The gay, lesbian and bisexual naval personnel will join the estimated 50,000 others expected to turn up today. "It was less than 10 years ago that people were sacked and subjected to humiliating cross-examinations and things." Stonewall spokesman Alan Wardle said the navy had undergone an "amazing transformation" since then.
The armed forces introduced a new code of sexual conduct in 2000. The fight went all the way to the European court, where the case succeeded, forcing the Labour government to lift the ban. At the time there was no Human Rights Act and although judges in the high court and the court of appeal said the ban was not justified, they had no jurisdiction to overturn it. In 1998 the gay rights group Stonewall took up these four cases and mounted a legal challenge to the armed forces' "no gays" policy. Jeanette Smith was an RAF nurse when an anonymous informant told her superiors she was in a lesbian relationship, and Duncan Lustig-Prean was a naval lieutenant commander when he was discharged in 1994 after reporting a blackmail attempt over his sexuality. Others were not so fortunate: father of two Graeme Grady was discharged from the RAF in 1994 after attending a counselling group for married gay men, and John Beckett, a weapons engineering mechanic on the nuclear submarine HMS Valiant, was discharged in 1993 after he told his commanding officer and his chaplain about his gay relationship. Probee says he has never "flaunted" his sexuality, but he was lucky it was not exposed before the ban on homosexuals in the armed forces was lifted in 2000. It might have made me emotionally a stronger person because all that time I was having to privately deal with something other people can do without thinking." "For a lot of years I lost out on that, not being able to love someone openly and freely. "I knew it was something I would have to hide," he said. But unlike other young recruits, he joined knowing his sexuality was a sackable offence. He had been working at a desk job and wanted something more "thrilling". Like many young men, he was attracted to military service as an opportunity to learn a trade and travel with it. Leading the group will be Chief Petty Officer Mark Probee, who joined the navy 20 years ago. Next come the disabled marchers, and then the sailors, real ones - represented by a group of about 30 gay, lesbian and bisexual navy personnel wearing their "number one" uniform of formal blues, with medals pinned to breasts.
First come the Mayor of London, dignitaries including Sir Ian McKellen and the organisers. And it took off.Just like a military parade, there will be a marching order. And I made a couple flags actually, but this one I submitted to a blog on Tumblr about genderfluidity and gender fluid people. "I wouldn’t call myself an artist, but I’ve dabbled with drawing and bits of Photoshop, so I decided to create it myself.
I found genderfluid to be fitting but was disappointed with the lack of symbolic representation," Poole said. At the time I knew genderqueer fit me, but it still felt too broad. "I had been trying to find an identity that fit me. In an interview with Majestic Mess Designs, Poole said they created the flag because genderfluidity lacked a symbol and the term "genderqueer" didn't exactly fit. Purple: Represents both masculinity and feminity The flag was created by JJ Poole in 2012 according to OutRight Action International. How often someone's identity shifts depends on the individual. People who are genderfluid don't identify with one gender, but rather their gender identity shifts between male, female, or somewhere else on the spectrum.