February is the annual month-long celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history. It is a dedicated time to acknowledge, celebrate and share the impact of LGBTQ+ culture.
The theme of 2025 is Activism and Social Change which celebrates LGBT+ people who have been activists who helped shape and create social change, advancing society for everyone.
Celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month with us at the Institute Bar!
Try our special 'La Luchadora' cocktail for just £5, which combines juicy raspberry and tangy lime into a refreshing cocktail. Available only during February, £1 from each sale will be donated to the Gender Expression Fund.
Coinciding with International Festival this LGBTQ+ special cocktail was named in honour of Argentinian philosopher and activist Maria Cristina Lugones.
Your LGBTQ+ Officers and Trans Officers lead the Union and their Networks in continuing to build an engaging, dynamic and rewarding community of LGBT+ students on campus and beyond.
Anji Suri (left) and Danilo (right), LGBTQ+ Officers
We seek to make the LGBTQ+ Network as amazing as possible and the experience for LGBTQ+ students better and give them opportunities to thrive, connect and develop. Being LGBTQ+ in a society that's been built up for cis-het people can be difficult, but it should not have to be. We will work hard, listen to our members and do all that we can to make sure queer people feel safe, happy and supported at UCL.
Amanda Ng (left) and Rory Clarke (right), Trans* Officers
We lead the Trans* Network try to support UCL's growing trans community and ensure their voices are heard across UCL. We want a safe space for every trans student to seek advice and friendship.
While being out and proud, it's important to look after your wellbeing. Below are some resources around wellbeing and advice!
Students' Union Advice Service
We are a free, confidential and independent advice and support service. Our trained and experienced team can give you advice about:
- Academic issues - including extenuating circumstances, plagiarism and complaints
- Housing - including contract checks and housemate disputes
- Employment - including unpaid wages and part time employment contracts
- Money and Debt - including budgeting and welfare benefits
- Many other personal and university matters...
You can submit your query through our contact form - please allow 5 working days for us to confirm receipt of your query.
Fiction
- Call Me By Your Name, André Aciman
- Simon Vs. the Homosapien's Agenda, Becky Albertalli
- Our Wives Under the Sea, Julia Armfield
- Giovanni's Room, James Baldwin
- Girl, Woman, Other, Bernadine Evaristo
- Alice Isn't Dead, Joseph Fink
- Tales of the City, Armistead Maupin
- Red White and Royal Blue, Casey McQuiston
- The Song of Achilles: A reimagining of Homer's The Illiad, Madeline Miller
- Heartstopper Vol.1, Alice Oseman
- I'm a Fan, Sheena Patel
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Saenz
- The Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon
Nonfiction
- Who's Afraid of Gender?, Judith Butler
- A Bookshop of One's Own, Jane Cholmeley
- Love in Exile, Shon Fay
- Tales From the Fatherland, Ben Fergusson
- We have always been here, Samra Habib
- All About Love, Bell Hooks
- My Life in Sea Creatures, Sabrina Imbler
- Kenyan, Christian, Queer, Adriaan Van Kinken
- Trans Like Me, CN Lester
- Some Men in London - Queer Like 1945-1959. ed. by Peter Parker
- SLUTS Anthology, ed. by Michelle Tea
Fiction Spotlight:
Our Wives Under the Sea
Julia Armfield
Miri thinks she has got her wife back, when Leah finally returns after a deep sea mission that ended in catastrophe. It soon becomes clear, though, that Leah may have come back wrong. Whatever happened in that vessel, whatever it was they were supposed to be studying before they were stranded on the ocean floor, Leah has carried part of it with her, onto dry land and into their home.
Our Wives Under The Sea is the debut novel from the critically acclaimed author of Salt Slow. It’s a story of falling in love, loss, grief, and what life there is in the deep, deep sea
Giovanni's Room
James Baldwin
When David meets the sensual Giovanni in a bohemian bar, he is swept into a passionate love affair. But his girlfriend's return to Paris destroys everything. Unable to admit to the truth, David pretends the liaison never happened - while Giovanni's life descends into tragedy.
The Priory of the Orange Tree
Samantha Shannon
A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens. The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic. Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.
Nonfiction Spotlight:
A Bookshop of One's Own: How a group of women set out to change the world
Jane Cholmeley
The captivating true story of an underdog business – a feminist bookshop founded in Thatcher’s Britain – from a woman at the heart of the women’s liberation movement.
What was it like to start a feminist bookshop, in an industry dominated by men? How could a lesbian thrive in Thatcher’s time, with the government legislating to restrict her rights? How do you run a business when your real aim is to change the world?
My Life in Sea Creatures
Sabrina Imbler
A young queer science writer on some of the ocean's strangest creatures and what they can teach us about human empathy and survival. As a mixed Chinese and white non-binary writer working in a largely white, male field, science journalist Sabrina Imbler has always been drawn to the mystery of life in the sea, and particularly to creatures living in hostile or remote environments.
Each essay in their debut collection profiles one such creature: the mother octopus who starves herself while watching over her eggs, the Chinese sturgeon whose migration route has been decimated by pollution and dams, the bizarre Bobbitt worm (named after Lorena) and other uncanny creatures lurking in the deep ocean, far below where the light reaches.
SLUTS: Anthology
ed. Michelle Tea
A lesbian bar sells out, turning barflies into doms for hire. In Spain, an exchange student lets two young men flip a coin to see who will have her. A stranger on a train. A collegiate lesbian ‘it’ couple. A trans woman bashes back. Post-apocalyptic punk crushes. Slut eras. An American intellectual in Austria fucks and talks attachment styles with a Viennese queer. A jaded Black queen ponders race, apps and what the sex we have says about us.
Whether an insult or badge of honor, an identity or a state of mind, SLUTS engages some of the hottest minds of the moment to riff on the subject, exploring the nature of desire and its cultural consequences, creating a collection bound to become a classic of sex writing.