Did you know that the first Gay Centre in Scotland opened 50 years ago on Broughton Street? In 1975 The Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Centre was opposite our shop, at 60 Broughton Street, where Pickles is located now. The centre offered various services like an in person befriending service, a cafe and an Open Gaze book stall. It was the first organised social space for gay and lesbian people in Scotland.
Plaque, copyright: the City of Edinburgh Council Museum and Galleries
The centre was known as part of the Scottish Minorities Group (SMG) and later as Outright Scotland. It was responsible for organising the first International Gay Rights Congress in 1974, which had 400 people in attendance. On daily basis, the centre offered support and a sanctuary for the queer community during times when there was a lot of prejudice and discrimination (bricks were thrown at the center's windows regularly). Proudly, the centre organised talks, dances and meetups, and other social events, and encouraged attendants to adhere to strict public affection display laws of the time. It changed the public consciousness and perception of the queer community.
Shop sign 1983, copyright: the City of Edinburgh Council Museum and Galleries
Broughton was the area of Edinburgh famous for its public queer activism and it was sometimes referred to as "the pink triangle".
Apart from the first gay and lesbian centre, Broughton hosted a significant bookshop called Lavender Menace. It opened in 1982 thanks to Bob Orr and Sigrid Nielsen. Located in the basement just off Broughton Street, on Forth Street, it was the first bookshop in Scotland where people could buy and order gay and lesbian literature, mostly imported from the US. Many of the books were seized by the customs but the bookshop was a safe haven for people from the community. At the time, it was one of only two LGBTQ+ bookshops in the UK. Lavender Menace is now a Queer Books Archive.
Lavender Menace on the railings at the top of the stairs in Forth Street. Photograph: Alison Orr
In 1995 the first major Pride March in Scotland assembled on Broughton Place and 3000 people marched via Princess Street and the Mound to reach the Pride Festival down at the Meadows. We are so proud to be based in such a historic neighborhood.
A timeline of Gay Rights in Scotland:
- Homosexuality was finally decriminalised in Scotland in 1980.
- In 2000 Scotland was the first part of the UK to repeal the controversial Section 28 clause that banned the promotion of the acceptance of homosexuality in schools.
- In 2005, civil partnerships were made legal for lesbian and gay couples.
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2007 same-sex couples were able to adopt and foster.
- In 2010 discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is banned.
- In 2014 Same Sex Marriages become legal in Scotland.
- 2017 Scottish Episcopal Church allows marriage of same-sex couples.
- The UK's first same-sex Anglican church wedding took place in Edinburgh at St. John's Church in September 2017.
- 2021 Scotland becomes the first country in the world to embed LGBTQ+ inclusive education across the curriculum.
Although the original Gay Centre is no longer operational, many wonderful organisations in Edinburgh provide safe spaces for members of the LGBTQ+ community. One of these is
Stonewall Scotland, located in Mansfield Traquair at the end of Broughton Street. There is also
LGBT Health and Wellbeing charity located at
4 Duncan Place.
Here you can find a list of organisations supporting LGBTQ+ community in Edinburgh.
We are proud to be in Broughton which has such a rich LGBT history. As June is Pride Month, we felt it was the perfect time to honour this anniversary in a small way with a special window art in our Broughton Street shop, designed and painted by Rebecca Sheerin. You can admire it as you walk past the shop.
How much has changed for the LGBTQ+ community in a lifespan of one generation. We all sincerely hope that lives for all members of the community continue to improve.
Spreading love to everyone this Pride Month.
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