Long before LGBTQ+ History month was familiarised as a celebration, it was a response to the absence of queer stories in education. Students were largely learning a ‘straight’ history, with little to no acknowledgement of the lives, struggles, and achievements of queer individuals. In the United States, high school teacher Rodney Wilson spearheaded the first LGBTQ+ History month in the early 1990s, hoping his students would embrace stories of people who have been marginalised by society.
The concept gradually traversed the Atlantic, inspiring educators and activists in the United Kingdom to address similar silences within their own curricula. By 2005, LGBTQ+ History Month had been formally instituted in the UK, championed by organisations such as Schools OUT UK. Its establishment came against a backdrop of decades in which queer identities were systematically marginalised and discriminated against.
LGBTQ+ History month is a recognition of survival, struggle, and resilience. It did not begin in a spirit of comfort but from necessity, to create spaces in which people could exist and love freely. In another time, and in many places even today, loving someone of the same gender was deemed a criminal act. For young people, learning about this history provides context for the freedom many may take for granted, highlighting the sacrifices and efforts of those who fought for it. Encountering these perspectives foster understanding and empathy.
Even at University, many of us are still exploring our identities and navigating what it means to belong. Engaging with LGBTQ+ History month can affirm to these students that their identities are valid and celebrated. LGBTQ+ History month is not only about reflecting on past struggles but also about empowering those who are still finding their place, helping them understand themselves, their relationships, and the freedom to love authentically. Its presence in student spaces is crucial, particularly as rising conservatism and increasing hate crimes continue to target LGBTQ+ individuals.
As for the University of Edinburgh, LGBTQ+ History month takes place within the realm of an institution that celebrates diversity, inclusion, and diversity. By offering established backing, the university confers legitimacy on queer histories and signifies their place within academia and culture.
The impact of this is most apparent in the scale and breadth of the month’s programming. Collaboration between the Student’s Association, queer societies, local LGBTQ+ organisations, and the Sports Union position this month as a collective, University-led initiative rather than an isolated campaign. The events range from community-based social spaces to visits to queer-owned venues, fostering collective belonging and rooting LGBTQ+ History month in the fabric of the city. Crucially, the month also foregrounds education as a responsibility. Workshops focused on trans allyship, led by Liberation officers, seek to equip students and society leaders to create a more overarching environment. The university frames the narrative that the month extends beyond the symbolic recognition and reinforces the necessity of visibility being accompanied with sustained action. At Edinburgh, LGBTQ+ History month is both a commemoration of the past and an investment in more inclusive futures.
On the flip side, the growing prominence of LGBTQ+ History month has prompted recurring public discourse, particularly around the question of why there is no equivalent ‘Straight History Month.’ While it is often framed as a call for balance, the argument arbitrarily overlooks the historical context in which LGBTQ+ History month emerged. Pride movements came about as protests against centuries of criminalisation, social exclusion, and conventional neglect. In the UK, LGBTQ+ visibility has been historically constrained with a legacy of legal restriction and social stigma, from the criminalisation of same-sex relationships to Section 28, whose prohibitions curtailed discussions of homosexuality within education spaces and legislative bodies.
Globally, 64 countries still criminalise homosexuality, with LGBTQ+ individuals facing imprisonment, violence, or even death for living openly. For much of recorded history, heterosexual and cisgender identities have been implicitly centred–shaping the mechanics of judicial, education, and culture–by default. As a result, what might be termed ‘straight history’ has not faced systematic erasure, nor has it needed a corrective framework to secure its place within the national functioning of the country.
LGBTQ+ History month exists precisely because queer lives, relationships, and contributions were routinely omitted, silenced, or even rendered ineligible within mainstream accounts of the past. Understanding this distinction is not a request for special status but a response to structural inequality. In other words, it isn’t about elevating one group over another — it never has been — but to address this long standing absence. LGBTQ+ communities have fought for their right to exist, and their stories deserve to be in the spotlight.
Photo by Raphael Renter | @raphi_rawr on Unsplash