Attitude Pride Awards 2017: The winners
We want your nominations for this year's awards!
By Ross Semple
We’re on the hunt for heroes to award and applaud at the third annual Attitude Pride Awards on Friday July 6 at the beautiful Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park hotel, on the eve of Pride in London.
The Attitude Pride Awards celebrate members and allies of our community who embody the spirit of LGBT+ Pride.
We want to leave the celebrities and big names aside on this occasion, and select ordinary people who make an extraordinary difference, large or small, to the lives of LGBT+ people in the UK.
There are so many inspirational, unsung heroes among us, working in key LGBT+ charities and companies, making a difference in schools and local communities, or challenging perceptions within professions and religions where LGBT+ people are traditionally under-represented.
We think they all deserve to be recognised.
Last year’s ceremony took place at the beautiful Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park hotel on July 7, and was hosted by TV personality, author and fashion consultant Gok Wan. Special guests including Owen Jones, Davina McCall, and Nick Grimshaw paid tribute to the honourees as the awards were given out.
Take a look through the ten honourees of the Attitude Pride Awards at let us know who you’d like to nominate this year by getting in touch at PrideAwards@attitude.co.uk
Martyn Hett – Manchester terror attack victim and former Attitude contributor
Sometimes the greatest form of activism is simply to be true to yourself. Few people embody that idea better than one of the victims of the recent terrorist attack in Manchester.
Matthew Todd – author of ‘Straight Jacket: How to Be Gay and Happy’
In between interviewing the likes of Madonna and Prince William as the former editor of Attitude, the award-winning former editor of Attitude found time to write a play and a vitally important book on growing up gay and mental health.
Phyll Opoku-Gyimah (Lady Phyll) – Director of UK Black Pride
As a black lesbian, one former civil servant has battled against discrimination since she was a child. Now she uses her voice to speak up for LGBT+ people from ethnic minorities and as director of UK Black Pride.
Natalie Scott – Transgender awareness activist
Despite suffering setback after setback on her journey to become the person she was meant to be, one trans woman hasn’t lost her zest for life or her desire to help others.
Keith Biddlecombe – former military serviceman jailed for being gay
Fifty years after the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, a former serviceman — once jailed for being gay — accepts an award on behalf of all those who suffered when their sexuality was against the law.
Manjinder Singh Sidhu – author of ‘Bollywood Gay’
To many conservative Sikh Punjabis, homosexuality is a taboo subject; ignored and misunderstood. But after years of depression and struggling with his true self, one man decided to change all that.
Lesbians Against the Clause – historic anti-Section 28 campaign group
Clause 28 was such a divisive piece of legislation that a group of lesbians protested against it by abseiling into the House of Lords as it was being debated. Then, the night before it became law, four others invaded a live BBC TV news broadcast.
Aderonke Apata – Nigerian LGBT+ activist
After fleeing horrific abuse in Nigeria and seeking sanctuary in Britain, one asylum seeker hit the headlines when she was accused of lying about being a lesbian and had her application rejected. Now she is a vocal critic of the system and helps other queer applicants.
Terry and Bernard Reed – Founders of the Gender Identity Research and Education Society (GIRES)
When their daughter suffered abuse at work after coming out as trans, one couple decided it was time to fight for the legal and medical rights of all trans people.
Dean Eastmond – LGBT+ journalist and campaigner
Since being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, one queer journalist has used his platform as a writer to share his journey with readers and to campaign against inequalities in the health-care system.
If you’d like to nominate someone you know (and yes, you can nominate yourself!), please email PrideAwards@attitude.co.uk telling us in your own words about the person and why the nomination is deserved.
Please don’t write more than 200 words and also, if possible, include a picture of them and links to any online reports or supporting material that’s available.
Closing date for all submissions is Friday May 11, 2018 at 10am.
Unfortunately, due to the number of submissions we receive it will only be possible to reply to you if we are considering your nomination for short-listing, but please be assured we read and consider every nomination.