Gay Liberation – The Trailblazers of the Pride Movement

The Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was founded in the wake of the Stonewall Riots in New York and their first meeting was held on 13th October 1970 at the London School of Economics. Their manifesto in 1971 set out the key demands and principles of the GLF and challenged gay people to come out and be visible, while also exploring the means by which they were oppressed by society.

For the GLF, gay liberation was not only about law reform, it was about a revolutionary change in society, and they went on to hold some of the most anarchic and trailblazing protests in British history, including disrupting the launch of the Christian family values campaign Festival of Light with stink bombs, a lesbian kiss-in and male nuns in drag.

On a windy afternoon in October 1972, a small group of people gathered between the piers on Brighton seafront for a ‘Gay Day’. There were roughly 20 of them with an assortment of banners, badges and a great deal of courage. This was the Sussex Gay Liberation Front (SGLF) and they were there to make a point.

Just under a year later the SGLF organised a bigger event and ‘Gay Pride Week’ was born. Although less than 20 people attended the march through Brighton, they handed out 2,000 leaflets as they went.