LGBTQ culture in Leeds

A comprehensive social history of LGBT communities and culture in Leeds has yet to be compiled, and this was an aim of the Queer Stories project, a partnership between Yorkshire MESMAC, Leeds Museums and Galleries, and the West Yorkshire Archive Service.{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://wyqs.co.uk/about/ |access-date=20 April 2023 | work=West Yorkshire Queer Stories}} An awareness-raising exhibition curated by the project group was hosted at Leeds City Museum between November 2015 and May 2016,{{cite web|title=Leeds City Museum hosts new exhibition Leeds Queer Stories|url=http://news.leeds.gov.uk/leeds-city-museum-hosts-new-exhibition-leeds-queer-stories/|website=Leeds City Council website|access-date=2017-06-18}} and included a mixture of objects and testimonies.{{cite web|last1=FiliptheFlea|title=Queer Stories: Leeds LGBT*IQ Social History Project|url=https://yarncommunity.org/stories/180|website=Yarn Community|access-date=18 June 2017}}

With funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project grew into West Yorkshire Queer Stories, which went on to collect 200 oral history interviews from LGBT people in the region between 2018 and 2020. These are available on the project's website.{{cite web |title=Welcome to West Yorkshire Queer Stories|url=https://wyqs.co.uk/ |website=West Yorkshire Queer Stories |publisher=West Yorkshire Archive Service |access-date=10 July 2020}}

Pubs and bars catering to LGBT customers have traditionally centred around The Calls and Lower Briggate, an area sometimes referred to as [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-20235476 Leeds Gay Quarter], [https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/leeds-bars-boycott-vodka-in-gay-solidarity-protest-1-5904864 #gayleeds], Leeds' gay village{{cite web |url=http://www.visitleeds.co.uk/things-to-do/LGBT.aspx |title=Visit Leeds: LGBT* |access-date=2017-06-17 |archive-date=23 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123190524/https://www.visitleeds.co.uk/things-to-do/LGBT.aspx |url-status=dead }} or Freedom Quarter.{{cite web|title=About Freedom Quarter|url=http://www.freedomquarter.com/about/|website=Freedom Quarter|access-date=18 June 2017|archive-date=11 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611142208/http://www.freedomquarter.com/about|url-status=dead}}

In the 1930s, the Pelican Social Club in Blayd's Yard, off Lower Briggate, was reportedly "frequented by effeminate men who called each other by female Christian names and two of whom wore women’s clothing"."The Piquant Past", Yorkshire Evening Post, 4 March 1985. The Mitre pub on Commercial Street (formerly the Horse and Jockey, dating back to 1744){{cite web|title=Horse and Jockey Hotel, number 48 Commercial Street|url=http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=7968|website=Leodis: A Photographic Archive of Leeds|access-date=18 June 2017}} welcomed gay male customers in the evenings throughout the 1950s, and was also regularly visited by sympathetic police officers before closing in 1961.{{cite web|last1=cobbydaler|title=Mitre Pub|url=http://www.secretleeds.com/viewtopic.php?t=3902|website=Secret Leeds|access-date=18 June 2017}} The Royal Hotel, off Lower Briggate, was another gay-friendly venue during the 1960s.

File:New Penny blue plaque 4 August 2018.jpg

The city's longest-running gay pub is The New Penny, formerly known as the Hope and Anchor, which has "provided a safe venue for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans* community" since 1953, according to the blue plaque placed there by Leeds Civic Trust in 2016.{{cite web |url=http://leedscivictrust.org.uk/default.asp?idno=1257 |title=New Penny Blue Plaque |access-date=2017-06-17 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In March 1968, following the UK's decriminalisation of homosexual acts, the Hope and Anchor was featured in an exposé-style article in the local Union News,{{cite journal|last1=Dalton|first1=John|title=The Ones in Twenty|journal=Union News|date=8 March 1968}} which paid particular attention to the behaviour and habits of its gay clientele:

{{blockquote|Around the room, men sit cuddling and kissing, or are dancing clumsily together, as they hug each other tightly. Others walk around greeting friends who have just arrived, always touching their bodies and sometimes picking one another up.}}

The piece also described Saturday as "the big night of the week" and reported that couples tended to move on to coffee bars after the pub's closing time, where they would remain until around 1 a.m.

The pub was targeted and "completely wrecked" by football fans following the Leeds United v. Glasgow Rangers match at Elland Road on 9 April 1968.{{cite book|last1=Edwards|first1=Gary|title=Paint it white : following Leeds everywhere|date=2003|publisher=Mainstream|location=Edinburgh|isbn=1840187298}} A period of closure followed, after which it reopened as The New Penny.{{cite web|last1=Trojan|title=Pubs worth celebrating|url=http://www.secretleeds.com/viewtopic.php?t=408&start=220|website=Secret Leeds|access-date=18 June 2017}}

The activities of Leeds-based gay rights organisations have been reported in newspapers as far back as 1971.{{cite journal|last1=Davison|first1=Colin|title=Liberating the Gay|journal=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=23 March 1971}} The University of Leeds branch of the national Gay Liberation Front, known as the Gay Liberation Society, distributed leaflets at events saying "there is nothing wrong in loving people of the same sex".{{cite journal|title=Boy (12) handed 'gay' leaflets|journal=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=1 November 1971}} The group was also photographed demonstrating in solidarity with the people of Northern Ireland, following the events of Bloody Sunday (1972).{{cite web|title=Solidarity March, The Headrow|url=http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20131115_174769|website=Leodis: A Photographic Archive of Leeds|access-date=18 June 2017}} Its headquarters, which opened on Woodhouse Lane in December 1972, were ransacked within weeks: a member reported to the Yorkshire Evening Post that a window was smashed, books were ripped, and decorations torn down.{{cite journal|title=Gay Lib HQ ransacked|journal=Yorkshire Evening Post|date=17 December 1972}} While the wider Gay Liberation Front movement disbanded in 1974, the Leeds society continued for several more years.{{cite web|title=Gay Liberation Front|url=http://www.lgbtarchive.uk/wiki/Gay_Liberation_Front|website=LGBT Archive|access-date=18 June 2017}}

Existing gay pubs remained in business throughout the 1970s, while the White Hart in nearby Pool-in-Wharfedale offered a countryside escape for older gay men seeking meals and companionship on Sunday afternoons and evenings.

File:Transvestism Conference Rainbow Plaque.jpg

In March 1974, the University of Leeds hosted what was billed as the country's first national conference for transvestite and transsexual people.{{cite journal|last1=Elkins|first1=Richard|last2=King|first2=Dave|title=The First UK Transgender Conferences, 1974 and 1975|journal=GENDYS Journal|date=Autumn 2007|issue=39|url=http://www.gender.org.uk/gendys/2007/39ekins.htm|access-date=18 June 2017}} Titled Transvestism and Transsexualism in Modern Society, it attracted 102 attendees and included talks and a screening of the 1968 documentary The Queen, filmed on New York's underground drag scene.

A young records clerk at Leeds General Infirmary, Paul Furness, first brought the World Health Organization's classification of homosexuality as a disease to the attention of Tom Robinson of the Tom Robinson Band in 1978. The singer made many references to this fact during concerts and included the classification number 302.0 on the sleeve of the Rising Free EP, which included the song "Glad to Be Gay".{{cite web|last1=Furness|first1=Paul|last2=Woods|first2=Jude|last3=Marek|first3=Romaniszyn|title=302.0: Glad to Be Gay|url=http://queerbeyondlondon.com/leeds/302-0-glad-to-be-gay/|website=Queer Beyond London|access-date=15 July 2017}}

Gay women received support from the Leeds Lesbian Line, a telephone switchboard that opened in May 1982. By the time of its first anniversary, it was being staffed by six women and was available for two hours on Tuesday evenings, receiving on average six calls a night.{{cite journal|last1=Wark|first1=Penny|title=Crossing the Line|journal=Yorkshire Post|date=2 May 1983}}

File:Charlie's Nightclub Rainbow Plaque.jpg

The 1980s saw a proliferation of LGBT-friendly pubs and nightclubs in Leeds,{{cite web|title=Gay bars|url=http://www.secretleeds.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=3618|website=Secret Leeds|access-date=18 June 2017}} including The Bridge Inn (on Bridge End); Ye Old Red Lion (at the corner of Meadow Lane/Hunslet Road); Charlie's Club and Bananas Bar (in Lambert's Yard/Queens Court); and Rockshots 2 (on Lower Briggate). These were joined in the 1990s by Primo's and Primo's II (New York Street/Back New York Street); Queens Court, which replaced Charlie's Club; Bar Fibre (Lower Briggate); and Blayd's Bar (in Blayds Yard), which was popular with lesbians.

Gay-friendly club nights also became popular in the 1990s. Running from 1993 to 1996, Vague was a "mixed" (i.e. gay and straight) night at Leeds nightclub The Warehouse.{{cite web|last1=Collard|first1=James|title=United Kingdom of Dance|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/united-kingdom-of-dance-if-the-capitals-clubs-are-too-cool-for-comfort-the-rest-of-the-country-is-steaming-on-a-saturday-night-says-james-collard-1443970.html|website=20 October 1994|date=23 October 2011|publisher=The Daily Telegraph Newspaper|access-date=5 June 2014}} It was followed by SpeedQueen, which began at The Warehouse, before moving to Stinky's Peephouse,{{cite web|last1=Tiley|first1=Zenobia|title=Speedqueen|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/nightlife/2003/09/speedqueen.shtml|website=BBC.co.uk|access-date=22 June 2017}} where its Saturday night gatherings attracted 350 clubbers each week and featured an outdoor terrace and giant bed. In 2003, SpeedQueen returned to The Warehouse,{{cite web|last1=Tiley|first1=Zenobia|title=Speedqueen comes home|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/nightlife/2003/11/speedqueen_warehouse.shtml|website=BBC.co.uk|access-date=22 June 2017}} but moved again to Gatecrasher,{{cite web|last1=McPhee|first1=Rod|title=The faces of modern Leeds |url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/rod-mcphee-the-faces-of-modern-leeds-1-2192648|website=Yorkshire Evening Post|access-date=22 June 2017}} and to Mint Warehouse in 2016.{{cite web|title=SpeedQueen Party at Mint Warehouse|url=http://leedscitymagazine.co.uk/speedqueen-party-at-mint-warehouse/|website=Leeds City Magazine|access-date=22 June 2017}} Both Vague and SpeedQueen "blended a kitsch theme with an artistic underbelly which saw clubbers return to some of the outlandish costumes which characterised the late 70s", according to Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Rod McPhee.{{cite web|last1=McPhee|first1=Rod|title=The Warehouse: Leeds nightclub memories|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/the-warehouse-leeds-nightclub-memories-1-2246028|website=Yorkshire Evening Post|access-date=22 June 2017}}

Leeds saw one of the country's very first civil partnerships, which took place at 8 a.m. on 21 December 2005, between entrepreneur Terry George and Michael Rothwell. The couple signed the register at Bar Fibre on Lower Briggate after being granted a special licence.{{cite web|title=History made as Yorkshire gay couple tie the knot|url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/history-made-as-yorkshire-gay-couple-tie-the-knot-1-2600076|website=The Yorkshire Post|access-date=18 June 2017}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

The first Leeds Gay Pride was held on 6 August 2006, and saw a parade and open-topped pink bus make their way through the streets of the city centre.{{cite web|title=Leeds Pride 2006, Photographs, Leeds, United Kingdom|url=http://www.leeds-uk.com/gay/leeds-gay-pride-2006-photos/|website=Leeds-uk.com|access-date=18 June 2017}} Taking place every year since, the event has grown to involve many local businesses and increasing numbers of attendees, reported at over 40,000 in 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.leedspride.com/news/2016/impact-survey-2016 |title=Leeds LGBT 2016 Impact Survey |access-date=2017-06-17}} In the same year, its contribution to the city's economy was calculated at over £3 million.{{cite web|url=http://www.leedspride.com/news/2016/impact-survey-2016 |title=Leeds LGBT 2016 Impact Survey |access-date=2017-06-17}}

LGBT students at the city's universities continue to be politically active. In March 2017, they rallied in Victoria Gardens against gay concentration camps in Chechnya.{{cite web|title=Students organise Leeds rally against Chechnyan 'gay prison camps'|url=http://www.thegryphon.co.uk/2017/04/12/students-organise-leeds-rally-against-chechnyan-gay-prison-camps/|website=The Gryphon|date=12 April 2017|publisher=Leeds University Union|access-date=18 June 2017}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Female students organized a "women-centric queer dance party" called Scissors at Leeds University Union in January 2017.{{cite web|title=Scissors – LUU hosts first women-centred LGBTQ+ club night|url=http://www.thegryphon.co.uk/2017/02/01/scissors-luu-hosts-first-women-centred-lgbtq-club-night/|website=The Gryphon|date=February 2017|publisher=Leeds University Union|access-date=18 June 2017|archive-date=7 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207025046/https://www.thegryphon.co.uk/2017/02/01/scissors-luu-hosts-first-women-centred-lgbtq-club-night/|url-status=dead}} The publicity stated: "It’s no secret that too often the LGBTQ+ scene focuses on white, gay, slim, and able-bodied men; we aim to offset this balance creating a space where everyone can feel free to be themselves and dance."

On 26 September 2018, The Hyde Park Book Club, a venue in Hyde Park, Leeds, held an event called LGBTQ The Music 2, presented by Come Play With Me,{{cite web |title=DEBBIE GOOGE HELPS LAUNCH LGBTQ THE MUSIC 2 |url=https://www.m-magazine.co.uk/news/debbie-googe-helps-launch-lgbtq-the-music-2/ |website=M Magazine |access-date=27 February 2019}} celebrating LGBTQ+ people in music.{{cite web |title=LGBTQ The Music 2 |url=http://www.hydeparkbookclub.co.uk/new-events/2018/9/26/lgbtq-the-music-2 |website=Hyde Park Book Club |access-date=27 February 2019}}

In January 2019, Leeds-based brewery [http://www.anthologybrewing.co.uk/ Anthology] created a new beer to celebrate LGBT History Month, with 10p from every pint donated to Stonewall.{{cite web |title=History Month Pale |url=http://www.anthologybrewing.co.uk |website=Untappd |publisher=Untappd, Inc. |access-date=1 March 2019}} Also in 2019, The Bookish Type,{{cite web |title=The Bookish Type – LGBT Bookshop, Leeds Bookshop UK |url=https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/thebookishtype |website=UK Bookshop |access-date=26 February 2025}} an independent LGBTQ+ run bookshop, opened inside the Merrion Centre. In 2023, the shop moved to Great George Street at a larger venue.{{fact|date=March 2025}}

In 2021, a census by the UK Office for National Statistics recorded less than 5% answering positively to the LGB+ sexual orientation category.{{cite web |title=Sexual orientation – Census Maps, ONS |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/maps/choropleth/identity/sexual-orientation/sexual-orientation-6a/all-other-sexual-orientations?lad=E08000035 | publisher=Office for National Statistics | location=UK |access-date=February 26, 2025}} According to the same census, 0.25% of the population's gender is different to the one assigned to them at birth.{{cite web |title=Gender identity, England and Wales: Census 2021 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/genderidentity/bulletins/genderidentityenglandandwales/census2021 |website=Gender identity, England and Wales |publisher=Office for National Statistics | location=UK |access-date=26 February 2025 |ref=2}}

In 2024, Leeds City Museum celebrated the 50th anniversary of the conference Transvestism and Transsexualism in Modern Society, which was held in the city in 1974.{{cite web |title=Independent Queer Bookshop in Leeds |url=https://thebookishtype.co.uk/ |access-date=26 February 2025 |website=The Bookish Type}} The event at the museum, celebrated trans history from Leeds, Yorkshire, and further afield. It was co-organised by GossipGrrrl, a local researcher, curator and artist. The Museum of Transology was also present, collecting donations for its collection..{{cite web |title=Spaces that help trans people recognise their history are vital |url=https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/opinion/2024/05/spaces-that-help-trans-people-recognise-their-history-are-vital/# |access-date=26 February 2025 |website=museumsassociation.org |publisher=Museums Association}}

The Leeds Civic Trust organised a blue plaque unveilingat Leeds University Union, commemorating the anniversary of the event.{{cite web |title=Unveiling of a blue plaque to celebrate 50th anniversary of the first national trans conference |url=https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/sociology/events/event/1396/unveiling-of-a-blue-plaque-to-celebrate-50th-anniversary-of-the-first-national-trans-conference |website=essl.leeds.ac.uk/ |access-date=February 26, 2025}}{{cite web |title=A Blue Plaque for the 50th Anniversary of The first National Transvestism & Transexualism Conference |url=https://leedscivictrust.org.uk/a-blue-plaque-for-the-50th-anniversary-of-the-first-national-transvestism-transexualism-conference/ |access-date=26 February 2025 |website=leedscivictrust.org.uk |publisher=Leeds Civic Trust |location=UK}}

File:Freedom Bridge Leeds 25 August 2018.jpg

Plans to repaint the railway bridge over Lower Briggate in rainbow colours, reflecting the design of the LGBT pride flag, were announced in September 2016 by LGBT activist and Leeds campaigner [http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/leeds-freedom-bridge_uk_58ab0dc0e4b07602ad56a12e Thomas Wales] after the project had remained in the LGBT political wilderness for years.{{cite web|last1=Newton|first1=Grace|title=Leeds Railway Bridge Gets Landmark Paint Job|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/leeds-railways-bridge-gets-landmark-paint-job-1-8143023|website=Yorkshire Evening Post|access-date=18 June 2017}} Work was completed by Network Rail in February 2017 and Councillor Jonathan Pryor said, "This bridge represents a tremendous show of support for the city’s LGBT community. Not only will the Leeds Freedom Bridge be an eye-catching addition ... it will also make a huge statement to our many visitors. We embrace and celebrate diversity and the contribution it makes to ensuring Leeds is such a warm, welcoming and successful city".{{cite web|last1=Besanvalle|first1=James|title=Leeds hopes to bridge equality with new rainbow building|url=http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/leeds-hopes-to-bridge-equality-with-new-rainbow-building/|website=Gay Star News|date=18 February 2017|access-date=18 June 2017}}

The term "Freedom Bridge" was coined by fellow LGBT campaigner and community website editor [https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/leeds-gay-bars-and-shops-given-rainbow-makeovers-in-sochi-protest-1-6430644 Ross McCusker] who took inspiration from San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker's Freedom Flag.{{fact|date=March 2025}}

The tourist information service Visit Leeds promotes LGBT tourism, including nightlife, and produces a Leeds LGBT* Map. Among the LGBT-friendly venues it lists in the city centre are The Viaduct Showbar, The New Penny, Blayd's Bar, Wharf Chambers, Tunnel, The Bridge, Queens Court and Bar Fibre. The latter two co-host popular Bank Holiday 'Courtyard Parties' during the summer.{{cite web|title=Visit Leeds: LGBT*|url=http://www.visitleeds.co.uk/things-to-do/LGBT.aspx|website=Visit Leeds|access-date=17 June 2017|archive-date=23 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123190524/https://www.visitleeds.co.uk/things-to-do/LGBT.aspx|url-status=dead}}

LGBT-inclusive sports clubs are numerous in Leeds.{{cite web|title=LGBT Sports Clubs|url=http://active.leeds.gov.uk/communitysport/Pages/LGBT-Sports-Clubs.aspx|website=Active Leeds|publisher=Leeds City Council|access-date=18 June 2017|archive-date=19 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719025208/http://active.leeds.gov.uk/communitysport/Pages/LGBT-Sports-Clubs.aspx|url-status=dead}} The athletics club Leeds FrontRunners describes itself as "an all-inclusive club, welcoming anyone who identifies as LGBT*, their friends and even people who just love running and are happy to look beyond labels".{{cite web|title=Leeds FrontRunners|url=https://leedsfrontrunners.wordpress.com/|access-date=18 June 2017}} The Yorkshire Terriers Football Club was one of the first gay-friendly teams to be established in the UK.{{cite web|title=Our Story|url=https://www.terriersfc.co.uk/|website=Yorkshire Terriers FC|access-date=18 June 2017|archive-date=22 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022044724/https://www.terriersfc.co.uk/|url-status=dead}} Leeds Hunters Rugby is an inclusive rugby club which aims to provide a safe environment for any adult male to play Rugby Union irrespective of race, sexual orientation, ethnicity and level of fitness or experience, and any person over the age of 18 to access touch rugby. The club was established in 2016 and train in North Leeds.{{cite web|title=Who are Leeds Hunters|url=https://www.theleedshunters.com/about|website=Leeds Hunters Rugby|access-date=15 March 2022}} Marching Out Together is the Leeds United FC supporters group for LGBTQ fans; they were officially endorsed by the club in 2017.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-29 |title=A message from the board of Marching Out Together |url=https://www.leedsunited.com/news/community/29107/a-message-from-the-board-of-marching-out-together |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=www.leedsunited.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Marching Out Together: England's newest LGBT supporters' club at Leeds United |url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11715/11021341/marching-out-together-englands-newest-lgbt-supporters-club-at-leeds-united |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=Sky Sports |language=en}}

Leeds has its own Queer Film Festival, which first took place in 2005, then 2010, and annually since 2013. As well as screening films such as The Watermelon Woman and Set It Off, the event has included talks, zine-making and letter-writing workshops.{{cite web|url=https://www.leedsqueerfilmfestival.co.uk/history |title=Leeds Queer Film Festival website: History |access-date=2017-06-17}}

The gay lifestyle magazine Bent was published in Leeds.{{cite web| url=http://mag.bent.com/ | title=Bent magazine | website=mag.bent.com }}

The LGBT community website #gayyorkshire is based in Leeds and helps to promote the Leeds LGBT night-time economy, organisations and events as well as providing other LGBT information from across the wider county of Yorkshire.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

• Nicola Adams, professional boxer.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/aug/08/nicola-adams-boxing-was-my-path |title=Nicola Adams: 'It always felt like boxing was my path' |first=Homa |last=Khaleeli |date=9 August 2014 |work=The Guardian |access-date=2017-06-17}}
• Marc Almond, vocalist of Soft Cell.Almond, M., Tainted Life – the autobiography, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1999, p122
• Alan Bennett, writer and actor.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/3612508/Inside-Bennetts-fridge.html |title=Inside Bennett's fridge |date=30 October 2004 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=2017-06-17}}
• Jack Birkett, dancer and performer.{{cite web |title=Jack Birkett obituary |date=28 May 2010 |website=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421230948/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2010/may/28/jack-birkett-obituary |archive-date=21 April 2023 |url-status=live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2010/may/28/jack-birkett-obituary}}
• Thomas Wales, LGBT activist and Leeds Freedom Bridge campaigner.{{Cite news|url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/leeds-freedom-bridge-project-completed-1-8397946|title=Leeds Freedom Bridge project completed|access-date=2018-11-21|language=en}}
• Terry George, entrepreneur.{{cite news|last1=Rosalind|first1=Renshaw|title=Good times, tough times|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/good-times-tough-times-w8x5nrcfpx8|website=The Times|access-date=12 August 2015}}
• Robert Hawthorn Kitson, artist.{{cite web|last1=Leslie|first1=Charles|title=A Memory of Taormina|url=https://www.leslielohman.org/permanent-collection/wilhelm-von-gloeden.html|website=leslielohman.org|access-date=6 July 2017|archive-date=11 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611210758/https://www.leslielohman.org/permanent-collection/wilhelm-von-gloeden.html|url-status=dead}}
• Cyril Livingstone, theatre actor, director, critic and couturier, commemorated in a Rainbow Plaque{{Cite web|url=https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/best-in-leeds/whats-on-news/rainbow-plaque-trail-unveiled-ahead-14976482|title=Rainbow Plaque Trail unveiled ahead of Leeds Pride 2018|last=Johnson|first=Kristian|date=2018-08-03|website=leedslive|access-date=2020-01-29}}
• Mark Michalowski, author and founder of Shout! magazine.{{cite web |last1=Michalowski |first1=Mark |title=About Me |url=http://markmichalowski.blogspot.com/ |website=Across the Maps of Heaven |publisher=Blogspot |access-date=18 July 2018}}
• Angela Morley, composer and conductor.{{cite web |title=Musical Variations: The Life of Angela Morley |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03kr6bs |website=BBC |access-date=20 July 2018}}
• Anthony Morley, the first Mr Gay UK and a convicted murderer.{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/10/20/uk.chef.cannibal.ap/index.html |title=Cannibal chef jailed for 30 years |publisher=CNN.com |date=2008-10-20 |access-date=2008-10-21 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081023145331/http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/10/20/uk.chef.cannibal.ap/index.html| archive-date= 23 October 2008 | url-status= dead}}
• John Riley (poet).
• Sophie Wilson, computer scientist.{{cite web |last1=Bagulay |first1=Richard |title=Sophie Wilson: ARM and How Making Things Simpler Made Them Faster & More Efficient |url=https://hackaday.com/2018/05/08/sophie-wilson-arm-and-how-making-things-simpler-made-them-faster-more-efficient/ |website=Hackaday.com |date=8 May 2018 |access-date=23 June 2018}}

The banker and MP Ernest Beckett, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe, who resided at Kirkstall Grange, Headingley, in the latter half of the 19th century, is believed to have been the father of Violet Trefusis, who is remembered for a same-sex affair with the poet Vita Sackville-West. Their relationship was documented in a series of passionate letters between 1912 and 1922.{{cite book|editor-last1=Leaska|editor-first1=Mitchell A.|editor-last2=Phillips|editor-first2=John |title=Violet to Vita: The letters of Violet Trefusis to Vita Sackville-West, 1910–21|date=1991|publisher=Penguin Books|location=New York, N.Y., USA|isbn=0140157964}}

{{reflist}}

{{LGBTcultureworldwide}}

{{LGBT topics in the United Kingdom}}

Category:Culture in Leeds

Leeds