What a Drag!
Sophie Madison, EDI Coordinator, Human Resources
Sophie Madison celebrates Campus Pride while applauding the achievements of those who have gone before.
Back in 1970, fifteen entrants got glammed up to compete for the title of Drag Rag Queen at a disco to raise money for charity. Sounds like my kind of night! It’s brilliant to see the Students Union’s LGBTQ+ group carrying the torch still, running the fundraising events ‘Drag for RAG’ and ‘Drag for Swag’ in recent years.
It seems pertinent that the 1970 competition on our campus occurred just one year after the Stonewall Riots in New York, where queer performers and patrons stood up to the police’s targeted attacks on LGBTQ+ venues, sparking the gay rights movement. 1970 was also the year that the Gay Liberation Front’s (GLF) UK branch was set up by a student from LSE.
Throughout the 20th and 21st century students have been at the forefront of the battle for equity and justice, and Bath is no exception. Recent examples include the Biscuit Protest of 2017 and MoggOff in 2023. With the 2025 Supreme Court ruling and EHRC proposed code of practice affecting the lives of trans people across the UK alongside high-profile free speech cases featuring universities in mainstream media, amplifying the voices of marginalised young people is becoming increasingly important.
But we cannot expect students to stand up and fight for change without support from their community. I started Campus Pride in 2021 in my role as chair of the LGBTQ+ staff network. It has been going for six years now, and hearing from the students who feel safe and celebrated there is always so heartening.
Campus Pride was meant to help build community and celebrate queer joy. But we would not be able to do this without the bravery of those who went before us. The queer elders who paved the way for LGBTQ+ rights, be it through everyday authenticity or protests and activism, we learn from them, and stand on the shoulders of giants.
