Bibliography - Social and family topics: LGBT
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Daring Hearts: Lesbian and Gay Lives of '50s and '60s Brighton, by Brighton Ourstory Project, published 1992 (124 pp., Brighton: QueenSpark Books, ISBN-10: 0904733319 & ISBN-13: 9780904733310) accessible at: The Keep archive of QueenSpark Books & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

This is a collection of life stories of people who are members of the gay and lesbian community in the Brighton area. The book is based on taped interviews with forty lesbian and gay men who spoke openly about their lives in and around Brighton.
In the fifties and sixties the town enjoyed a national reputation as a haven for gay people and it was viewed as a relatively tolerant place for people to visit and live. Lesbians and gay men came from all over Britain for holidays and to settle down. Brighton was considered a type of 'Eldorado', a promised land, and this tradition remains today, where its thriving gay community is one of the largest in the country, outside London.

Playing the System: The Sussex MA, and an Anxiety, by Alan Sinfield, published 1994 in Radical Teacher (article, pp.20-22)

A one year MA course in gay and lesbian studies at the University of Sussex was attacked by Conservative MPs.

Painting it Pink!: Homes and Haunts of Creative Talents of Queer Interest in Brighton and Hove, by Andrew Le Flohic, published 1 December 1996 (15 pp., Brighton: Home Made Books, ISBN-10: 095287010X & ISBN-13: 9780952870104) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries

A Survey of the Use and Information Needs of Users of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Collection of Brighton and Hove Libraries, by M. Norman, published 12 January 1999 in Journal of Librarianship and Information Science (vol. 31, no. 4, article, pp.188-196)

Just take your frock off: a lesbian life, by Barbara Bell, published 7 June 1999 (192 pp., Brighton: Ourstory Books, ISBN-10: 0953588009 & ISBN-13: 9780953588008) accessible at: British Library

On-and-offline community spaces: Brighton's lesbian and gay internet, by Elizabeth H. Bassett, 2005 at University of Brighton (Ph.D. thesis)

This thesis presents research into the development and deployment of web sites and email facilities by members ofthe Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in Brighton, UK. It contributes to an understanding of localised and specific Internet use, asking in what ways Internet technologies are impacting community practices. The scope of the research is restricted to this localised study in order to facilitate an understanding of the relationships between actions and artefacts made in online spaces, and their counterparts in offline, localised space. An approach is taken that gives equal weighting to the analysis of social practices and structures in the offline LGBT community and to the nascent online practices. The thesis proposes four interconnected hypotheses relating to patterns of Internet usage and the relationship these bear to existing communication practices. Findings are presented from four studies. These approach the field of study from different vantage points, combining quantitative and qualitative data. The studies are linked through common considerations of three key aspects of LGBT community life: the notion of community; deployments of space; and identity politics. The research finds the LGBT community under study structured by complex interpersonal identifications and group hierarchies. Particular spaces in the city offer possibilities for actions that counter hegemonic norms. The Internet is conjectured as another possible site of resistance and an entry point to the community. Four studies present an overview of the community's Internet use, exploring the content of a selection of web sites, and the construction of a website by a social group. The majority of non-commercial, LGBT community websites in Brighton are found to be underused, and at risk of becoming unrepresentative of the extent of LGBT culture in the city. The level of Internet use by members of the LGBT community in Brighton is. however, high, with users seeking information and social contact via nationally based websites and through email.

A party with politics? (Re)making LGBTQ Pride spaces in Dublin and Brighton, by Kath Browne, published February 2007 in Social & Cultural Geography (vol. 8, no. 1, article, pp.63-87)

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and unsure (LGBTU) youth research project: views and experiences of young people living in West Sussex, by Nigel Sherriff and R. Pope, published 2008 in Education and Health (vol. 26, no. 4, article, pp.63-66)

Queerstories in Brighton, by Alan Sinfield, published 2009 in New Formations (no. 67, article, pp.110-119)

Discusses a range of books of gay and lesbian testimonies, focusing on their framing in archival and published form - an analysis which reveals some of the dilemmas and achievements which highlight the fault lines of the genre. Sinfield also interviews people from Ourstory in Brighton.

LGBT Brighton and Hove, by Janet Cameron, published 30 November 2009 (128 pp., Stroud: Amberley Publishing, ISBN-10: 1848687176 & ISBN-13: 9781848687172) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

LGBT Brighton & Hove is an exploration of the development of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community from its earliest accessible beginnings. As well as the personal memories and experience of local LGBT people, the book includes accounts from the History Centre's comprehensive archives while literature is used to inform a representative sample of stories of the area's prominent LGBT writers, artists, musicians and philanthropists from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to the present day. There are accounts of prominent court cases, of wartime, and of mid and late twentieth century events, memories and personal experience. The book shows how LGBT people strove to 'make change happen' both individually and through forming organisations for mutual support and with specific aims. Later chapters draw on the personal stories of local people, including 'Coming Out', 'Civil Marriages' and the progress of 'Brighton Pride' from its difficult, political beginnings in the early nineties, to the celebration of today, attracting both goodwill and visitors from all over the world. There is still some way to go for LGBT people and the issues that still affect them - even in Brighton and Hove - but this book is an encouraging reflection on the change and progress that has already been achieved.

There's No Point in Doing Research if No One Wants to Listen': Identifying LGBT Needs and Effecting 'Positive Social Change' for LGBT People in Brighton and Hove, by K. Browne, L. Bakshi, J. Lim, P. Beresford and S. Carr, published 2012 in Research highlights in social work (issue 55, article, pp.205-225)

Brighton Trans*formed, published 2014 (95 pp., Brighton: QueenSpark Books, ISBN-10: 0904733939 & ISBN-13: 9780904733938) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508715] & The Keep archive of QueenSpark Books & West Sussex Libraries

Trans identities are often neglected, re-written or even erased from formal histories. Brighton Trans*formed features, in their own words, the rich variety of Trans lives in Brighton & Hove today; it preserves previously untold stories for future generations, and is a much-needed exploration into the diversity of gender expression within the city.
It's contributors ranged from 18 to 81 years old with very different life experiences. All of their testimonies have in common an absolute honesty and openness: contributors shared their joys and tragedies; adversities faced, and a display of strength and resolve to be themselves.

In the shadow of the gay capital : lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans equalities in 'rural' and 'non-urban' East Sussex, by Nick McGlynn, 2014 at University of Brighton (Ph.D. thesis)   View Online

The Equality Act 2010 ended a decade of legislation addressing discrimination and social exclusion on the basis of gender or sexual difference. This was followed by the economic and social climate of 'austerity' under the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government. I bring together social policy scholars who have critically interrogated austerity and the Conservative 'Big Society', with geographers of sexualities who have challenged rural imaginaries of sexual and gendered oppression. Using poststructural approaches to space, sexuality, the state and society, I understand such phenomena to be fluid, porous and co-constitutive, and aim to explore public sector/community partnership work for LGBT equalities in rural and non-urban areas.

Queer in Brighton, edited by Maria Jastrzebska and Anthont Luvera, published 26 February 2014 (271 pp., Brighton: New Writing South, ISBN-10: 0992826004 & ISBN-13: 9780992826000) accessible at: British Library

Delay in disclosure about sexual orientation to health-care professionals among men who have sex with men in Brighton, UK: a qualitative analysis, by Tom Nadarzynski, M.Sc., Prof Helen Smith, Ph.D., Daniel Richardson, F.R.C.P., Anja Berglund, Sarah Hurst and Carrie Llewellyn, published November 2015 in The Lancet (vol. 386, article)   View Online

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at risk of poor sexual health and can benefit from preventive health interventions, such as vaccination and screening. For these interventions to be most effective, it is crucial that men can openly discuss same-sex sexual behaviours with health-care professionals at the beginning of their sexual activity. This study aimed to explore the barriers and facilitators to disclosure of sexual orientation among MSM.

Ordinary in Brighton? LGBT, activisms and the city, by Larry Knopp, published 2016 in Social & Cultural Geography (article, pp.147-148) accessible at: British Library

Communicating in the local: digital communications technology use in Brighton's gay pub scene, by Alan D'Aiello, 2016 at Sussex University (Ph.D. thesis)   View Online

This thesis is an analysis of the use and impact of digital communication technology (DCT) in the Gay pub scene in the Kemptown neighborhood of Brighton, East Sussex, UK. The purpose of this work is twofold: to create a snapshot record of the everyday activities in pub spaces at a particular point in the neighborhood's history from the point of view of an American gay man, and to develop an understanding of the impact of digital communications technology (DCT) on the activities in these spaces by investigating the impact of DCT on the idea of 'gay space'. This analysis is broken down into three distinct areas of enquiry: the implementation of DCT in pub spaces by the landlords/owners of the space, the use of DCT by the patrons of these spaces, and an analysis of those spaces that have not directly engaged DCT, neither implementing DCT as a feature of the location, nor limiting its use within the space. This thesis utilizes participant observations, auto ethnographic observations, and interviews made over a period of two years and engages with the theoretical arguments around gay space: its history both within the broad context of UK history, and also with Brighton's special historical status as a gay centre within the UK; its current uses; and the potential for its evolution. This investigation of hof DCT is impacting on gay space also questions to what extent 'gay space' is maintaining a sense of physicality and to what extent an extension of DCT-enabled virtual spaces is altering our relationship to these spaces. The work examines the notion of nostalgia, ownership, and control of space and attempts through its focus on several locations in Kemptown to catalogue the many changes in structure, clientele, locale, and business success that these spaces have gone through in a fairly short time and to determine to what extent the use and influences of DCT has driven these changes. The project includes interviews with landlords and patrons of eight current and former venues in Kemptown and encompasses a group of three key participants in detail through a series of scheduled interviews and group discussions conducted during the duration of the project, and details their particular relationships to the spaces in Kemptown as well as their uses of DCT in these spaces. These participants act as a focal point for the research by helping to create a frame of reference within the work balancing the author's auto ethnographic analysis with the point of view of a local Brighton gay male, as well as contribute to and support the broader narrative of the vicissitudes of smaller pub venues by helping to highlight the historical changes in the pubs being looked at. The specific questions that this research sets out to answer are:

• How is digital communicative technology (DCT) affecting self defined gay spaces in Kemptown, Brighton?
• How is DCT affecting the behaviours of the patrons and owners/operators in these spaces?
• How are the owners/operators of these spaces adapting to DCT?
• Is there evidence of owners/operators conforming to Winston's theory on the suppression of disruptive potential of new and emerging media technology (1995)?
• What are the implications, challenges and opportunities presented to those spaces which are not engaging with DCT in their spaces?
• Are "gay spaces" in Kemptown still relevant with the intersection of digital and physical spaces?
• Do these spaces meet the same requirements as they have in the past?
• Does DCT have the ability on its own to maintain the relevance of a venue on its own when faced off against other pressures (such as commercial or demographic pressure)?

The conclusions reached in this thesis draw attention to the potential for DCT:

• Acting as a form of disruptive potential of new communication technologies (Winston, 1995).
• The concerns that DCT is suppressing interpersonal communications in favor of mediated discourse (Turkle, 2011, 2012, 2015).
• That automobility is creating a privatization of pub spaces, along with the creation of 'non-places' (Bull, 2004)

However, in the author's analysis, there is evidence of cohabitation, and adaptation towards DCT which is reminiscent of Winston's theory of the suppression of disruptive potential of emerging communication technology, as well as a resistance response with nostalgic overtones. The conclusions are also grounded in the larger narratives of pub culture within the UK and note the challenging culture that smaller, brewer-tied and non-tied gay venues have within these changing demographics and cultural acceptance of homosexuality in general. This research adds to the broader field of research into the adaptation of communications technology by drawing attention to the effects of DCT on both spaces and their users and also highlights their effects on a subculture.

Ordinary in Brighton? LGBT, activism and the city, by Chen Misgav, published 1 February 2016 in Gender, place and culture: a Journal of Feminist Geography (article, pp.303-305)

Perceptions of HPV and attitudes towards HPV vaccination among men who have sex with men: a qualitative analysis, by Dr Tom Nadarzynski, Ph.D., Prof Helen Smith, Ph.D., Daniel Richardson, F.R.C.P., Alex Pollard, M.A., Anja Berglund, M.B.B.S., Sarah Hurst, M.B.B.S. and Carrie Llewellyn, Ph.D., published November 2016 in The Lancet (vol. 388, article)   View Online

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at risk of genital warts and anal cancer due to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. From 2016, MSM are being targeted for HPV vaccination in the UK through sexual health settings. This study explored perceptions of HPV and HPV vaccination among MSM.