From sexuality in Hollywood cinema to ‘how gay is your car?’, the University of East Anglia is launching a series of free lectures as part of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans (LGBT) History Month in February.
The national annual event celebrates the diversity and achievements of the LGBT community.
The lecture series has been organised by UEA Staff Pride in association with the Norwich Pride collective, whose aim it is to use music, debate, sport, history, arts and entertainment to raise awareness of LGBT issues and to get rid of the discrimination faced by LGBT people.
The series launches on February 2 with an interactive lecture exploring gender roles, stereotypes and bullying within sport and Physical Education, by Dr Rock Braithwaite, lecturer in Physical Education and Sport at UEA.
On February 9, Prof Yvonne Tasker from the university’s School of Film and Television Studies will talk about sexualities in Hollywood Cinema. She will discuss how lesbian and gay sexualities were signalled on the silver screen during an age in which explicit reference was prohibited.
On February 14, Dr Alexander Brown from the School of Political, Social and International Studies will discuss ‘hate speech’ – words, gestures, writing or other displays which are prohibited because they may incite violence or prejudice towards minority groups.
‘How gay is your car?’ is the topic on February 16 when Dr Catharina Landstrom from the School of Environmental Sciences will talk about the connection between cars, gender and sexuality in popular culture.
On February 21 Natasha Curson, from the university’s Centre for Staff and Educational Development, will talk about her personal experience as a transgender child growing up in a time of huge social and political change.
The series draws to a close on February 23 with a talk on how LGBT people are portrayed in pulp fiction from literature lecturer Dr BJ Epstein, who will compare novels from the 1950s and 60s to modern paperback romances.
A coming-out workshop for staff and students to discuss sexuality and gender identity will also take place.
All events take place in the Thomas Paine Lecture Theatre on campus, start at 7pm and will be followed by a question and answer session until 9pm. All events are free and all are welcome.
For more information about Norwich Pride, visit www.norwichpride.org.uk.
