Virtual panel discussion organized by Q+ Network (University of Westminster) for LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
In June 1972, thousands of LGBTQ+ people took the streets in Hyde Park to demand their civil rights in London’s first Pride march. Now, 50 years on, Pride has not only become increasingly visible but has also transformed tremendously. Pride is becoming part of the landscape in various countries, often marked by contestation and precarity.
This virtual panel discussion hosted by Q+ Network at the University of Westminster will reflect on the politics of Pride between celebration and protest. Has Pride become a tool of domestication? How does queer liberation fit within contemporary Pride events? How do we as a queer community engage with the commercialisation of our identities, the corporate sponsorship of Pride parades and very visible efforts to incorporate LGBTQ rights for homonationalist purposes? Should radical queers give up or take back Pride? What are the opportunities, and what are the challenges, facing queer communities today? Should Pride be a protest, a celebration, or something else?
This event is open to the public. We welcome anyone and everyone to join us for this exciting and timely conversation
About the Q+ Network
Q+ Network is a group which lobbies for equity and promotes diversity and inclusivity for colleagues at Westminster. We provide a space and voice for colleagues across the University for those from minority sexualities and genders.
About the speakers
Pippa Catterall
Pippa Catterall is Professor of History and Policy at the University of Westminster. She is the Chair of AIDS Memory UK and of the George Lansbury Memorial Trust and is a board member at the Heritage of London Trust. She has written extensively on British and international history and has been editor of National Identities since she co-founded this journal in 1999. Her current research focuses on safety, representation and inclusion in public space. In 2021 she co-authored with Dr Ammar Azzouz a report and film on Queering Public Space for Arup and has subsequently published widely on this and related subjects such as inclusive planning and design. As a trans woman, Pippa comments regularly in the media on LGBTQ+ and other contemporary issues.
Olimpia Burchiellaro
Olimpia Burchiellaro (she/her) is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Relations, School of Social Sciences, at the University of Westminster. Her primary research interests are in gender/sexuality, anthropology, politics, ethnography and queer theory. She is currently working on a project exploring the complicities and resistances between global corporations and local activists in Kenya, Argentina and Brazil. A member of the Gender and Sexuality Study Group at the Centre for the Study of Democracy and the Decolonizing Steering Group, her work is published in journals including Gender, Work & Organization and Organization Studies.
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore (he/him) is Associate Head of College (Education and Students) in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Dr Moore's research explores the geopolitical and ethical dimensions of international political theory, especially as it relates to the political thought of Carl Schmitt. With an increasing focus on theories of international security, recent publications have been concerned with the philosophical foundations of contemporary security debates and sovereignty claims within international discourse.
Francis Ray White
Francis Ray White (they/them) is a Reader in Sociology in the School of Social Sciences. They teach mostly gender, sexuality and body studies, and co-lead the Westminster Elective LGBTQ Studies module. Francis is currently working on research projects on fat/trans embodiment, trans pregnancy and the experiences of non-binary people in HE. Their previous research has been published in journals and books including Sexualities, Somatechnics and The Routledge International Handbook of Fat Studies. Francis is also a volunteer and occasional public speaker for the charity Gendered Intelligence.
Professor Dibyesh Anand
Professor Dibyesh Anand (he/him/they/them) is the Head of the School of Social Sciences at the University of Westminster, London and a professor of international relations. He is the author of monographs "Geopolitical Exotica: Tibet in Western Imagination” and “Hindu Nationalism in India and the Politics of Fear” and has spoken about, and published on, varied topics including Tibet, China, China-India border dispute, Hindu nationalism in India, Islamophobia, and conflict in Kashmir. He identifies as queer in personal and political terms.
Twitter: @dibyeshanand
Daniel Conway
Daniel Conway is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Westminster, London. His work is situated at the intersection of Feminist International Relations, political sociology and queer theory, focusing on the politics of LGBTQ+ rights and activism. He held a 2018-19 Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship studying 'The Global Politics of Pride: LGBTQ+ Activism, Assimilation and Resistance', and conducted comparative fieldwork on LGBTQ+ Pride events across Africa, Asia and North America.
Dan Dembry-Edwards
Dan Dembry-Edwards is a queer PhD student and activist working within the Law School, researching the intersections between Transgender healthcare rights and the law.
Eduardo Lees
Eduardo Lees is the Head of Global Mobility and Study Abroad at the University of Westminster with over 13 years of experience of developing and delivering international opportunities around the world. He identifies as somewhere between and inclusive of bisexual and queer.
