a trip to the gay village.

A few hours later, early Sunday morning Tonje headed back to Norway greatly invigorated by her trip to Terf Island. So many connections made over the week. We need to do it more. And if saying a man can’t be a lesbian is “not punishable” then we all need to say it more!

 

Lesbians left out in the cold at conference

Lesbian Labour were in Liverpool this week handing out leaflets and speaking to delegates at the annual Labour Party Conference. Our concerns include the loss of single sex spaces and provision in public life, which particularly affects us same-sex attracted women.

Unfortunately we were literally and metaphorically left out in the cold given the Labour Party’s refusal to tolerate diversity of opinion over same-sex attraction and single sex services, after refusing stall applications from same-sex champions The LGB Alliance, the feminst charity Filia, as well as the Labour Women’s Declaration. This of course only made us more determined to get our message out there, and with our pop up stall we did!

Hannah and Paula with our pop up stall

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The Lesbian Canaries – Whatever You Are!

Canaries were iconically used in coal mines to detect the presence of deadly carbon monoxide. The bird’s rapid breathing rate, small size, and high metabolism, compared to the miners, led birds in dangerous mines to succumb before the miners, thereby giving the miners time to take action.

Lesbians are the canaries in the coal mine.

Lesbians were removed from Pride Cymru in Cardiff this August bank holiday.

Shock, horror, outrage! Over 3 million people watched the video on twitter as Get The L Out activist Angela Wild clarified the police response.

But to many of us this was no surprise. This is our “normal”.

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LGB Alliance Cymru write to the Counsel General and Minister for Health

The LGB Alliance Cymru today wrote to the Welsh Counsel General and Minister for Health regarding Gender Identity Services in Wales and their impact on same-sex attracted young people.

This comes after the law firm Pogust Godhead announced today its intent to pursue group legal action against the Tavistock and Portman NHS foundation trust, and their gender identity services clinic. Dr Hilary Cass recently wrote the the NHS, stating

A fundamentally different service model is needed which is more in line with other paediatric provision, to provide timely and appropriate care for children and young people needing support around their gender identity. This must include support for any other clinical presentations that they may have.

This comes as the Tavistock’s gender identity clinic announces its closure as of early next year. In light of these developments LGB Alliance Cymru urges the Welsh government to reassess its stance on gender affirmation. We at Lesbian Labour support the LGB Alliance Cymru and welcome this update from the Cass Review.

You can read the LGB Alliance Cymru’s letter to the Welsh government here

Proud Lesbians: Lesbian Labour gives Lesbians a voice for pride 2022

This summer for Pride month, Lesbian Labour wanted to do something for Lesbians. We are often frustrated by the lack of Lesbian voices during Pride month and beyond, and rather than relying on the narrative that Stonewall and Pride events present, we wanted to talk to a wide variety of  lesbians on the ground. Our own Paula Boulton had the idea to start a ‘Proud Lesbian’ series. Here at Lesbian Labour we’re all proud of being Lesbians, so Paula thought we should interview other proud Lesbians. She was curious to find out – what’s happening in Lesbian lives? Are Stonewall law policies surrounding gender affecting Lesbian lives or not? As Paula says, “How seldom do we hear lesbian voices, how seldom do we read lesbian voices represented in the media? real stories of lesbian lives”.

So Paula set out to find out the answers to these questions and put out some feelers. What none of us were prepared for was the response from Lesbians worldwide wishing to talk about their stories and have their voices heard. Lots of Lesbians contacted us wishing to take part in the project. It’s now a very eclectic mix of Lesbians spanning different ages, religion, politics, jobs and life experiences – as detailed in the linked promo video below.

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