London, 16th February 2011 - 6.30pm
Bloomsbury Room of University of London's Canterbury Hall.
Is the end of gay conceivable? Is gay 'just a phase', not for individuals but for society?
Adam Knowles, Chair of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association, talked to the Central London Humanist Group arguing that it could be, but not until the insight offered by queer culture has been taken up.
Adam presented the Central London Humanist Group with an argument that a path toward this vision is available.
Mapping a broad historical view of gay from ignored to illegal through tolerated to integrated, his talk outlines some of the possibilities for the future and puts the case for a modern conception of human sexuality. What happens in the future is up to all of us: gay, straight or otherwise.
This talk comes at a poignant time as we grieve the loss of David Kato, the gay human rights campaigner who was brutally murdered in Uganda. The homophobia displayed even at his own funeral acts as a reminder that the fight for equal human rights across the world is far from over. [ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/28/gay-activist-david-kato-funeral ]
Marco Tranchino, CLHG committee member and human rights activist, Chaired the event.
Adam spoke for about 40 minutes and audience Q&A followed.
Discussion inevitably followed in "The Lord John Russell", a pub down the road from the venue.
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About the speaker
Adam Knowles is Chair of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association, a voluntary group founded in 1979 that promotes LGBT rights as an important component of justice and Humanism as a worldview important to our lives in the 21st century. Elected as Chair in January 2010, Adam's mission is to expand the organisation's membership and "to fight the remaining bastions of homophobia in the UK and the more explicit problems in Europe and elsewhere."
Adam is an active member in the British Humanist Association and supports secular campaigns, most recently the Protest the Pope Campaign which resulted in 20,000 people marching through London in protest of the Pope's state-funded visit. Recent media work includes BBC TV and Five Live.
He grew up in Manchester, studied International Relations and works in digital marketing.
http://www.galha.org
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About the Chair
Marco Tranchino joined the Central London Humanist Group (CLHG) in 2008 after several years of involvement with gay rights activists and secularist groups in Rome.
He is the driving force behind the annual London for a Secular Europe march, which sees its fourth year in London in 2011, and the London Kiss & Hug-in Against Homophobia & Transphobia protest outside of Parliament.
Marco represented the CLHG on the committee of the Protest the Pope Campaign, working with Adam and partners to deliver a clear message to the Vatican and British government on the importance of secularism.
http://www.humanism.org.uk/meet-up/events/view/90
http://www.protest-the-pope.org.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gOVN2uEm8Q
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Background reading
Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association: http://www.galha.org
The BHA's campaign for same sex marriage: http://www.humanism.org.uk/campaigns/marriage-laws/same-sex-marriage
The Equal Love campaign: http://www.equallove.org.uk
Peter Tatchell's blog: http://www.petertatchell.net/religion/index.htm
IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia): http://www.dayagainsthomophobia.org
Kiss-in for IDAHO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2ca_FUJIHI
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right 2 love : defending human rights from religious interference (part 1 of 2)by LondonHumanistGroup192 views
Really enjoyed that speach, God bless you mr Knowles!
AlohaSurfer11 1 year ago