What does it mean to be queer every day?
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.
FAQs
How to record your experience
You are welcome to submit responses as writings or drawings. Please get in touch with us before submitting sound or movie files.
These writings or drawings can be in any style and there is no prescribed length. No emphasis is placed on spelling or grammar. Please don’t feel limited by notions of quality or be concerned with ‘doing it right.’ Mass Observation is for everyone.
File Formats
We are able to accept the following formats:
· Rich Text Format (.rtf)
· PDF/UA, PDF/A or PDF (.pdf)
· OpenDocument Text (.odt)
· plain text (.txt)
· widely-used formats: MS Word (.doc/.docx), MS Excel (.xls/.xlsx)
· JPEG (.jpeg, .jpg)
· GIF (.gif)
· TIFF other versions (.tif, .tiff)
Please don’t send us sound or video without contacting us first.
We also welcome reflections in physical formats and have a freepost address you can send them to.
Anonymity
All submissions will be anonymised, and to the best of our ability we will redact identifiable information prior to materials being made accessible. The Mass Observation Archive is publicly accessible. It is based at The Keep as is used by researchers of all kinds. Please be mindful of this while writing and protect your identity.
Your copyright
We ask that you assign the copyright of this work with The Archive so that we can enable your writing to be used for teaching, research, in the media and community engagement, although you are under no obligation to do so. If you are submitting online you will see the option to assign copyright to the archive. If you are submitting via the post we ask that you include the following statement in your writing:
“I donate my diary and reflections to the Mass Observation Archive. I consent to my contribution being made publicly available as part of the Archive and assign my copyright in this work to the Mass Observation Archive Trustees, so that it may be reproduced in full or in part on websites, in publications, and in broadcasts as approved by the Trustees. I agree to the University of Sussex assuming the role of Data Controller for the Mass Observation Archive and is responsible for the collection and processing of personal data, ensuring that such data complies with the Data Protection Act (DPA).
”
We are happy to discuss this with you if you would prefer to retain your copyright. Please get in touch.
Donating material
We prefer that you donate your writing/drawing, rather than it being a loan. Please get in touch if you would prefer to offer your work to us as a loan
