Hello Sailor!

On 3rd October 2024 Journey, the DfT and KPMG came together in London to hear a fascinating talk from Dr Jo Stanley FRHistS exploring the rich LGBTQ+ history of the Merchant Navy at one of our series of hugely popular networking events

From silence to stigmatising, iconisation to scapegoating, and finally to solidarity and celebrating DEI. Queer workers in sea, road, rail, air work have been pilloried and overlooked, as historic newspapers show. Now social media and rainbow-infused exhibitions are changing the public profile worldwide. This illustrated talk compared periods and different transport modes, especially focusing on maritime. Progress is revealed as slow but very good.