The Queer Bible author Jack Guinness shines a light on the importance of LGBTQ history

Pictures: Instagram/@jackguinness

Shining a spotlight on forgotten or hidden LGBTQ history is the aim of Jack Guinness’ book, The Queer Bible. 

It’s a point the author and model hits home as he reads an excerpt from the book as part of the Speaking of Pride series, empowered by Bentley.

Before reading from the book’s introduction, written by the author himself, Jack explains that the book is a collection of essays from Guinness’ LGBTQ heroes which include the train model and activist, Munroe Bergdorf, Graham Norton, and Queer Eye‘s Tan France.

Guinness asked each of his contributors to write an essay on their own queer hero.

He reads, “this is a book I wish I’d read when I was growing up. To know where you’re going, you need to know where you’ve come from. So often queer histories have been hidden in order to protect people’s safety, or forcibly erased in acts of cultural vandalism and oppression.”

With the book, Jack hopes to provide LGBTQ people with a greater sense of their community with profiles of people they may never have heard of before. 

“I am handing you your sacred history. A physical holy text that shows you not only are you seen and, loved and are enough, but that anything is possible not in spite of who you are, but because of it,” he adds. 

As part of Speaking of Pride, empowered by Bentley, £500 is being donated to a charity of Jack’s choosing. He chose the Albert Kennedy Trust saying, “AKT are doing essential work, supporting and empowering young LGBTQ+ people living in a hostile or abusive environment, or struggling with their housing situation.

“I couldn’t be prouder to support them.”

Also stepping into the back seat of our Bentley Flying Spur this year are Olympic champion and Strictly trailblazer Nicola Adams, who will recite a poem by fellow boxing legend Muhammed Ali, as well as Pretty Little Liars actor Julian Morris, who reads Carol Ann Duffy’s sensual queer poem ‘Warming Her Pearls’.

Meanwhile, actor Tom Prior will read a passage from The Story of Roman; the book that his recent LGBTQ romantic drama Firebird is based on, while internet superstar Lewys Ball recites lyrics from Lil Nas X’s track ‘Sun Goes Down’, which deal with coming out.

Finally, star of The Chase Paul Sinha turns to the band that “soundtracked his life” – Pet Shop Boys – for his reading; a recital of their 1990 track ‘Being Boring’, which Sinha describes as a “life-affirming anthem to hedonism and the acute sense of loss people feel along the way”.

Speaking of Pride, empowered by Bentley is part of Attitude Pride at Home, which runs from 9-19 June on attitude.co.uk, youtube.com/attitudemag, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@attitudemag).

Attitude Pride at Home is to benefit the Attitude Magazine Foundation for LGBT causes. 

To donate £3 please text ATHOME3 to 70480 or click here.