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Kings Heath, Birmingham, named LGBTQ+ friendly neighbourhood
West Midlands-based LGBTQ+ clothing company releases It’s A Sin-inspired line ) Grey Icon Androgyny, based in Solihull, is a small LGBTQ+ business that was launched in September 2020 by Ash O’Toole. “Grey Icon’s mission is to bring fresh new designs to the androgynous, transgender & genderneutral community,” Ash explained to Scene magazine.
• Visible support for the community such as murals, street art, Pride flags; • Considerably lower risks of homophobic, transphobic, queerphobic crimes; • Regular LGBTQ+ performances in
In particular, the judges praised Kings Heath for its gay nights at the Hare and Hounds, a locally renowned venue. They also highlighted the suburb York Road for being “a thriving, bustling area full of diversity, not just from the LGBTQ+ community”.
ASH O'TOOLE
local spaces such as theatre, music, ) Kings Heath, Birmingham has drag, and cabaret; been recognised – alongside Canal Street in Manchester and The Castro • Local Pride events. in San Francisco – as one of the world’s most LGBTQ+ friendly neighbourhoods. The Gayborhood Foundation does also note, however, that fulfilling all The Gayborhood Foundation, which criteria does not necessarily guarantee released the list for the first time in inclusion on the list. 2021, was set up earlier this year to recognise, celebrate and champion A spokesperson said: “Kings Heath LGBTQ+ friendly areas across the in Birmingham stood loud and proud globe. alongside our other Gayborhoods for its incredibly vibrant LGBTQ+ The criteria to make it into the exclusive community, and we’re delighted to list of 33 areas includes; officially recognise it within our 2021 contingent.” • Having a higher than average LGBTQ+ population who are able to live They added: “This is notable visibly in the area; recognition for such a fantastic area • “A local dedication to LGBTQ+ rights and in such an exquisite city as Birmingham.” and issues amongst residents”;
Ash had worked as a bar manager on Birmingham’s LGBTQ+ scene for many years but was sadly made redundant – alongside her colleagues – in October 2020, just a month after starting Grey Icon. Like much of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies, Ash and their partner watched Russell T. Davis’ heartwrenching series It’s A Sin that told the story of a group of friends during the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 80s and 90s. After watching the first episode with their partner, Ash says they were soon “inundated with requests from friends to create a ‘La!’ T-shirt”. “Over the next couple of days, I sat down and put a design together, working out how many I could afford to produce, along with being able to give a 25% donation of each tee to charity.” Those limited-edition new designs that became part of Grey Icon’s collection included a pink T-shirt with the word ‘La!’ printed in yellow writing and a white t-shirt with pink writing. Ash then spent some time researching various HIV/AIDS charities, as well as having a brief conversation with Russell himself, before they finally settled on the charity that Grey Icon would be donating to with the profits from their new ‘La!’ line. “It was a no-brainer for me that I would donate to the George House Trust based in Manchester,” Ash explained. “The T-shirts went on pre-sale as soon as the artwork was approved,” Ash tells us, “and they arrived with us just in time for the airing of the final episode of It’s A Sin, which meant anyone who pre-ordered received them that weekend, which worked out really well.”
Nominations for National Diversity Awards now open
) The nomination process for the National Diversity Awards is now open and Birmingham has an extensive list of nominees for the Positive Role Model (LGBTQ+) category. At the time of writing, the LGBTQ+ positive role models located in Birmingham are journalist and activist Adam Yosef, freelance journalist
Lydia Greatrix, David Nash, creator of proudly blog Aaron Spencer, wildlife filmmaker and broadcaster Adam O’Hare, Avery Cunningham who focusses on LGBTQ+ people in STEM, Martin Smith (AKA drag act Miss Marty), trans activist and blogger Eva Echo, and Marvel at the Magic’s Nathan & Craig. To read more about the nominees, visit www.nationaldiversityawards.co.uk where you can also nominate others or vote for those who've already been nominated. Voting closes June 4; a shortlist will be revealed in September and winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in 2022.
Grey Icon Androgyny’s original target with the ‘La!’ tees was to raise £450 for George House Trust. So far, it has raised £350 for the charity (£300 of which has already been handed over). “It would, of course, have been lovely if the business was better established to have been able to donate a larger amount as others have been able to,” Ash explained, referring to companies and designers such as Philip Normal who have been able to raise over £250,000 so far for Terrence Higgins Trust. Ash added: “Hopefully with people’s support the business will continue to grow and, in the future, we can make this happen with something similar!” For anyone who missed out on the original pre-order of Grey Icon Androgyny’s It’s A Sin-inspired tees who wants to support this small West Midlands-based business and the George House Trust, there are still some T-shirts available to purchase via www.greyicon.co.uk/.