‘No ***** in our Union!’ LGBT Student Activism at Scottish Universities, 1971-1985
This talk focuses on aspects of my current research project examining university gay and lesbian societies (gaysocs) at 5 Scottish universities between 1967 and 1987. Using a combination of oral histories and archival research, it examines how these organisations formed, and the challenges they faced from university management, staff and the wider student cohort in their attempts to advocate for LGBT students. While some universities embraced, engaged with, or encouraged the formation of gaysocs, others were steadfast in their attempts to limit the development of LGBT agency. The talk explores the complexities of student activism and how its form and focus shifted over the period, and how these shifts sometimes brought these groups into conflict not just with universities but also with homosexual law reform organisations.