'In all of our richness and variety'

There are two images I can't get out of  my head.

One is of the bloodied faces of two women on a bus in London, attacked because they refused to kiss in front of a group of young men.

The other is of the bloodied face of Anne Lister in the BBC series Gentleman Jack, attacked as a warning because she is the lover of Ann Walker.

I don't feel safe any more. I don't feel safe to hold hands with my girlfriend, I don't feel safe to show that we're more than just friends. I feel slightly safer in my home town than I would anywhere else but even there I will think twice about holding hands or kissing under the gaze of a group of young men.

Why should I feel like this? I am not harming anyone, I am just expressing my inner feelings and wishes. I am not here for the entertainment of others or as a threat to the established order, I am just who I am, loving who I do. And I am privileged. I live in a liberal town on the south coast of England. And I am scared, angry, sad. What about those in other cities, other countries?

Earlier in the episode, Anne made a passionate defence of her own sexuality and identity, some of the words of which came from the diaries of the real Anne Lister (1791-1840), sometimes known as the first modern lesbian.

She said, 'I love and only love the fairer sex. My heart revolts from any other love from this. These feelings haven't wavered or deviated since childhood. I was born like this and I act as my God-given nature dictates. If I were to lie with a man, surely that would be unnatural, surely that would be against God, who made us, every one of us, in all of our richness and variety.'

I will take that statement as my hope and as my clarion call, I will rally behind it and I will let it be heard. 'In all of our richness and variety'. There is nothing wrong with me, nothing to be ashamed of, and I hope, nothing to fear.

What can we do? In one way, we need to carry on behaving as we always do, if it is safe to do so. And if that is too hard or too dangerous, then we can try to speak out in ways that are safe. Use social media, use conversations, don't hide who we are at work, where we live, in our families and friendship groups.

And if that is not safe, then we can stand together, at Pride events, in our unions and in organisations that campaign against violence and support those affected.

And in our hearts, be as we are, and come out into the world a little at a time, because small steps are OK too. We can self affirm that we, and others, are perfect as we are, and in a broken world, love is never unnatural, love is to be celebrated and cared for.

'There's a lot of people's rights at risk, and people's basic safety is at risk, and so I want people to feel emboldened to stand up to the same people who feel emboldened by the right wing....I want people to take away that they should stand up for themselves and stand up for each other.' Chris, https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/uk/victims-of-homophobic-attack-on-london-bus-speak-out-1.3919656

“Monday 29 January 1821 [Halifax]

I love and only love the fairer sex and thus beloved by them in turn, my heart revolts from any love but theirs.” 
― Anne Lister



http://www.galop.org.uk/

https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/discrimination/lgbt-rights/

https://www.petertatchellfoundation.org/

https://tvtonight.com.au/2019/06/tales-of-the-city-cast-read-armistead-maupins-coming-out-letter.html