In advance of the final episode of It’s A Sin on Channel 4 tonight (Friday) the Island’s LGBTQ+ community has been contacted by numerous national media journalists keen to learn about the Island’s LGBTQ+ history and life here in the 1980s.
For the past couple of years, StoneCrabs’ Out On An Island project has been researching and recording original voices of LGBTQ+ people on the Island.
Exhibition, book and film
The project is run by StoneCrabs Theatre and Arts Charity and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The team of 40+ volunteers and interviewees are busy preparing to share it with the public in the upcoming Out On An Island – An Untold Heritage exhibition at Quay Arts from 19th June to 17th July.
The project will also be publishing a book of all the findings later in the year, and a short film highlighting the Island’s queer history, featuring locations such as Mottistone Manor, the Classic Boat Museum in East Cowes and Dimbola Lodge, all of which have connections with LGBTQ+ people from the past.
Ford: Could have been sacked for being gay
One interviewee, Robin Ford, a former teacher said,
“Once at school there was a very big thing actually. Section 28 was brought in at all schools, certainly all secondary schools were required to formulate a policy. So, we had this awful film, instructional film, and I was put on this group anyway to discuss things and how we would implement this bl**dy Act and it talked about one in ten and all the rest of it.
“I said, I can remember, I can feel it now, my breath, and I said, ‘well, as one of the one in ten… I don’t know if you know this: you literally could have been sacked for being gay as a teacher and people were and some things went to appeal.”
Diamond: A mixture of stories
Project Manager, Caroline Diamond, says,
“It is fascinating to see Russell T Davies’ portrayal of the Island. Although he highlights the lack of diversity here in the 1980s and a homophobic family, we have found contrasting experiences from LGBTQ+ people, some of whom live happily here although, we have also recorded stories of homophobia and cruel discrimination.”
Get involved and find out more
Out On An Island is keen to hear from anyone who would like to volunteer at the exhibition or who has memorabilia to contribute from photographs to T-shirts, letters and diaries.
You can find out more about Out On An Island by joining the project’s fortnightly Zoom events for LGBTQ+ people – see the Website for more detail.
News shared by Caroline on behalf of Out on an Island. Ed
