Welcome to Folkstone’s LGBTIQ+ History Club, a place for the curious and the nosey, for the lovers of stories, history, and her stories. Joi
For this first edition we have two inspirational historians travelling along the coast to share their precious stories with us:
** Jane Traies: historian and writer of lesbian history and novelist, author of The Lives of Older Lesbians: Sexuality, Identity and the Life Course, and the recent Now You See Me: Lesbian Life Stories – Jane will talk to us about the often forgotten but always incredible her stories of older lesbians, her life going from being a teacher to an academic, researcher, and author. And what does heritage and finding and documenting those lives mean to her.
“As part of my post-grad work I did a lot of oral history – that was the magic thing. I interviewed all these older women who identified as lesbians – the oldest born in 1919, the youngest in 1950.”
“A couple of years ago I picked up on some stories I had only used fragments of in my research because I wanted to give something back to those women who had given to me. I thought I was only writing the book for our community but it sold and sold and is still bouncing off the shelves at Gay’s The Word.”
“I don’t want to interview lesbian celebrities or people we all know about, but people who lived in the closet. I am interested in the stories of people who haven’t been told.”
** E-J Scott: Fashion historian, curator of Queer The Pier, and the curator and mastermind behind the radical Museum of Transology, the UK’s largest collection of trans related objects. E-J Scott will talk about the power of everyday objects, of the importance of telling our own story(es), and of community collecting and archiving.
"What I realized is that trans lives are invisible in museums. Trans people typically throughout history have been looked at; the whole trans experience has been looked at as an expression of alternate sexuality, for example. We don't exist in museums, there's no visibility, and yet we're at this moment of time where trans visibility is at the tipping point. Awareness is increasing in society about gender diversity…. and yet the museums in the UK aren't collecting trans artefacts
The history club is open to all (18+) and is free, but please book a ticket as capacity is limited.
If you have any questions, suggestions or comments then let us know on here or email queerfilmfolk@gmail.com
This is also a recruiting opportunity for a new exciting LGBTQIA+ screen archive project, which will be happening in Folkestone for the next 12 months. Come and hear everything about this new exciting opportunity!