- Hello, as you can probably tell
by the title of this video,
this is something a little bit different today.
A couple of months ago,
I went out to sunny, summery London
to a park to find out what complete strangers knew
about LGBT history.
So this is how it worked.
I showed them this timeline that was from 1960 to 2019.
And then I gave them a series of events
or laws passing, things of an importance to LGBT history,
and got them to pin them on the timeline
where they thought it happened.
Once they pinned all the events on the timeline,
I then revealed to them what years
these things had actually happened.
I've left a list in the description
of all the different events we talk about.
I thought it'd be kind of interesting,
if you wanted to, to copy and paste it
into the comments and guess before watching this video
all the way through, what year each of those events
were likely to have taken place.
And then at the end of the video,
see how close you were.
Now for disclosure, this is not
the kind of talking to people on the street video
which is trying to humiliate people
or make them look bad about not knowing
about things that they should definitely know about.
Although I wish that a lot more people knew
about LGBT history,
there are even some LGBT people in this video
who didn't know a lot of these dates.
These aren't things that we've been taught.
But I'm gonna talk a little bit more
about that at the end of the video.
For now, let's see how much they knew.
- I'd like to think I know some things,
but this might be quite revealing.
- I think I can do this.
I think I can do this.
- I've got a pride wrist strap
and a Spice Girls tee shirt,
so if I really mess this up--
- A hundred percent the title is going to be,
idiots in park don't know anything.
- When were the Stonewall riots?
- Ah...
- Okay, that's an easy one,
because it was literally the 50th anniversary
a few days ago,
so that happened in 1969.
- I'm gonna go here.
- In 1980?
- 1980.
- Mm, 70s.
- So it's 50 years this year, isn't it?
So...
(whispering)
- 70?
- 70s.
- Um.
- Here.
Round there.
- I cannot do maths. (laughs)
- Is that a complete guess?
- No, I reckon it's right on there.
- So yeah.
- Yeah. (laughter)
- That's a guess!
- I want to say this.
- When was homosexuality decriminalised in the UK?
(whistles)
- The entire UK or just England and Wales?
- I think that was probably...
Quite recent, ah, I don't know, actually.
- I'm gonna go 1990.
- It was like there.
- No, I'm gonna go, okay.
I'm gonna go put this one 1970.
- It was around 1980, 'cause I know it just happened
before I was born.
- Like, before.
- That's 60.
- 80s.
- Oh, really?
- No actually, I think it was closer to 1990.
- Mm, 90s.
- I have no idea.
- 70s.
(laughter)
- I literally gave a lecture on gay history
not that long ago at work
and if I kind of forget some of this,
it's kind of like,
yeah. (laughter)
- When did it become illegal to discriminate
in the UK workplaces on the basis of sexuality?
- Again, I think because of Northern Ireland,
that was close I think to about the 2000 mark.
- I think probably here.
- I'm gonna say somewhere around here.
- Right, thinking like here.
Yeah.
- Probably quite late.
- Yeah, probably quite recently.
- I'm gonna also say 1990, but now I've used that one,
so I'm gonna have to say 2000, but--
- I think it's 2000.
- When did it become illegal to discriminate
in UK workplaces on the basis of being transgender?
- (sucks in air) Oh, ah, oh actually, hmm.
That's--
- That was not that long ago, I think.
- Oh wait, I think that--
- Has this, maybe this might be later.
- Should we move that one up,
and then put trans closer to 2010?
- Okay, I think this'll be more recent.
- 2015 I think.
It was very recent and shamefully so.
- Hmm.
This is new.
- Ah, I'm gonna say 2010, but that doesn't feel right.
- Oh, it might even be as recent as this.
- Somewhere like here, possibly?
This is all guesswork, by the way.
- Oh, I dunno!
Oh, I'm gonna go there.
- Let's get out here.
All right.
- When was the age of consent equalised to 16
for all sexualities?
- So you're implying that there was a time
where it was different?
- Oh, I'm gonna say 1960.
- Again, thanks to Northern Ireland--
- It was somewhere, I think it might be in the late 90s?
- Age of consent's gonna be between 1980 and 1990.
- I think that's, I'm gonna put this 2000s.
- Yeah, I was gonna say here.
- When do we say it was legal?
- 2002 rings a bell.
'Cause I was about the age of consent
when it was changed.
- When did equal marriage become legal in the UK?
- That's 2010, right?
- Possibly 2016?
- No, it was, it was 2010!
- Well, it hasn't happened yet, so.
- That was kind of here.
- Yeah, but we're talking about not civil partnership,
we're talking about legal right.
When it could, when you get married.
No, they're different, they're different.
- I thought 2010.
- 2012, right?
- Ooh, specific!
- I know David Cameron did it.
- I think it's around about here, mm.
- I'm gonna put that there.
I think that's 2016.
- What year were gay and bisexual men
freely allowed to donate blood?
- Cool.
- Oh.
- You'd made that.
- I wouldn't, I've never donated it.
I tried it years and years and years ago.
- Again, it's not.
- I don't think that's legal yet.
- Mm, that is a good question.
- Is that a trick question?
- Donate blood.
- Or is it?
- No, after that, I say.
- It's really, really new.
- I'd say you're--
- I would say around here.
- I think that might be...
- Somewhere like 1993, maybe?
I don't know.
- Kind of here.
- I'm gonna say not yet.
This is a trick question.
- Do you want to do it now.
- I'm sorry, sorry, that's your job.
(laughter)
- What year did the UK government
lift the ban on lesbians and gay men
serving in the armed forces?
- It's gonna be between 2010--
- Shut up!
- I'm really liking this teamwork.
- I think that could be more like here.
- What did you say, I have no idea about this.
- I think that's, I think, yeah.
I specifically think that's quite recent.
- It was back in the 90s for sure.
- '97 rings a bell for that.
- Yeah, get that there.
- It's early, but they haven't--
- I think it's around here.
Yeah.
Yeah, I do.
- It was around the time of year,
a lot of the stuff was happening
I think under the Labour government.
I'm gonna say about '98.
- I'm gonna say maybe somewhere around here?
Like, 2009, 2010?
- Section 28 was part of the law
put into place that prohibited
the promotion of homosexuality
as a pretended family relationship.
Essentially preventing it from being discussed
in UK schools.
What year was Section 28 repealed?
1988 was when it came in.
- Yeah, okay, So I'm gonna say
two years later maybe?
- Where do you think it got--
- So decriminalization's gotta be 90s then, surely.
- I'll hold this for you.
- So it got brought in under Thatcher.
- Tony Blair.
- Why do you know all of the prime ministers' names?
- I'd say that's probably somewhere here.
Just before 2000s.
- So that's 2012, roughly around about there.
- I think again it was around 2003, 2004?
- Around here, early 90s?
At least to mid, maybe?
- What year did the World Health Organisation
declassify being gay as a mental or behavioural illness?
- Oh.
- It was the World Health Organisation individually, yeah.
I think it was about then.
- Okay, we're gonna go a bit earlier with this one.
I think we're gonna go for--
- Oh, this is a hard one.
- Somewhere, somewhere in the 70s.
- It's one of those things
that I think should have happened ages ago,
but might be more recent.
- That must be like,
it must be here, right?
It must be in the 60s.
Surely.
Literally right at the beginning.
- I'm gonna pop it there.
And hope for the best.
- The 80s. (laughs)
- We've learned our lesson.
- I'm gonna say in the late 80s.
- I don't know.
- You should go 2010.
- No!
It's obviously I think it's before then.
- What year did the World Health Organisation
declassify being transgender as a mental
or behavioural illness?
- I'd say shortly afterwards, maybe?
- That's gonna be later.
But I think probably not until--
- Oh yeah, it's no,
definitely around--
- 90s, 2000s, maybe just here?
- The 80s as well.
- I think the 80s.
I'm standing by that.
- Maybe even here.
- Yeah, I'd say beginning, yeah.
- Yeah.
- Go nearer 2019.
- Do you think?
- This year.
Again, shamefully so.
- I think, I mean, who knows? (laughs)
- Let's just leave it.
- So at this point we had gone through
all of the events we wanted them to place on the timeline.
And now it was time for the reveal.
When were the Stonewall riots?
The answer?
1969.
The Stonewall riots, a key moment in queer history
in the States and elsewhere in the world,
happened 50 years ago this year.
- Oh!
Okay.
Is that what,
ah, okay, yeah.
- When was homosexuality decriminalised in the UK?
The answer?
1982.
It was partially decriminalised in 1967,
this was only in England and Wales.
Before this, gay and bisexual men could be imprisoned,
sentenced to hard labour, chemically castrated,
and in the 1800s and before, sentenced to death.
It was later decriminalised in Scotland in 1980,
and finally in Northern Ireland in 1982.
- Wow.
- (sucks in breath) So I was a little bit off.
A little bit off.
- Blimey, oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh, yes.
It was only partial, so wow.
- Oh, well off on that one.
- You were doing well, and then you--
- And then we moved it.
We panicked, we panicked--
- Why did we do that again?
- I can't remember why, but yeah,
it was you.
Don't blame us, don't blame us!
- It was you.
- When did it become illegal to discriminate
in UK workplaces on the basis of sexuality?
The answer?
2003.
Sexual orientation was covered
in workplace discrimination legislation
from the first of December, 2003.
- Okay, yeah.
I knew it was some point under
that first sort of Labour government that it happened, so.
- Blimey.
I was well out. (laughs)
- Really?
Ooh.
- 2003?
In the UK?
- When did it become illegal to discriminate
in UK workplaces on the basis of being transgender?
The answer?
2010.
Gender reassignment status is covered in the Equality Act
in 2010, when it became illegal to discriminate
against trans people in the workplace.
- Okay, yes, yes, yes.
I remember that now, so a little bit off that one.
- We got that one right.
- Hmm, okay.
- When was the age of consent equalised to 16
for all sexualities?
The answer?
2008.
It took until 2001 for the age of consent
to be equalised to 16 for queer men in most of the UK.
It was only lowered from 21 to 18 in 1994,
it was lowered to 16 in Northern Ireland in 2008.
- Wow, was it really that recent?
Okay, I'm gonna say this on camera,
I think I broke a few laws. (laughter)
- Age of consent, so you put that--
- 1960.
- This I think might be the most wrong
of any answers you've given.
(laughs)
It actually wasn't equalised until 2001.
- What?
- Yeah.
When did equal marriage become legal in the UK?
The answer?
It still isn't.
In most of the UK, equal marriage passed in 2013.
Before this, the only legal recognition of these couples
was in 2004 when the Civil Partnerships Act was passed.
However, equal marriage is still not legal
within the whole of the UK,
as it's still illegal in Northern Ireland.
- I know for a fact there's going to be a lot of people
that will get the gay marriage one wrong.
So a lot of people here do forget
it's still illegal in Northern Ireland.
Shocking number of people, yeah.
- What year were gay and bisexual men
freely allowed to donate blood?
The answer?
This hasn't happened yet.
Although there are no restrictions
on straight people giving blood
based on their sexual orientation,
if you're a man who has sex with men,
then you still can't donate if you've had sex
within the last three months,
essentially banning sexually active gay and bisexual men
from donating blood at all.
- Really?
- Hmm.
Not great.
- It really doesn't benefit people
that need the blood the most.
- And if somebody's straight
and can go have unprotected sex 17 times in one week
and still donate blood as if it's nothing,
if they can check for that and that's okay,
then there is zero reason why gay blood
can't be considered the same.
Zero reason.
- What year did the UK government
lift the ban on lesbians and gay men
serving in the armed forces?
The answer?
2016.
The Labour government stopped banning people
from the armed forces after the European Court
of Human Rights ruled it unlawful in 2000.
However, it wasn't until the Armed Forces Act of 2016
that it finally repealed homosexual acts
as a grounds of discharge from the armed forces.
- Okay, that was something I did not know, actually, so.
- What?
- Yep.
- Okay.
Hmm.
Interesting.
- What year was Section 28 repealed?
The answer?
2003.
The clause came into law in 1988
and wasn't repealed until 15 years later.
Although where I grew up,
the county actually created their own version of Section 28
and kept it until 2010, the year I left school.
- Oh my God.
- Isn't that incompatible with the Equalities Act?
- You would think so, wouldn't you?
That came in in 2010,
which is the reason why it had to come out.
- Great, I'm sure that's led to many, many
healthy LGBT children.
Yeah.
- What year did the World Health Organisation
declassify being gay as a mental or behavioural illness?
The answer?
1992.
- Oh!
The year of my birth?
- You put that all the way up in the 60s.
- Yes!
- That is very much wrong.
- Really?
- Didn't happen until 1992.
- Oh shut up.
- What year did the World Health Organisation
declassify being transgender
as a mental or behavioural illness?
The answer?
2019.
Only a few months ago.
- Two months?
- In 2019.
- Wow.
- Two months ago?
- Yep, earlier in 2019.
- What the...
That's crazy.
- You did pretty well.
- Yeah.
- I'm actually, I am actually impressed with ourselves,
'cause I thought we'd know nothing.
- Yeah, we didn't really, but we--
(laughter)
- We're really gonna guess it.
- I think we did pretty well, to be fair.
- Was there anything that really surprised you?
- This one.
This one really.
Massively early on, yeah.
I think this is probably the one that gets me the most.
- It was still--
- That it's still like,
all the way down there
when it should be,
I thought it was then on.
- I think that the length of time it took
for the serving in the military to actually come into place
coming in around 2000 mark, that kind of happens.
But I thought we had done that long before
Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed in America.
But the fact that it kind of took so long to become official
is kind of scary, actually.
- Well, I think generally everything
as you run through that,
there's advances there, I think it's,
everything is more recent than I had in my mind,
across the board.
- Section 28, I mean, I can't believe why
that even exists.
I mean, what was the point?
- The age of consent, I just kind of just assumed that,
I mean, that it was always going to be 16 for everyone.
No matter what your sexual preference was.
- The three months to give blood is the biggest surprise.
- Yeah, yeah, that.
- There's quite a few here that
in my optimism, I've sort of put a lot earlier
and there's quite a lot of things that happened
quite recently, which is sort of hard to believe
in many ways, and I think as somebody who,
you know, is a young member of the LGBT community,
It is strange to think that
not that long ago,
people who were just slightly older than me
were facing so much more stuff
and so much, you know, so much more,
just hardships and things,
and yeah, I feel like I've learned a lot
from you doing this,
and I also feel like a really bad gay!
- In fact, it didn't really exist,
I'm from New Zealand, and it didn't really exist
in conversation at all
until I was, you know, I came out when I was 16.
And I had to find out for myself, you know,
Googling and--
- Is there something you think
that should be taught in schools that--
- Yeah, absolutely.
It's important awareness to know
what's happened in the past for,
you know, for gay people, but also
just awareness of progression of, you know,
societies as well.
Yeah.
- Listen, thank you so much. - Oh.
- It was so great.
- Thank you.
- So this is the correct timeline.
These are just a handful of important events in our history.
But there are so many more events, stories, pioneers,
who we don't really know about.
These aren't things that we're taught in school.
There's no LGBT museum for us to visit in London,
and the lack of multi-generational spaces for queer people
means this isn't something
we can directly ask our elders about
who were there when it was happening.
I've talked about this in videos before,
but what often happens is,
queer people when they are coming into their own identity,
will start to do their own research
on this kind of stuff alone.
And what they'll find is what a lot of people
in these video found,
that actually the gains that we've had towards equality
are much more recent.
When they're researching our history,
what they're going to come across,
it's a whole lot of tragedy.
I think it's vitally important that this history
is talked about in schools, in communal places,
in spaces where people can get support if they need it.
In the description, I'm going to leave a list
of resources and groups that are helping
to keep this history alive,
and I highly recommend you check them out.
If you'd like to help support me make videos,
like this one then please consider
becoming a patron on Patreon,
I have a load of tiers and different perks
that you can get across there,
as always, I leave a link to my social media
so you can find me all over the internet.
And until I see you next time, bye.