J.S.K. Starr

Photo of the Lesbian and Gays support the miners banner

Photo of @jskstarr from the People’s History Museum standing behind a laptop and desk delivering a talk. JSK is wearing a colourful shirt and dark trousers.

Photo of a whiteboard slide showing a photo of a white tshirt from the anti section 28 march with the words ‘Never going underground’ on it.

“Organisations need to be seen as organic, with constantly growing collections and interpretations”
@jskstarr.bsky.social
#CILIPNWPride
#LGBTQ+

Photo of a whiteboard display with the words “we have always been here” with 3 photos One is of a pride march, one is of a banner with the words “act up Manchester” and one is of an exhibition.

Next up at our @ciliplgbtq.bsky.social and @cilipnw.bsky.social joint event is @jskstarr.bsky.social from @phm.org.uk outlining the impact of #Section28 on #museums, catalogues and collections.

“We are still playing catch up” and they’re are knowledge gaps.
#LGBTQ
#CilipNWPride

Crucially, Jaime points out that interpreting marginalised histories is often taken up by minoritised museum workers, many times working outside the scope of their assigned roles. We need to recognise this extra labour and allocate staff hours to support these workers. @jskstarr.bsky.social

Children have the right to be fully included in public spaces, and an effective way to do this is to encourage their participation and respect their responses (Nikonanou, et al., 2020). This can be achieved through the curation of the space with a focus on accessibility and inclusion. The careful placing of artefacts, opportunities for handing and the accessibility of information for all would benefit the space. In addition, opportunities for children to create culture in response to exhibits on their own terms may increase their engagement and interest. This can be achieved through drawing, making, playing, dancing, singing, dressing up, touching and handling objects and through expressing their views. It is evident that children follow their own interests and form their own agendas in public spaces, rather than the agendas of adults (Blundell, 2016). Museums, therefore, should reject a protectionist vulnerability discourse of childhood and embrace a discourse of competence and empowerment by recognising children’s ability to understand difficult concepts and respond. Museums should, therefore, encourage children’s responses, participation and creativity and embrace children’s intangible, transitory culture rather than imposing an adult agenda of learning and didacticism.

Loved this quote in an article about kids' engagement, participation and inclusion in museums, but first and foremost:

"Children have the right to be fully included in public spaces"

doi.org/10.1177/0907...

It’s weird to me that scholars keep writing that John Singer Sargent was a very private man who left no evidence of his sexuality when his sketches are like the definition of being horny on main, 19th century style.

"What if my museum doesn't have a queer collection?" Jaime says YES YOU DO! Every museum, every city, every community has queer history. It takes research and dedication to find these stories, says @jskstarr.bsky.social

Jaime Starr speaks in front of a seated crowd at a podium with the Museums + Heritage Show logo alongside a BSL interpreter and a slide presentation on a monitor

Jaime Starr @jskstarr.bsky.social speaking about using queer or LGBTQ in museums: not everyone will agree. You might get pushback about ANY term. The key is to choose your terms thoughtfully, stay consistent, and train staff to explain the museum's choice.

A People's History Museum advert. Text: "You can make a difference. Become a radical friend! Give £3 a month."

An interpretation panel hanging from a wall. Pink text: "Now it is more important than ever for black and white to unite to fight racism; lesbians, gay men and heterosexuals to fight sexism, trade unionists are fighting to keep jobs, decent wages and working conditions and old and young alike are fighting for a dignified retirement for the elderly, training, jobs and further education for school-leavers." LGSM, 1985.

In these difficult times, I know that's a message I'm keen to hold on to.

If you want to support People's History Museum to put on more incredible events like this, please consider becoming a radical friend and donating to the museum to enable us to continue our work.

phm.org.uk/support-us/

(left to right) Mike Jackson and Jonathan Blake on stage at People's History Museum. Both are smiling, and Jonathan is speaking into a microphone.

I'm so grateful to Jonathan and Mike for their generosity in sharing their memories & wisdom with us all. I'm sure everyone at the Q&A left fired up & empowered to go out into the world and forge more bonds of solidarity. As Mike said, "it only takes two people pulling together to start a movement".

The LGSM pop-up exhibition space, empty of visitors. The walls are hung with photographs, and the back wall features a bright pink LGSM Manchester banner. All objects part of People's History Museum's collection.

Quite literally - one of the first conversations I had with Jonathan, before I worked at PHM, I told him "maybe one day, I'll get to curate an exhibition about LGSM's work". Six months after that conversation,I got a job where I could do exactly that, and a year down the line the dream came true!

(left to right) Jaime Starr (a long haired femme wearing a rainbow shirt, and Pits and Perverts t-shirt), Mike Jackson (an older man wearing glasses, a blue shirt and knitted sweater vest) and Jonathan Blake (an older man wearing glasses, a padded jacket, kilt and tartan shirt) sitting on stage. Jaime and Jonathan are laughing, while Jonathan speaks into a microphone.

(left to right) Jonathan Blake, Jaime Starr and Mike Jackson standing smiling in front of the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners banner in the galleries at People's History Museum.

The pop-up exhibition space, crowded with visitors. The walls are hung with photographs on exhibition boards, and the back wall features a bright pink 'Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners Manchester' banner. All objects are part of People's History Museum's collection.

An interpretation panel hanging from a wall. Pink text: "Now it is more important than ever for black and white to unite to fight racism; lesbians, gay men and heterosexuals to fight sexism, trade unionists are fighting to keep jobs, decent wages and working conditions and old and young alike are fighting for a dignified retirement for the elderly, training, jobs and further education for school-leavers." LGSM, 1985.

Last Thursday was the proudest night of my career so far. Hosting the sold out Solidarity Forever: 40 Years of LGSM at People's History Museum (@phm.org.uk) interviewing Mike Jackson and Jonathan Blake, and co-curating the pop-up LGSM exhibition was a dream come true.

An orange coloured advert for the Museums and Heritage Show program launch - it shows a person wearing white, standing at a lectern and smiling. Text: Excited to be presenting at the Museum and Heritage Show on May 14! Book your free ticket now! My workshop will show you how to curate marginalised history tours within permanent galleries that show limited objects from those communities."

A screenshot of the program page for my session at the Museums and Heritage Show. The top picture shows me giving a tour, stood in front of a pink Act Up Manchester banner in the People's History Museum galleries. Text: "In 2024 People’s History Museum designed new staff-led LGBTQIA+ history tours of our permanent galleries, which have proved hugely successful engagement opportunities. While the session will draw from LGBTQIA+ tours, this process lends itself easily to other marginalised identity groups within your communities. This session will share our process, including: - How to integrate marginalised community history into gallery sections with few or no obviously connected objects. - The research process. - Terminology challenges – how to identify and talk accessibly about LGBTQIA+ histories from periods before currently used terms for gender and sexuality existed. - Supporting a brave space for tour group discussions. - Identifying alternative sources of contact for engaging with marginalised communities. - Q&A." The bottom image is my headshot.

I am thrilled to be presenting at the Museums + Heritage Show this year!

"We Have Always Been Here" - Highlighting Marginalised Voices in Permanent Collections shares my work curating LGBTQIA+ Hidden History tours at People's History Museum.

Free tickets: show.museumsandheritage.com/2025-programme

The Trans+ History Week team are prepping for an even bigger and better Trans+ History Week 2025, currently reviewing 450 pitch submissions to our open call to invest in yet more Trans+ creatives!
Winning a DIVA Award would be a cherry on the cake of a brilliant first year for Trans+ History Week.

This was made possible through the support of 20+ of LGBTQIA+ sector orgs including DIVA, Not A Phase, Gendered Intelligence, LGBT Consortium, UK Black Pride and Queer Britain.

Our work was featured in Forbes, PinkNews, Campaign, GayTimes, Attitude, LBC, the BBC and many other publications, as well as being exhibited at Outernet London, and a national outdoor campaign which reached 1 in 6 UK residents.

Getting a chance to write about Jewish trans women surviving Nazi fascism and living to old age felt so timely at a point when revisionists are claiming our history as a community began yesterday, and the mentoring I received has empowered me to write follow-up articles for We Are QueerAF.

I'm so proud to have been part of this groundbreaking project, which gave platforms to over 30 Trans+ creatives to write, illustrate and podcast Trans+ histories from around the world and across millenia. On a personal note, it enabled me to share the story of Toni Ebel and Charlotte Charlaque.

Image has the Diva Award 2025 logo on it and then 'Trans+ History Week' awareness week celebrating trans+ history. Charity or Community Project of the Year. Colours are vibrant oranges and pinks.

🎉 Trans+ History Week has been shortlisted for a DIVA Award! We need your votes! Please vote for us to win charity or community project of the year: www.surveymonkey.com/r/3SK3YQX 🗳️

#DIVAawards25 #LVW25

A mounted poster designed like a comicstrip showing a 1940s detective in a yellow trench coat and hat making out with Superman, Robin, and Batman. The strip is captioned Dick around? Safe sex every time! The poster was created by ACT UP! Manchester in 1994 and is part of People's History Museum's collection. NMLH.2004.10.1.33

My latest blog for @phm.org.uk for LGBT+ History Month is a brief overview of UK HIV activism from the beginning of the epidemic to the present.

phm.org.uk/blogposts/a-...

The cover of Twenty-Eight - Stories from the Section 28 generation. It has an orange 1980s style television on it which shows an image of an anti-Section 28 protest march.

If you would like to learn more, why not check out Twenty-Eight: Stories from the Section 28 Generation, an anthology I co-authored of personal experiences from people who lived, learned & worked in impacted industries under Section 28. Published by @reconnectingrainbo.ws. Link to buy in my bio.

A group of 13 people in front of a powerpoint on a screen titled Section 28, a milestone on the road to equality.

It was an absolute pleasure to give an LGBT+ History Month lecture on Section 28 (the UK's version of a 'Don't Say Gay' law) at the Belfast office of Herbert Smith Freehills this week, discussing the societal environment in which the law was introduced, its impacts and legacy.

Not a black&white answer but it depends on who & how/what they used. There's own voices info in the Mainliners (Scottish HIV+ IVDU organisation) archive in Edinburgh. The Documenting HIV project just visited it & shared some references on Insta. instagram.com/p/DFmv2T1NCRa/?img_index=1

Cyndi Lauper silhouetted on stage, a mic stand in her hand.

Cyndi Lauper brandishing a floaty gauze rainbow flag on stage.

She bop.

Absolutely AMAZING gig tonight from Cyndi Lauper on her farewell tour.

When I work I want a clear, searchable file title, so my format is: Page name, site name, date of save. So if I save my bsky profile, the file name is: JSKStarr, Bluesky, 9/2/25. Then I organise in topic or publication specific folders.
Your system will vary, it just needs to make sense to you.

Had a DM asking how non-archivists can help save digital materials. Basically, go down an internet rabbit hole! Pick a topic, download every paper & reputable webpage you can find on it. Save as pdfs in case the Internet Archive ban is successful (also add these sites to the IA if you can).

Welcome over here to People's History Museum @phm.org.uk
- please give them a follow!

Help with digital archiving where you can. Keep an eye out for others asking for help locating information that used to be publicly accessible & share it generously.

I want to hope these suggestions are overkill, but I don’t want to take the chance that I’m wrong, and we find out too late.

Order print copies of photos – many sites offer free prints. If work or study means you regularly download research papers & journals, keep them! This month proves we can’t rely on the idea that websites we use for research will be there in 6 months or 6 years. Share resources you save generously.

Do it monthly if you’re relying on platforms provided by companies that you know are collaborating with governments erasing digital records. Back up in multiple non-cloud places if you can.
Your laptop is a great start. Add USB & external hard drive copies if you can. Encrypt as needed.

So I'm asking you - think critically about how & where you store your stuff. Set reminders to regularly backup your photos, social media profiles & everything that can tell us about *you* & your life that you currently entrust to cloud storage owned by companies that you have no control over.