Showing 15 results

Authority record
Zamimass
Corporate body · 1990-c.1998

Zamimass was a radical Black lesbian collective which explicitly aligned itself with socialist politics and intersectional freedom struggles. The group began in December 1990 when three Black lesbians organised Zami Love Day, an alternative celebration to Christmas Day featuring poetry readings, music, and a communal meal. Following this, Zamimass coordinated community actions, creative and cultural events, and a regular newsletter, as well as printing posters and other ephemera. From 1991 onward they met regularly at Camden Lesbian Centre, until the space closed around 1995; after this point, they apparently continued some of their activities before winding down in the late 1990s. The collective's manifesta, a copy of which can be found in the Camden Archive, sets out their vision for working towards liberation along lines of class, race, dis/ability, sexuality, gender, and education.

DAHLING
Corporate body · c.1990s

DAHLING was a social group for D/deaf, HoH and hearing lesbians. They held regular socials and planning meetings at Camden Lesbian Centre in the early to mid 1990s.

Camden Lesbian Working Group
Corporate body · c.1980-1982

Camden Lesbian Working Group was a previous incarnation of the Camden Lesbian Centre Project (in itself a previous incarnation of Camden Lesbian Centre & Black Lesbian Group). The group was formed at Kentish Town Women's Workshop around the late 1970s or 1980, and they were originally named the Kentish Town Lesbian Group.

When Camden Council Women's Committee was established sin 1982, they adopted the group as a subcommittee and it became Camden Lesbian Working Group. Later that year, the group was again renamed, this time, with a name that would endure for longer: Camden Lesbian Centre Project (CLCP). As CLCP, the group successfully applied for Council funding, coordinated meetings and events, and began looking for premises to establish a physical centre for the local lesbian community.

In 1985 CLCP merged with the Black Lesbian Group, thus establishing Camden Lesbian Centre and Black Lesbian Group (CLCBLG). CLCBLG would secure premises at 54-56 Phoenix Road in February 1986; the Centre opened on 31 October 1987, and closed in late 1995/early 1996.

Corporate body · 1980-c.1998

The International Lesbian Information Service (ILIS) was international organisation which aimed to foster and promote lesbian organising internationally. It was founded by ILGA in 1980, becoming an independent organisation in 1981. ILIS organised several conferences and published a quarterly newsletter. In Shelley Anderson's 'Lesbian rights are human rights!' manifesta (1995), she lays out ILIS's five demands as follows:
'1. We have the unconditional right to control our own bodies.

  1. We have a right to education that is not sexist or heterosexist and which includes positive information about lesbian lifestyle.
  2. We need the right to self-organisation.
  3. All governments must repeal legislation which criminalizes us or discriminates against us.
  4. Therefore, all governments must pass human rights legislation to protect individuals against discrimination based on color, class, creed, sex and sexual preference.'
Older Lesbian Network
Corporate body · 1984-

The Older Lesbian Network (OLN) meets socially in London, with other regional groups meeting and self-organising in Birmingham, Nottingham, Southampton and elsewhere. The OLN was established in 1984, and from the late 1980s onward, they held frequent meetings at Camden Lesbian Centre, 54-56 Phoenix Road.

Corporate body · 1985-2016

Project for Advice, Counselling and Education (PACE) was a London-based charity promoting the health and wellbeing of LGBT people, through the provision of free or low-cost counselling, therapy, groupwork, advocacy, youthwork, employment and other services. Established in 1985, PACE became a vital support network for many living in London and beyond - particularly in the context of Section 28, the homophobic law prohibiting the 'promotion of homosexuality'. PACE dissembled in 2016.

Corporate body · 1991-late 1990s?

Established in 1991, the Lesbian Youth Support Information Service (LYSIS) provided support to young lesbians in four main ways: correspondence counselling; telephone counselling; peer support; and information. LYSIS was part of an umbrella organisation, the Lesbian Information Service (LIS), which provided indirect support for young lesbians including publishing, education and training, projects and campaigning.

LesBeWell
Corporate body · 1994-c.1998

LesBeWell was established in March 1994 by a group of lesbian feminists including public health worker Gudrun Limbrick. The core team comprised around 10-12 women, and together they produced a regular lesbian health newsletter called Dykenosis, distributed at LGBT venues and women's spaces.

The collective also organised two conferences on lesbian health in 1995 and 1996, both of which were held in Birmingham. Toward the end of their life, they undertook a lesbian health audit which surveyed over 300 women; the results were not published until 2008, around a decade after LesBeWell's dissolution.

City Limits
Corporate body · 1981-1993

City Limits was an alternative culture and event listings magazine for London, published weekly. It was founded by former Time Out staff writers as a co-operative, after TO owner Tony Elliott refused to adopt co-operative working principles. City Limits initially took a vocally radical feminist stance, though later investors tried to rebrand the title as a women's lifestyle magazine.

Capital Gay
Corporate body · 1981-1995

Capital Gay was a free, weekly London newspaper established by Graham McKerrow and Michael Mason. It was priced at 20p when first published but became free six months later, and went on to be Britain's longest-running free gay newspaper. It was initially distributed only in London but was later also distributed in Brighton. Its readership eventually grew to around 20,000.