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ISSUE 751 29 NOV 2023 exepose.com @Exepose
THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987
Ground-breaking exhibition on Section 28 held in Forum
Climate Wall projection displayed on Exeter campuses Page 3
Image: Amy Rushton
Napoleon sacked from Cat-binet Page 14
Joshua Smith Deputy Editor THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS CONTENT RELATING TO HOMOPHOBIA WHICH SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTRESSING
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Exeter’s Movember round-up Page 32
Images (top to bottom): Oliver Lamb, Anabel Costa Ferreira, brewbooks, Flickr, Dana Beveridge, Wikimedia Commons, Lee Ann Lee, Josh Banks and Rhianna Sookhy
N the 20th anniversary of the repeal of a controversial aspect of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, Section 28, academics and students at the University put together an exhibition highlighting the experience of those impacted by it, past and present. The exhibition, called Section 28 and its Afterlives, drew on oral histories of a dozen LGBTQ+ individuals from the South West to explore the long lasting impact of the legislation, but also to highlight how it inspired acts of resistance in bold and defiant ways. Dr. Hannah Young, a co-lead on the exhibition and lecturer in History, stated that these interviews “reveal how Section 28 blighted LGBTQ+ people’s experience of school, as students, teachers, and parents,” adding that it “sustained a wider atmosphere of silence and shame, deeply felt at home, work, and in the wider public sphere.” It’s impact was widespread and intensely harmful, which is expressed through one participant in the research’s testimony, which described it feeling like “being erased while you’re still alive.” Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s
Conservative government, banned local authorities and schools from “intentionally promoting homosexuality or publishing material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promoting the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.” Scotland repealed it in 2000, and England and Wales in 2003. This had widespread epistemic consequences on the lives of generations of LGBTQ+ pupils, restricting them from not only being taught about same-sex relationships, but also from seeing people like them in books, and having access to any support services around safe sex in same-sex relationships. It also led to a lack of safety for LGBTQ+ pupils. Divina De Campo, a contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2019, talked openly on the show about her experience of the legislation: “Kids in the playground pushing and shoving and calling you a ‘fag’. Throwing their drinks on you. Because of Section 28 it meant that a lot of teachers felt like they couldn’t step in.” Bullying was rife, De Campo further recounts, “The teachers felt like they couldn’t talk about it. Nothing was said about gay people at all.” One of the interviewees to share their experiences with the project is a former teacher, who stated that the inability to be able to offer support to LGBTQ+ pupils left her feeling like she was complicit in upholding a homophobic system. The legislation was oppressive for all LGBTQ+ individuals in education, whether pupil or teacher.
Amy Rushton, an oral history intern who talked to participants for the project and an intern on the design of the exhibition panels, shared with Exeposé how “the whole point of Section 28 was to silence a generation of queer people, so sharing and listening to people’s stories is a really important way to counteract that.” These stories are at the heart of the project which sought to challenge the assumption that the South West did not have an LGBTQ+ history. “That’s just not true” states Dr. Chris Sandal-Wilson, Lecturer in Medical History. “Many LGBTQ+ people did find the South West an isolating place, but others found community and created safe and supportive queer spaces here. We hope our exhibition and the ongoing oral history project will help capture the richness and diversity of LGBTQ+ experiences in the South West.” The project conducted 12 interviews with LGBTQ+ people which were edited into digital recordings that could be accessed through QR codes on the exhibition panels. The participants belong to different generations, and represent different parts of a diverse community, providing, as President of LGBTQ+ society, Maz, states “a rare space for intergenerational dialogue amongst members of our community.” Rushton also states that “young queer people don’t always get a chance to connect with and learn from an older LGBTQ+ generation and so it can not only be a really difficult and emotional process to exchange experiences
but also an incredibly important one”. Ben Bradshaw, MP for Exeter, a supporter of the project, stated that “remembering the past and recognising its injustices is crucial to ensure it is not repeated.” Rushton agrees, but adds that it is important that we confront these histories in order for things to change, “especially given the current proposed legislation towards trans children which threatens to bring Section 28 back in another form… One of the main messages many of the interviewees expressed was to not be complacent and to continue to fight for LGBTQ+ rights.” Maz added to this sentiment, commenting “when reading the news, it is easy to see parallels between Section 28 and the current rise in transphobic rhetoric, so we must stay vigilant to prevent history from repeating itself.” Research by the Stonewall school report in 2017, shows that anti-LGBTQ+ bullying is still widespread, with more than half of pupils (52 per cent) reporting hearing homophobic slurs frequently at school. This is reminiscent of Rushton’s experience of the legacy of Section 28, she shares “I didn’t have the experience of discovering and feeling positive about my identity until university.” “The Section 28 and its Afterlives project has brought awareness to the horrors of Section 28 to those previously unaware of it” states Maz. If any members of the LGBTQ+ community would like to be interviewed as part of the ongoing project, they can contact section28anditsafterlives@exeter.ac.uk .