Pod Academy

If you have seen the film, Pride, about the involvement of lesbian and gay activists in the UK miners' strike of the 1980s - or even if you haven't - you will find this discussion that took place at Birkbeck, University  of London, hosted by  BiGS (Birkbeck Gender & Sexuality) and The Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities  fascinating. The event was called Pits and Perverts Revisited, a reference to the benefit ball organised by LGSM (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners), at which the line up included Bronski Beat. The discussion starts with the making of the film and goes on to look at the politics of the Thatcher era when, as Mike Jackson says, you had to be a "very brave person indeed" to declare your homosexuality.  It explores the legacy of the Miners strike and the relevance of LGSM to today. The first section brings together Mike Jackson and Sian James MP, both active in the strike and featured in Pride.  It is chaired by Daniel Monk. In the second part of the event,Diarmaid Kelliher of Glasgow