One nation? Sexual orientation discrimination and the geography of the UK

Wednesday 14 February 2018, 6.15pm to 7.30pm

Speaker: Professor Paul Johnson, Department of Sociology

LGBT History Month

Please note this event is being held in a different venue to that advertised in the open lectures leaflet. 

In contemporary British society, many British people now tend to think about the relationship between “sexual orientation” and “geography” in respect of the different levels of treatment of people around the world. In other words, “geography” often connotes the continuing high-levels of discrimination that lesbians and gay men experience in other countries, particularly those outside of Europe and North-America. However, as Paul Johnson explores in his talk, geography has often been, and still remains, central to the discrimination that British people suffer on the grounds of sexual orientation at home in the UK. By thinking about how geography has underpinned sexual orientation discrimination historically (for example, in relation to the legal regulation of same-sex sexual acts from the 16th century onwards) and at the present time (for example, in relation to same-sex marriage), Paul demonstrates that the geography of the UK is a key aspect of the discrimination that lesbians and gay men have endured.

Other lectures in this series include:

• Religious marriage of same-sex couples in England and Wales

Location: Room P/T/006, Physics

Admission: is by free ticket only. Please book below.