Showing 21 results

Authority record
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 · c.1989-c.1995

ONYX was a social and discussion group for Black lesbians and lesbians of colour. By its own definition, it encompassed '[a]ll lesbians descended (through one or both parents) from Africa, Asia (i.e. the Middle East to China, including the Pacific Nations) and Latin America, and lesbians descended from the original inhabitants of Australasia, North America and the islands of the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean'. The group met once or twice monthly, first at London Friend at 86 Caledonian Road (c.1989-1991) and later at Camden Lesbian Centre & Black Lesbian Group at 54-56 Phoenix Road (from 1991 onwards); discussion and publicity were led by volunteers.

Shocking Pink!
Corporate body · 1981-1982; 1987-1992

Shocking Pink! was a zine written by and for young women, with an emphasis on topics like contraception, abortion, sexuality, lesbianism, queer issues, violence against women, feminist arts and culture, skill sharing (e.g. how to form a band, a women's group etc.), racism, women's rights, politics, and more.

Corporate body · 1978-

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGBTIA, or ILGA in Europe) is an international federation of over 1,300 LGBTI+ groups from around the world. It continues to be active in campaigning for LGBTI human rights on the international human rights and civil rights scene, and regularly petitions the United Nations and governments. ILGA is represented in 140+ countries, and is accredited by the UN for NGO Ecosoc consultative status.

ILGA was founded as the International Gay Association (IGA) in August 1978, at a fringe meeting of a conference of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality held in Coventry, England, at a meeting with representatives of 10 organisations from Australia, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands and the United States. It changed its name to the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) in 1986.

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.'
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.

Corporate body · 1990-[?c.late 1990s]

Formed in 1990, Black Lesbians and Gays Against Media Homophobia (BLGAMH) was a coalition of queer Black activists including Ted Brown, the veteran GLF campaigner. The group led several campaigns against homophobia and racism in the media, including calling out the homophobic representation of lesbian and gay members of the Black community in The Voice magazine.

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 · 1981-2008

Collegamento fra le Lesbiche Italiane (roughly, the Coalition of Italian Lesbians; CLI) was a network for Italian lesbian individuals and collectives, which provided opportunities for connecting, organised seminars and conferences, and conducted and disseminated research on Italian lesbian culture. The CLI published a monthly newsletter for around 21 years, along with a raft of other publications.

In 1983, the CLI and several other Italian feminist collectives founded the Feminist Separatist Centre (CFS) in Rome. In 1986, they established the Archivi di Lesbiche Italiane (Italian Lesbian Archives; ALI), which comprised an Italian and foreign-language library, a newspaper archive, and a collection relating to Italian lesbian history and culture. In 2003, the CLI founded Archivia, an archive and library relating to women's histories. In 2008, the CLI's operations ceased and its collections were donated to Archivia.

Corporate body · c.1983-2004

Lesbian and Gay Employment Rights (LAGER) was a charity organisation which advised lesbians and gay men experiencing employment discrimination connected to their sexuality. They also conducted and published research into homophobic discrimination in the workplace and recruitment practices, including a report which quantified the forms and frequency of homophobic discrimination as it was experienced by their participants.

Funded by the Association of London Government (now London Councils), LAGER ceased to exist when its funding was rescinded in 2003.