The Modern Lesbian is a photographic project and live photographic event that seeks to redress the balance of the male dominated LGBT scene by presenting the stories of gay and bisexual women across three generations who have been instrumental in shaping the cultural, commercial and social history of gay Birmingham. Over the last year documentary photographer Rachel Adams has interviewed influential gay women who have impacted on the cultural, social and economic landscape of the West Midlands, going on to use their memories, anecdotes and personal histories to inform the locations and tone of the photographic portraits that she has produced.
Linking women’s stories across the generations the exhibition traces how gay women have shaken up the mainstream across activism and politics, through to club culture and entrepreneurialism. Selected on account of their reputation as ground-breakers in the gay and lesbian scene and the role they have played in shaping Birmingham’s broader cultural sector, the women included in the exhibition tell the story of how underground lesbian culture has quietly, but radically, influenced the mainstream of
Birmingham and that of the UK. In addition, by running a number of Modern Lesbian pop-up photographic studios the project has invited gay and bisexual women to contribute their image and stories to a wider documentary archive of lesbian culture in all of its forms.

FINAL lesley pattenson

FINAL steph keeble2

FINAL yvonne washbourne

Linking women’s stories across the generations the exhibition traces how gay women have shaken up the mainstream across activism and politics, through to club culture and entrepreneurialism. Selected on account of their reputation as ground-breakers in the gay and lesbian scene and the role they have played in shaping some of the UK’s major cities and their broader cultural sector, the women included in the exhibition tell the story of how underground lesbian culture has quietly, but radically, influenced the mainstream of Manchester and Birmingham and that of the UK. In addition, by running a number of Modern Lesbian pop-up photographic studios the project has invited gay and bisexual women to contribute their image and stories to a wider documentary archive of lesbian culture in all of its forms.

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