Issues and campaigns: LGBT+ liberation
Campaigning for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans* rights.
Pride Is
Witney Pride fundraiser: Do You Remember The Verse Time?
For poetry lovers, for poetry sceptics, for those who never appreciated the full force of verse until it’s been heard, this is the event for you. Join us for a special edition of Witney’s best and only spoken word night. … Read more
LGBT+ Educators hold largest-ever union conference
Report from National Education Union LGBT+ Educators Conference by Janine Booth, delegate Published in Solidarity 698 Last weekend (2-4 February), 350 lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and other non-straight education workers gathered in Birmingham for the National Education Union’s largest ever … Read more
Travesti
Opposing imaginary ribaldry Detestable protests at a library Serious, stern of jaw and dour Objecting to Drag Queen Story Hour Reckoning kids are groomed and primed – But why don’t they protest at pantomimes? Alarmed at the harmless, dressed-up take-up … Read more
Tonight I Went to Heaven
Tonight I went to Heaven after months of pain My friends held my hands, the man at the not-exactly-pearly gate checked my bag and the siren on the stage brought her dead pals to Heaven with her Tonight I went … Read more
Clerihew: J.K. Rowling
Clerihew: Nicola Adams
Clerihew: Tony Abbott
What a Croc
A response to an appallingly bigoted cartoon (pictured) which appeared in the Morning Star. An oversight has come to light our usual process transgressed, broke apart and through the cracks crept a carnivorous cold-blooded cartoon a hand-drawn saurian, fawning, crawling, … Read more
Stonewall Was a Riot
Stonewall Was a Riot It wasn’t the Stonewall focus group or the Stonewall business case It wasn’t the Stonewall let’s-present- our-most-acceptable-face Long years of asking nicely had not got us anywhere Our rulers did not hear us when we whispered: … Read more
Stonewall Was A Riot
From the pamphlet, Radical Chains: sexuality and class politics, 1999: “The rallying point of the gay liberation movement … the bar riot that ushered in the gay rights movement” … “Stonewall is the emblematic event in lesbian and gay history … Read more
Solidarity for both trans rights and women’s rights
I wrote this as an attempt to navigate the various arguments around trans and women’s rights, as a suggested policy on the issue. by Janine Booth SUMMARY We support transgender rights and express our solidarity with trans people. We … Read more
Talk and discussion: The left, oppression and liberation politics
at Labour and Revolution, a dayschool hosted by the socialist organisation Workers’ Liberty to discuss ideas for the new left movement after Jeremy Corbyn’s election at the Anatomy Building, University College London, Gower Street WC1E 6XA. Near loads of Tubes – Warren Street, … Read more
Thirty-Five
The life expectancy of a Black trans woman in the USA is just 35. This is a villanelle about that shocking statistic. Black boys grown women fighting to survive In freedom’s land are some folks not allowed To live beyond … Read more
Twenty-One
A reflection on my son visiting the Stonewall Inn because of his passionate commitment to LGBT equality, only to find that he couldn’t go in. I remember the age of consent cut from twenty-one A landmark among the battles our … Read more
Mostly Hating Tories: an extra verse for Pride
Written on the bus home from Pride in London 2015: Among Pride’s stars and thespians Were Stonewall 69ers Trade unionists and Lesbians And Gays Support the Miners So let’s remember if we may The Pits and Perverts stories We didn’t … Read more
‘Ideas For Freedom’ Poetry Fundraiser for Rainbow International
Four poets perform at the Union Tavern, Clerkenwell, London to raise money for Rainbow International LGBT Activist Solidarity Fund. Part of the Ideas For Freedom: Imagining The Future weekend. Janine Booth is a poet, trade unionist, author, speaker, tutor, autism/disabillity … Read more