At Bishopsgate Institute, archives constitute so much more. Protest banners, apparel, kink paraphernalia, hilarious Trump figurines to a full-size bed – every variant of material object connected to the history of protest and freedom of self-expression finds its home here.

To celebrate this ethos, we hosted a story circle at the Institute this December. It was a queer show and tell of sorts, where we sought to map the material footprint of queerness. We wanted to know what role tangible material objects can play in someone’s LGBTQIA+ journey, or are representative of their queer identity or desire. It was held in hybrid mode, with some people joining us from Leeds and Manchester. Our storytellers brought in a range of objects, from jewellery to paintings to even breast implants! This blog celebrates their stories of self-affirmation.

Olyvia came prepared with her knitting gear, talking about her queer awakening at the Knitting Society at her university. Describing the KnitsSoc as her “queer haven”, she talked about how she felt safe to acknowledge and explore her bisexuality in that space. Self-confessedly a “sip tea and chill” rather than “rave all night” queer, Olyvia recalled how the most supportive environment for her was to just “knit together and bitch about stuff” to understand her queerness.

While Olyvia describes community as so vital, Allison reminisced how it was harder to find as a transwoman a few decades ago. For her story, she brought a bracelet, talking about her life in Hemel Hempstead and work in Smiths. For the first time post-transition, she went into a jewellery shop to get her bracelet, and as she walked out, she bumped into her old colleagues. They saw her with the bracelet and also recognized her as Allison for the first time. Allison stated, “I walked in, got that bracelet, and my life changed.” Allison also talked of the long journey post-coming out, and on further reflection, she amended her stance: “The bracelet didn’t change anything, I did.” Regardless, Allison remembers the bracelet fondly in her journey as a transwoman, and told us that this was the first time in twenty years that she shared her story about it.

E’s object, also a piece of jewellery, was introduced with stories about her background as a South Asian woman. E talked about her conservative upbringing within rigid definitions of what constitutes masculinity and femininity and how her queerness greatly upset this binary. She understood what bisexuality, sadomasochism and kink meant after gaining access to her university space, where more alternative modes of self-expression were permissible. For her story, E brought in a choker. A friend and member of the local kink circle had gifted it to her, and the choker became an important accessory in reclaiming her sexuality. A vociferous feminist and activist, she stated, “I have learned not to hold my pleasure hostage to my politics” – a quote from a fellow feminist she lives by.

Fee, a prolific poet in Leeds open mic circles, brought their black jumpsuit to the table. They shared their fascinating story of the role it played on the journey to realizing their asexuality. Fee talked about their confusion with the disjunction between popular media tropes and their personal experience with desire. However, deciding to give it a shot since university is when people are meant to find their “big romance person”, Fee chose to wear their jumpsuit on a first date. This date led Fee to realize their lack of romantic and sexual desire, and eventually, their asexuality. It was an eye-opening date, and although Fee did not feel keen for a second, they still don the jumpsuit occasionally.

Stephanie brought a painting she made for the show and tell, something she said represented the “mishmash” that is her identity. An international student from Mauritius, Stephanie talked about living in Mauritius and the UK as a black woman, a black bisexual woman, a black Catholic bisexual woman and a black Catholic bisexual woman diagnosed with Adhd. Stephanie described her process of painting her thoughts and feelings, and her struggles with her religion, sexuality and neurodiversity. She talked about how all these different parameters played in tandem, and at times, actively antagonized each other, and how she would never choose to represent herself in any other way.

For her segment in the story circle, Skye brought in breast implants. As she passed them around the table for people to do the poke-test, she talked about her teenage years and eventual transition. Queerness had to be carefully hidden where she grew up. To find a leeway, Skye used to try on her sister’s dresses and shoes, relishing in the momentary acts of subversion. Skye also talked of being terrified of the windows, feeling like there was always scrutiny imposed on her body. Even when she got the breast implants, Skye would only try them on at home at first, just for her own sake, before she could go out in public with them. She stated that as a transwoman, she has always craved the freedom to “do stuff anywhere”.

The story circle was organized by Sreya Chatterjee as part of her placement with the Bishopsgate Institute, funded by the White Rose College of Arts and Humanities. She was also supported and supervised by Prof Churnjeet Mahn, academic and researcher in the Cross Border Queers project. Sreya is a PhD student researching 21^st century travel literature at the University of Leeds. Her other research interests include postcolonialism, gender studies, queer studies and pop culture. Her thesis is funded by the WRoCAH consortium.