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The LGBT community of Brighton and Hove is one of the largest in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...
.
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, a
seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the German ' ...
on the south coast of England, is generally agreed to be the unofficial "gay capital" of the UK, with records pertaining to LGBT history dating back to the early 19th century. Many LGBT pubs, clubs, bars, restaurants, cafés and shops are located around Brighton and in particular around St James's Street in Kemptown. Several LGBT charities, publishers, social and support groups are also based in the city.
Brighton Pride Brighton and Hove Pride is an annual LGBT pride event held in the city of Brighton and Hove, England, organised by Brighton Pride, a community interest company (CIC) who promote equality and diversity, and advance education to eliminate discri ...
is the largest Pride event in the UK, celebrated at the start of August and attracting as many as 450,000 people. In a 2014 estimate, 11–15% of the city's population aged 16 or over is thought to be lesbian, gay or bisexual. The city also had the highest percentage of same-sex households in the UK in 2004 and the largest number of civil partnership registrations outside London in 2013.


History

Brighton has recorded LGBT history in the city since the 19th century. Many men were initially drawn to Brighton by the enormous numbers of soldiers garrisoned in the town during the Napoleonic Wars. Evidence suggests that a floating population and good transport links with London helped its reputation as a place for the LGBT community. By the 1930s, Brighton started to flourish as a gay destination and many gay and lesbian pubs started to establish themselves. During the Second World War, Brighton was filled with soldiers. Women and men in the forces who were away from home meeting other lesbians and gay people for the first time in their lives also heard about Brighton and its special pleasures and helped turn it into a gay destination in the post-war years.


Demographics

In a 2014 estimate, 11-15% of the city's population aged 16 or over is thought to be lesbian, gay or bisexual. The 2001
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
revealed that Brighton and Hove had the highest proportion of same-sex households in the UK at 1.29%: 2,544 persons said that they lived with a person of the same sex. The 2011 census did not measure same-sex households specifically but showed that Brighton and Hove had the highest number of civil partnerships in the UK, at 2,346 individuals or 3.1% of all legal relationships within the unitary authority area. The city also had the largest number of civil partnership registrations outside London in 2013.


Events

Brighton Pride Brighton and Hove Pride is an annual LGBT pride event held in the city of Brighton and Hove, England, organised by Brighton Pride, a community interest company (CIC) who promote equality and diversity, and advance education to eliminate discri ...
is an event, and wider organization, which promotes equality and diversity, and advances education to eliminate discrimination against the LGBT community. The major event is an annual summer festival held in the first week of August, which usually consists of a parade through the city centre, a festival event in Preston Park, the Pride Village Party and other club parties. Since 2013, it has also included an Arts and Film Festival and a Pride Dog Show. The parade has attracted as many as 450,000 attendees and 50,000 people attend the park festival in 2018. The event brings 2% of the city's annual visitors in one day and in 2018 introduced an estimated £18 million to the city's economy. It is credited as one of the main ways Brighton has boosted its economy from tourism. Trans Pride has taken place every July since 2013 with a parade and a weekend of events. Eyes Wide Open is a queer film strand, regularly showcasing sexual and gender minorities on screens across the city.


Organisations

The
Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard Switchboard, formerly Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard, is a British listening service or hotline, for the LGBT communities based in Brighton. It service was launched, with just one telephone, in April 1975 at the Open Cafe, a centre for altern ...
is a telephone helpline that describes itself as 'providing a service to the lesbian, gay, bisexual & trans communities since April 1975' and is one of the oldest in the UK. The Clare Project is a local support group which provides a safe and confidential meeting place for anyone exploring issues around their
gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...
, besides organising other events such as monthly meals. MindOut is a mental health service run by and for LGBT people, based in Brighton and Hove. The city also has the Allsorts Youth Project which aims to meet the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and unsure youth in Brighton & Hove and the wider East Sussex area. Both Brighton and Sussex universities have active LGBT organizations and they often work together to cater to the needs of LGBT students. Sussex LGBTQ is for students at the University of Sussex and LGBrighTon is for students at Brighton University. The Brighton Ourstory Project was set up to collect and preserve lesbian and gay community history in the area. In 2000 the large-scale LGBT community survey, Count Me In, led to the development of an LGBT Community Strategy 2001-06 for Brighton & Hove. Spectrum developed from this process to work with local services and planners in implementing the strategy and to provide infrastructure and community development support for the LGBT community. Its aim was to act as an independent voice, negotiating the rights of LGBT people locally with a specific focus on the needs of marginalised sections of the LGBT community. A second study, Count Me in Too!, published its 'Initial findings Reports' in 2007, in partnership between the
University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achiev ...
and Spectrum. The second study aimed to identify gaps in the original research and update the strategy. A free magazine is distributed in the city: ''Gscene'', which describes itself as "the gay and lesbian lifestyle, listings and community magazine for Brighton and Hove". Brighton has a gay and lesbian sports society calle
BLAGSS
which offers a range of 17 sports or activities to its 600+ members. The city also has LGBTQ+ sports clubs such as Brighton & Hove Sea Serpents RFC, a branch of the international Frontrunners
Brighton & Hove Frontrunners
Formed in 2018. Holding an annua
rainbow run 5k
the day before Brighton Pride and a branch of the LGBTQ+ aquatics Out to swim
Out to swim Brighton
, plus many more. There are also two congregations of the
Metropolitan Community Church The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. There are 222 member congregations in 37 ...
.


Historical Events

An early recording of the LGBT community in Brighton was in August 1822, when George Wilson, a servant from
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the la ...
, was accused by a guardsman he had met in the Duke of Wellington public house in Pool Valley of having offered him a sovereign and two shillings to go with him onto the beach to "commit an unnatural crime". Another early story of the LGBT community in the area is that of philanthropist
Angela Burdett-Coutts Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts (21 April 1814 – 30 December 1906), born Angela Georgina Burdett, was a British philanthropist, the daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet and Sophia, formerly Coutts, daught ...
(1814-1906), a friend of both
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
and the
Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...
, who spent part of each year at the
Royal Albion Hotel The Royal Albion Hotel (originally the Albion Hotel) is a 3-star hotel in the seaside resort of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built on the site of a house belonging to Richard Russell, a local doctor whose advocacy o ...
with her companion Hannah. The couple were devoted to each other, socially recognised as a pair, and even sent joint Christmas cards. When Hannah died in 1878, Baroness Burdett-Coutts said she was utterly crushed by the loss of "my poor darling, the companion and sunshine of my life for 52 years". A walking tour 'Piers & Queers' explores the historical sites and characters of LGBT interest.


References


External links


BLAGSS - Brighton Lesbian and Gay Sports Society

MindOut - LGBT mental health project

Clare Project
- a self-supporting group open to anyone wishing to explore issues around gender identity
Allsorts Youth Project

Sussex University LGBTQ Society

Count Me In Too!


LGBT Church {{LGBT topics in the United Kingdom Brighton and Hove Gay villages in England