Reform UK bans promotion of LGBTQ and Pride events at Essex libraries

[IwantToRetire]

Essex libraries have been banned from promoting LGBTQ and Pride events by the county council’s new Reform UK leadership.

The diktat comes at the start of Pride Month: a four-week celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) communities.

A spokesperson for Save Our Libraries Essex said: “This is very disturbing and alarming news.

“What possible reason is there not to display Pride promotional material? It’s not as if it’s costing the library service anything, other than pure prejudice.

“It’s not just bigotry, it’s anti-business. Pride gets people out and spending money in our towns and cities. Where will this end up?”

Article continues with explanation from Reform for their decision at https://www.bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk/news/reform-uk-bans-promotion-of-lgbtq-and-pride-events-at-essex-9468415/

“libraries are spaces for everybody, for reading, learning and enjoyment in unity, and their shelves recognise authors, books and resources spanning a huge range of subjects, which we will endeavour to maintain.
With this in mind, we need to be careful not to highlight any particular groups or themes

What a daft comment from Reform.

The premise does not logically lead to the conclusion.

(And libraries highlight themes all the time. Books are even grouped by them. The fact that libraries are open to all of the public doesn't prevent that).

I may think that Pride is problematic and has been used to further a men's rights agenda by some, but you can say that about many groups, including Reform and the Christian church.

Bet they're trying to distract from cuts to library funding.

You’d think it was pride a month for 11 1/2 months of the year in Brighton

Sounds great, Ban it.

Its also another instance that the bundling of people who are same sex attracted into some never ending list of people with "identities" are disadvantage by the posturing of Pride.

Cant say I am up to date of Reform policies, but would hate to think this banning of what even the Library users make clear is just a money spinner, that there wont be information and support services listed for lesbians and gay men.

it’s anti-business. Pride gets people out and spending money

😶

By coincidence release of survey results on Reform supporters.

Apparently convinced our cultural heritage is being lost whilst no doubt watching US tv series, holidaying in Florida, going for burgers rather than fish and chips. I suspect most of them hate the BBC but in fact love all the hopelessly sentimentally British series about posh people living in big houses.

And strangely never blaming the upper classes for bleeding them dry!

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/reform-poll-curtice-farage-labour-election-b2987198.html

Also in depth look at who supports Reform
https://natcen.ac.uk/publications/bsa-43-who-supports-reform

Pride is too political and divisive now. The council have done the right thing. Public libraries can’t be vehicles for social issue posturing.

Seems reasonable. I'd have had more sympathy if they had promoted the LGB Alliance, GC and women's rights (as in, actual biological women) days and events equally, but they haven't. Libraries should be open to all and closed to none - which is more than Pride have done when they've cancelled LGB participants.

"Shaun Marchant, the Green Party candidate for the Braintree division in May 7’s local elections, said: “What’s next, removal of books? "

What, like the TRA's tried to get The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht banned from the National Library of Scotland?

What people's personal opinions of Pride are is kind of irrelevant - an authoritarian gesture is an authoritarian gesture, it is no less authoritarian just because you happen to agree with it.

It's not a ban on Pride, it's just banning promoting it in libraries.

My local library had a bio of Florence Nightingale in their LGBTWXYZ+ display. When I asked why, I was told that “some people think she might have been gay”.

I might have been rather rude in my response.

Whiles I’m not a Reform supporter and these sorts of blanket diktats make me uneasy, I do find that the promotion of Pride month by places like libraries have gone a bit OTT in recent years and could do with some reining in. I was at our small local library yesterday with DD and the children’s section was dominated by a huge rainbow-bunting festooned display of picture books with titles along the lines of ‘We Are Queer!’ and ‘Bill Loves Bob’. There were at least a further 3 or 4 Pride-themed displays scattered around the library (whose clientele mostly consisted of the very elderly and the under 5s with accompanying parents).

I’m not sure what the libraries expect us ordinary punters to actually do in response - it all feels rather didactic and pushy when I’m only visiting to find a good, ideally apolitical, read for myself or DD.

I’m in Essex, as it happens, so Reform’s message clearly hasn’t got through here yet!

A good old-style librarian response would be to mark the season with a display of books and papers on the history of Pride and what led to it, and showcasing both sides of current debates around gender, queer theory etc etc. Very topical and informative and not "promoting" any one view.

Pride is no longer inclusive. It's political and divisive. It can't demand public services give them free promotion when they've spent their time protesting LGB Alliance and involving children in dubious events.

I'm bisexual and think its brilliant. Am so sick of seeing that ugly rainbow and sexuality being made into some performative, virtue signalling circus.

We almost had the balance right in the 90s/early 2000s. Being gay had almost become 'normal' and uneventful just like being straight, but some idiots made it into a complete freakshow and now people are sick of it (a lot of gay people included!!)

What else is there like Pride, that gets promoted in the same way? I was trying to work out whether this a good thing or not, and couldn’t find any analogies to help.

I'm the first to say I'm fed up with the Holy Month of Pride in its modern incarnation where it comes with corporate rainbow washing (yes Waitrose/John Lewis, I'm looking at you), fetishes on display as 'family friendly entertainment', wall-to-wall drag queens and the TQWTF+ taking over the LGB.

But I'm not comfortable with Pride itself being banned, it was an important event back in the day and it risks LGB people being demonised and made to feel less accepted again.

Reform are shooting themselves in the foot here by not just banning the 'progress' flag.

It'll be Black History month next

But it's not being banned - the Pride flags etc are just not going to be promoted in libraries in that area. The explanation from Reform in tge article seems reasonable imo.

Great news.

Assume there won't be any more 'drag queen storytime' either then 🤮

It does all get a bit much

Sorry, I should have clarified that I meant 'promotion of Pride itself'. I still think that risks demonisation/less acceptance of LGB people, and I'm still uncomfortable with it. I guess it comes from the idea that places promoting Pride just can't be trusted not to start promoting more harmful stuff (like the thing from a couple of years ago where a library was promoting 'trans joy' in the form of scars and goodness knows what else, IIRC).

Libraries are public funded buildings though. They should be neutral, non political oand not promote agendas (drag queen storytime anyone?). They are also a place for children. Its just not appropriate and I'm glad someone is trying to put an end to it.

Why on earth should they "both sides" Pride? Do you also think a display about black history month should include a white supremacist viewpoint?

But it's not promoting LGB people, is it - if it was, the LGB Alliance wouldn't have been disallowed at Pride events.

Ultimately, libraries should be open to everyone and no-one should be made to feel uncomfortable or that their views are somehow less valid. Pride stopped being a positive moment years ago and is now very political with an emphasis on the T and a fair bit of fetish stuff thrown in. Flags are not needed in libraries in order for people to support all groups equally.