Gay-Friendly Brighton ~ A Culture of Freedom for All ~ by Janet Cameron

Float, Pride 2009 ~ Image: Gareth Cameron

A look at the evolution of the Pride Parade in Brighton, from its activist beginnings to the joyous community event it is today. 

There were nine Pride events in Brighton during the 1990s. The earlier ‘Gay Prides’ were not the colourful celebration we know today, but more like demonstrations that were beset by problems, practical, financial and political. Newspaper reports and readers’ letters revealed a level of intolerance that must have been overwhelming for the gay and gay-friendly participants.

The 1991 event was actually an angry protest against Section 28, which was an amendment to the United Kingdom’s Local Government Act stating that a Local Authority ‘shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality.’ It caused teachers to be afraid to counsel about gay issues for fear of losing state funding. LGBT support groups closed across the UK. Section 28 was repealed in Scotland on 21 June 2000 and in the rest of UK on 18 November 2003.