The library’s extensive periodical and pamphlet holdings contain several documents recording LGBTQ+ political struggles.

We hold pamphlets related to the fight for gay and lesbian rights, including the gay liberation front manifesto from 1971 and a copy of Changing the World: A London Charter for Gay and Lesbian Rights created by the Greater London Council’s Gay working party.

One of the most engaging items in the collection is a copy of Sappho, which in 1973 claimed to be the only lesbian magazine in Europe. Sappho was published monthly and aimed to fight against lesbian isolation both through sharing information about existing lesbian groups and by creating its own. It also contains articles, stories and poems written by those “with an intelligent interest and empathy for homophiles”.

The connection between the women’s movement and LGBTQ+ struggles can also be found within the MML’s collections. In a copy of the Women’s Newspaper, the Gay Liberation Front are thanked for supporting woman on trial by coming to the courthouse and performing street theatre outside.

Other periodicals that discuss the overlap between women’s and gay liberation are:

Red Rag
Wires
Spare Rib (Including an interview with Audre Lorde in issue 188)

Sexuality is also a topic that has been debated and discussed by a range of left-wing movements, for example:

Towards a Quaker view of sex
Socialism and Infamy

Our collections also evidence challenges and tensions within the movement, for example Concerning the Gay Liberation Front and the Women's Liberation Movement .

The debates and campaigns around LGBTQ+ issues can also be found recorded within the MML’s complete collections of the Morning Star and Daily Worker. These newspapers record socialist views on contemporary events and thus could provide an interesting source for anyone interested in researching public campaigns such as the protests against Section 28.

We are still finding documents and resources linked to LGBTQ+ stories within the MML’s collections, often in surprising places.

Some pamphlets we have found through our catalogue include:

The politics of homosexuality
Radical Women manifesto
Open and positive
Programme of action for women in London
Sodom, Gomorrah and the New Jerusalem

Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, licensed under CC BY 4.0