Rainbow Reads! LGBTQ Books for Pride Month 2024
By David Wright, Associate Library Director for User Experience at the University of Southampton
 Guest writer David Wright (he/him) is Associate Library Director for User Experience at the University of Southampton. With a career that spans over 30 years and includes work in public, special and academic libraries, he describes himself as an elder of the LGBTQ community who is as passionate now about diversity and inclusion as he was when he first came out as a gay man in the early 1980s. Here he recommends some reading especially for the PDA LGBT+ Network.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is celebrated every year to commemorate the moment in June 1969 that LGBTQ people fought back against the homophobia, transphobia, racism, and brutality of the New York Police Department during a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. It’s about liberation, diversity, visibility, and the ongoing struggle for equality – a celebration of what has been achieved in some countries and what still needs to be done.
While the 2020s are proving to be newly challenging times for the LGBTQ+ community (the American Library Association reports that, in 2023, more attempts than ever before were made to ban books from US schools and libraries) our voices have never been so strong in the publishing world. Here’s a selection of five fabulous titles to read during Pride month – and beyond.
1. Bernardine Evaristo – Girl, Woman, Other
The eighth novel by Bernardine Evaristo, and co-winner of the 2019 Booker Prize, Girl, Woman, Other follows a cast of twelve, very different characters, most of them black British women, on personal journeys across several decades. Among them is Amma, a lesbian socialist playwright struggling for recognition and non-binary Morgan who uses the internet to help explore their gender identity. This may be a book about the challenges of everyday life, but it is also an engaging story of love, joy and the powers of imagination. |
Resistance is the act of refusal to accept or conform, and in education, resistance theory concerns opposing power and oppressions such as racism, ableism, homophobia, and misogyny. Universities have historically served as spaces of resistance, where campus protests and advocacy against political, social, and societal injustices are not only common but encouraged. These institutions are pivotal in shaping learners’ worldviews, allowing them to explore, develop, and challenge power structures and oppression. While overt resistance is evident in institutional and curricular changes, much of it operates within the hidden curriculum, which subtly shapes what is learned rather than explicitly taught.
Pride holds deep meaning for LGBT+ individuals, offering a chance to openly embrace and celebrate their identities. Yet, alongside this celebration, we’re acutely mindful of the healthcare inequalities the community faces. From hurdles in accessing vital services like sexual and reproductive healthcare to grappling with elevated rates of mental health issues and substance use, the journeys of our community are marked by challenges.
