In November 2010, Wadham college was the first college in Oxford’s history to raise the rainbow flag. We raised it during Wadham’s annual Queer Week, a week of events that celebrates LGBTQ culture of the past, present and future, culminating in the famous Queer Fest party.
In November 2010, Wadham college was the first college in Oxford’s history to raise the rainbow flag. We raised it during Wadham’s annual Queer Week, a week of events that celebrates LGBTQ culture of the past, present and future, culminating in the famous Queer Fest party.It was a small gesture that generated an extremely positive response. Many students, residents, academics and tourists were talking about the flag and taking photos of it. News of Wadham flying the flag even spread to the international media: it made the front page of Pink News, Europe’s largest LGBTQ news service.
The rainbow has traditionally been a symbol of inclusivity, hope and diversity, and its more specific use now as a pride symbol reflects this. The rainbow flag is generally thought of as just a symbol of gay pride, but it is not only that – it more broadly represents a symbol of support for LGBTQ rights. You do not need to be a member of the LGBTQ community to support the advancement of the rights of a community that still faces discrimination and persecution across the globe.This is why we have come up with an initiative to get every college involved and flying the flag so that people could walk through Oxford and see that there is a message of support for the LGBT community coming from not only Wadham, but the rest of Oxford university.
