Above: Peter Tatchell January 20th 2017 – Film Screening: ‘Do I Sound Gay?’ ‘Do I Sound Gay?’ is a 2014 American documentary film by David Thorpe, which explores the existence and accuracy of stereotypes about the speech patterns of gay men, and the ways in which one's degree of conformity to the stereotype can contribute to internalized homophobia. February 17th 2017 – ‘Exam Time!’ A quiz to mark LGBT History Month. Produced in association with the AHS - Atheist, Humanist and Secular Students. Questions set by LGBT Humanists and AHS! March 24th 2017 – Faith to Faithless: LGBT Apostates A panel discussion led by apostasy group Faith to Faithless. LGBT apostates discussed the impact of leaving a faith community, and how this is affected by issues of sexuality. Forthcoming… April 21st 2017 – Brexit and Trump: Is Humanism Doomed? An increase in racist attacks, jingoistic cries of war with Spain, Mexican border walls, defunding of vital welfare services and religion enjoying a resurgence of government focus both here and abroad. Are we witnessing the slow and irreversible death of Humanism? Join us for a lively discussion followed by our usual monthly visit to the pub. Speakers: Andrew Boff AM, Conservative London Assembly Member Chris Ward, Secretary, LGBT Humanists Sian Berry AM, Green Party London Assembly Member Tom Copley AM, Labour Party London Assembly Member May 19th 2017 – AGM + Guest speaker Marek Kukula Marek is Public Astronomer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory. PRIDE IN LONDON 2016 LGBT Humanists members marched as part of the annual ‘Pride in London’ event on the 25 June. We were placed towards the back of the parade this year, resulting in a rather late set off from the starting point. But once we got going – showing off our newly branded t-shirts and banners – large crowds were very vocal in their support as we passed by!
ANNUAL LUNCH 2016 – WITH GUEST SPEAKE SHAPPI KHORSANDI Above: The Committee with guest speaker Shappi Khorsandi On December the 12th we held our annual lunch at Browns Courtrooms in London’s Covent Garden. This year’s special guest was Shappi Khorsandi - President of the BHA. Shappi was a superb speaker - particularly impressing with a detailed knowledge of Horatio Nelson - expertly wielded in an takedown of the Daily Mail's criticism of the same-sex themed traffic lights in Trafalgar Square! We also held our usual fundraising raffle, with prizes this year including ‘Queerlesque’ classes and tickets for Above the Stag Theatre in Vauxhall. OTHER ACTIVITIES On the weekend of June 11th we sent a team to run a stall at the BHA annual conference, where they asked people to pose for photos with messages about why they were Humanists. Participants included Peter Tatchell. Above: Peter Tatchell lets us know why he’s a Humanist. On the weekend of July 29-31 Committee members Chris Ward and Josh Gladwin represented LGBT Humanists at the European Humanist Youth Days in Utrecht, The Netherlands. On November 10th Chair Richard Unwin gave a talk on LGBT Humanism at a special edition of the monthly community event ‘Let’s Talk About Gay Sex and Drugs’ at Ku Bar in Soho. On November 26th we ran an LGBT Humanists stall at the BHA 20 Celebration evening at Conway Hall. Above: Our stall at the BHA 20 celebration. On December 13th Chris Ward (Secretary) and Josh Gladwin (Finance Officer & Newsletter Editor) visited the Guildford & Woking Humanists to speak about LGBT Humanists and our work. On Saturday 21st January 2017 we were delighted to attend the inaugural BHA Sections Summit – a day of workshops, talks, and networking – superbly organised by Teddy Prout. MEDIA