Why all schools should take part in LGBT history month

Throughout history, LGBT people and issues have presented with extreme negatively, or completely ignored all together.As children in schools, we were lied to by omission: reading novels, plays, poetry written by LGBT people without even realising. It was just assumed that everybody was heterosexual.The effect of section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 meant not only that people did not "promote homosexuality", but they colluded to commit acts of profound homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. Mass bullying led to hate crime, which led to physical attacks. It gave rise to massive self-doubt, mental health problems and, in extreme cases, suicide.The social atmosphere was toxic for LGBT people in schools, in the workplace and often even at home.In 2003, section 28 was finally rescinded and the Labour Party began to talk about organising legislation that would cover sexual orientation and gender, as well as requiring those that received government money to outlaw discrimination, advance equal opportunities and foster good relations.It was then that Paul Patrick and I, as the co-chairs of Schools OUT UK, founded LGBT history month. We wanted to legitimise a space where we could enable people to be visible and celebrate LGBT people and their contribution to society.Over the years the LGBT community has become less invisible – especially if we’re white gay men. However, the rest of our community, especially those of us who are disabled, are still barely visible in schools or in the media.Since 2017, we’ve seen museums who have made a supreme effort to recognise the 50-year anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality and begin to make their exhibitions more inclusive. But there’s a long way to go before the full diversity of our community is represented.