IN ASSOCIATION WITH LGBT
Student Guide | LGBT
LIVING LGBT Whether you’re just out of the closet, questioning your sexuality or out to everyone you know, university can be a chance to prosper, says our LGBT editor Kaite Welsh
E dinburgh and Glasgow have thriving LGBT scenes, and your student union is on hand to offer support if you need it. If you want to check out just how queer-friendly your uni is and what support they provide, Stonewall’s gaybydegree.org.uk has a database of all the UK universities with a relevant checklist, although they currently don’t offer information for trans students.
Your i rst port of call will probably be the university’s LGBT society. They’ll have stalls and events during Freshers’ Week, and you can i nd more details over on your student union website.
In
the capital, Edinburgh University has BLOGS, which is open to all LGBT and questioning people, while Heriot Watt, Napier and Queen Margaret universities are all home to LGBT or LGBT+ societies. Glasgow University’s society might have the best name, though: GULGBTQ+. Wherever you are on the sexuality and gender spectrums, you’ll i nd a place for you there.
While essay deadlines, making friends and living away from home for the i rst time can all be a bit scary, one thing you shouldn’t have to worry about is being able to have a wee in safety. If you’re trans, you probably know that it’s not always that easy, and if you don’t identify as female or male, you might resent being forced to choose between those two stick i gures. Luckily, most universities offer a gender-neutral option so that you can pop to the loo, hassle-free. Contact your student union in coni dence if you want to check where they are.
If you want to meet people outside of university, there are a variety of things to get involved in around both cities no matter what you’re into. The LGBT Health and Wellbeing centre might sound more like a spa than the hub of gay and trans social life in Edinburgh, but they have a full programme of exciting events like LGBT Film Nights; if you’re fed up with the usual hetero Hollywood fare, head over there for i lms with a different bent. Over in Glasgow, Lock Up Your Daughters is a monthly i lmmaking group
hosted by the CCA, where you can make your own entertainment.
Sometimes, though, you just want to hit the dancel oor. Edinburgh’s most infamous gay club CC Blooms has had a bit of a revamp in recent years: what was once the capital’s favourite disco dive is now an altogether classier joint. But don’t worry – at the weekends it reverts to its roots, where you can dance your cares away on a dancel oor sticky with gin, glitter and bad decisions. In Glasgow, the Polo Lounge is worth a visit on any night, and if your tastes run to Morrissey rather than Madonna, Yes! at the Flying Duck is here to meet all of your indie needs. Feminist collective TYCI run queer-friendly nights, while Speakeasy and Delmonicas are i rm i xtures on Glasgow’s gay scene for a reason.
But if you just want to talk or you’re not ready to come out to anyone, LGBT Helpline Scotland are available to listen every week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from noon to 9pm on 0300 123 2523.
18 Sep–16 Oct 2014 THE LIST 131