Interview with Gill (pt 1)
- Reference Number: DW-94/1/12/1
- Date: 2013
- Level: Piece
- Extent: 1 item
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Description: Please note this interview contains content that some people may find upsetting.
1.00- Feels she had always known she had an interest in women, though she did have two boyfriends as a teenager but didn?t sleep with either of them, though did completely fall in love with one of them (when they reconnected years later it turns out he was gay, wonders if that was the connection she felt)
2.00- First relationship with a woman, a colleague from working in schools, when she was 25. And at this time in the mid-80s, you were yourself with friends, but never actually said the words- didn?t lie or hide, but left people to draw their own conclusions
3.05- ?so we never came out but we never hid in a closet either? ? interesting as it was a small village and as teachers they were known by everyone, they were together all of the time, but no one ever said anything
4.55- places in Birmingham like the Fox, the village,
5.25- when she came back to the midlands in 2002 (after over 20 years) this was when she first started using terminology like lesbian, was in the LBG society at uni (predates the T),
7.05- 2008, Zone magazine, L-Bow group in Wolverhampton
7.40- Older Lesbian Group in Birmingham, Get it out group. Contact lists transfer between the groups, get emails from all of them
8.10- ?I?ve never been in such a actively gay social group as I am now?
10.05- finds that she has met the people she would be with through happenstance, not through anything specific on the LGBT scene
13.05- talks about how difficult it was pre-internet to find out if there were even any LGBT places to go
13.25- talks about going to a club in Norwich that was incredibly secretive to get into
15.20- Diva magazine, Kenrick (?) group, really lovely stories about the community there
18.30- was interested in AIDs as a scientist at first, from a social point of view, remembers the rock advert, but as a monogamous lesbian it didn?t really affect her life ?it sort of passed us by maybe in ignorance? in terms of being together for so long they didn?t feel at risk, but the scariness hit them
20.50- talks about having a breakdown in 2000 has been basically retired since then due to mental health, was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Feels there should be more knowledge in the mental health profession that sexuality is not linked to mental health e.g. it?s just assumed that being a lesbian was the cause of her mental health problems
- Access Status: Open
- Contact: Wolverhampton Archives, Wolverhampton Archives & Local Studies