To fit in in the 80s it was London or London...
1985
Steve talks about moving to Birmingham from St Albans in 1985. He contrasts the Lesbian and Gay Community Centre Aston, with the London Lesbian and Gay Centre in Farringdon. “I used to go there all the time in my late teens and early twenties, just to sit alone and be gay drinking tea and eating vegetarian quiche. It felt materially different to any of the services on offer in Birmingham. There was a sense that to be gay, and fit into a visible functional community, it was London or London. If you grew up gay in the West Midlands in the 80s or 90s one of the things on your agenda would be about leaving the West Midlands; I suspect that there was a level of migration to London. It will be interesting to see in 20 years time, in the way lesbians and gay men fit into society, what changes that makes to migration patterns”.