Intergenerational oral history and Section 28

November 2023 was the twentieth anniversary of the repeal of Section 28 in England and Wales. A piece of homophobic legislation that prohibited local authorities and schools from ‘promoting’ homosexuality, Section 28 sought to silence LGBTQ+ voices. To mark the anniversary of its repeal, an Exeter-based project team embarked on an oral history project that paired young LGBTQ+ people with older LGBTQ+ people in the South West to record how their lives were impacted by this legislation. The resulting oral histories were at the heart of an exhibition on Section 28 and its afterlives, which launched in November 2023. In the months since, interviewers and interviewees have reflected on the experience of being involved in an intergenerational LGBTQ+ oral history project. The following conversation draws on written and recorded responses to a set of questions by two of the project’s interviewers and three interviewees: Lisette and Amy, who were born around the time of Section 28’s repeal; and Claire, Peter, and Melissa, who lived through Section 28’s introduction and repeal, and are all now in their 40s and 50s. The conversation has been edited for clarity and concision.<p></p>