Since 1937 Mass Observation has been recording the everyday thoughts, feelings and opinions of people in the UK. In 1982 the National Lesbian and Gay survey began, inspired by the work of MO, it sought to capture what everyday life was like for queer people living in the UK.
This LGBTQ+ History Month, MO is continuing the work of NLGS and asking what does it mean to be queer everyday, what is everyday life like? We’re looking to capture the ordinary and the mundane parts of life, which are often missing from archival accounts of queer lives and communities.
Getting Involved – Send us your Ordinary Day Diary
NL&GS, inspired by Mass Observation, asked their writers to record several day diaries. This included ‘Pride Day’ in 1987 and 1990, Christmas day in 1991 and November 24th 1993.
It didn’t matter what people did that day, whether it was exciting or not, they wanted to know. More than that, they were interested in what people thought and felt about their day and the world around them.
This year we’re also doing an open call for ordinary day diaries from the LGBTQIA+ community, and specifically we’re asking people to record their day on the 12th February. Whatever you get up to, we’d love to have it in our collection!
Diaries can be handwritten, typed, illustrated or photo diaries. Whatever feels most comfortable to you! If you create a digital diary you can send it to us here, or you can post your diary to us free of charge using the below address:
Freepost RTGY-AYJE-YSSC
The Mass Observation Archive
The Keep
Woolards Way
Brighton BN1 9BP
You can upload your digital diary here.
Get Involved – Directive Responses
As well as our call for Ordinary Day Diaries, we’re also reissuing questions asked by NLGS in the 1980s and 1990s to see how everyday life has, and has not, changed.
The questions are inspired by those asked by the team at the National Lesbian and Gay survey. You can answer any questions which you find interesting, there’s no expectation to answer them all, unless you would like to!
You can also answer in any way you like, this isn’t a traditional survey. We are just as interested in capturing thoughts and feelings as we are opinions. Write as much or as little as you would like. You also don’t have to write your response, if you would like to send us pictures, art or other creative submissions we’d love to receive those too!
Questions:
- At what age did you first become aware that queer people existed? How did you feel? How did you come to understand your own queerness?
- Are there certain terms, labels or identities you feel particularly aligned to? If not, why? Do you think it is important to have words to define your identity? Has how you identified changed over time?
- Have you ever experienced discrimination because of your queerness? In what ways? Do you feel you have fair and equal access to healthcare, public conveniences (like toilets), and education?
- Are you part of a queer community? How do you connect with other queer people? Do you attend Pride events? If so, what do they mean to you?
- Are the relationships you have in your life (romantic, platonic or familial) the same as how you imagined they might be when you were growing up? If they are different, in what ways are they different?
- What do you think are the most pressing issues facing queer people in the UK today?
You can upload your digital responses here, or you can email moa@sussex.ac.uk.
As part of LGBTQ+ History Month we’re also running an event, ‘Queer Scrapbooks and Archival Fragments’! Come along to The Keep to hear from staff about the scrapbooks and queer ephemera and stories in our collection, as our open call. You’ll also have the chance to make your own queer scrapbook with materials provided by MO! You can book your free space here.
You can find out more about the project here.