London: One week until UK’s second Dyke March

Jun 14 2013
Written by Corinne Pinfold

London’s second Dyke March takes place on Saturday 22 June, with a route echoing the steps of Suffragettes.

The Dyke March tradition originated in America in the 1980s, and has a more political slant than Pride marches. It is also more geared towards being a space for “dyke”-identifying women and allies.

Last year a Dyke March took place in London for the first time in almost 20 years, with almost 800 attending. Speakers included Paris Lees, Lady Phill Opoku-Hyimah, and Kirsten Hearn.

This year organisers hope to see even more lesbians and allies turn up for the event, which will begin at 3:00pm at Berkeley Square on 22 June. From there, marchers will follow a 1908 Suffragette march route through central London to Soho.

Speakers at Berkeley Square will include Sue Sanders of LGBT History, diversity consultant Femi Otitoju, META editor Roz Kaveney, and National Union of Students LGBT Officer Finn McGoldrick.

Organisers have also launched a photo blog alongside the march called Project ID. They are asking for submissions of portraits holding words that best express how people identity, whether as a’dyke’, ‘lesbian’, ‘uncle butch’ or ‘just gay’.

Volunteer stewards are still being recruited, and a fundraiser to cover the costs of the march is also running.