Queer Looks at the Museum

The Queer Looks exhibition at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery opened at the end of June 2018. I was a late entrant into the show when a friend Charles was unable to locate his Brighton Plus Area Action Against ‘The Clause’ 1988 t-shirt, and I was contacted to provide mine as a replacement.

It turned out that the museum actually wanted an outfit that had been worn in political protests rather than a single t-shirt, so it ended up being a collection of items I had to provide.

It was a bit of a uniform for many of us to be honest: baggy jeans with turn ups (80s style) held up by a belt, a suit jacket from a charity shop customised with assorted badges worn over a slogan t-shirt, and topped off with sturdy boots or shoes. It was cheap, practical and each item was easy to replace. It also gave us a bit of a gang look, while leaving room for freedom of expression.

Starting with the t-shirt, that was designed by Edwina in her flat on Eastern Road. There were a number of us in the ‘art’ group, trying to provide visuals for the campaign against ‘The Clause’ aka Clause / Section 28. The graphic represented someone looking through your letterbox: watching and judging your life and behaviour. Below that are printed the words The Right to Love, and a pink triangle.

I made the QUEER brooch myself from a hat pin and some alphabet beads from the Bead Shop. Yes, Brighton used to have a shop that only sold beads.

The most unusual and impractical item in this outfit is the hollow glass pink triangle neck piece, purchased on a cheap trip to New York in the early 90s. That was saved for best in case it got broken. Badges are as follows:

• Stuff clause 25 – the clause changed name a couple of times when the Local Government Act was still in its Bill stage, so this was quite an early badge.
• Artists Against Rampant Government Homophobia: AARGH! I didn’t know it at the time, I just liked the badge, but it came from an anthology of the same name published in protest against Section 28.
• My large enamel pink triangle, again usually saved for best because it wasn’t that cheap and I didn’t want to lose it. I think I bought it at Gay’s The Word bookshop in London.
• Stop The Clause badge – I think everyone had one of these, it made sense whatever number the clause had changed to.
• Defy Section 28 – purchased, obviously, after the act had become law.

The outfit would usually have been finished with Dr Marten boots or in my case, Monkey boots. I don’t know why but I loved them and wore them to death, which explains why this outfit has no footwear with it. Sorry.

You will find the Queer Looks exhibition in the Fashion & Style gallery at Brighton Museum.