On 20th November 2021, the Conservative MP Miriam Cates called on the government to investigate the ‘alarming’ dissemination of ‘extreme’ trans ‘ideology’ in British schools. 33 years after Section 28 was introduced, it is now specifically trans and non-binary people who are constructed as a danger to children. Not a thing of the past, Section 28 reverberates throughout this current iteration of the culture wars.

An exhibition now on display in Arts A draws on a previous show organised in 2018 by students in the MA module Art History’s Queer Stories and staff in the then School of History, Art History and Philosophy. The title What Section 28 Did To Me was intended to tease out the different ways in which we continue to be implicated in an event that happened thirty years ago. As a transnational, multigenerational and diverse group of 16 members of the university community, some encountered ‘Section 28’ directly in the 1980s, or indirectly through the teachers that taught them during the 1990s and early 2000s. Others had read about ‘Section 28’ in books or could relate to it in comparison with the legal persecution of homosexuality in their own countries of origin.

The exhibition documented the material and visual culture of a period that goes from the dismantling of the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1986 to the campaign to equalise the age of consent for gay sex in 1994. During these eight years, dubbed as the ‘British culture wars’, visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, illustrators and campaigners together contributed to a dramatic change of the way in which people spoke about identity in Britain. The artists in this exhibition developed a critical language to examine the intersections of gender, sexuality and race within those social institutions that were directly affected by Section 28, like the family, health and education.

What Section 28 Did To Me fostered a reflection on the long shadow of a problematic piece of legislation from the Thatcher era, and a celebration of the creativity and activism that came out of it. The exhibition served as an archive of personal and public feelings that included rage and outrage, solidarity and collaboration, fun and fabulousness. Its aim was to curate a discrete collection that explored the links between activism, creativity and self-expression and invites reflection on the struggles of the past and their resonance in our present.

Curators Tom Elliott and Samson Ditrich said “Within the context of a new culture war which implicates queer and trans people’s access to public space, self-determination and dignity, revisiting Section 28 invites reflection on the parallels between the current ‘trans debate’ and anti-gay legislation. Clause 28 illustrated how anti-gay rhetoric disseminated in the press can easily become translated to government policy. With Miriam Cates’ call for government intervention on schools teaching trans issues, LGBTQ+ people today find ourselves on the precipice of our very own repressive legislation”.

The exhibition is available to view in the exhibition space opposite the Media, Arts and Humanities School Office in Arts A.

Original exhibition curated by: Dalal Alotaibi, Robbie Bailey-Caulfield, Amber Beach, Alice Collinge, Brodie Crellin, Tom Elliott, Sara Gaggio, Ahmed Koyes, Laurence Hill, Li Wenzhe, Michelle Mcgowan, Grace Ryan, Alyssa Sebio, Francesco Ventrella, Ruari White, Chloé Wilmot.

New additions by: Tom Elliott, Samson Dittrich.