QSTPS COMMENTS

Great article I found about a Lesbian Capital in the UK called Hebden Bridge Town. It reminded me of my dream and plan to have a Gay Wakanda/Gay City State where we as Gay men alone live work and govern ourselves. Hebden Bridge Town is a Lesbian haven with some other queer people living with them.

We also encourage Lesbians to set up their community cities and towns so as to rest from all the homophobia that could affect their well being . They can set up their AI Security System or hire Female Security Forces and if they feel they must hire Male Security Forces , hire, with a mix of AI Security System in Lesbian Neighborhoods around the world.

In my recent personal studies I realized every nation is a family and a family is a unit of love aka sex aka union.Interesetingly you can have a family hence a nation primarily and only from IVF where your partner,if you want a heterosexual partner though you can also have a homosexual/bisexual partner via the same process, is an IVF child of yours like Eve was from the body of Adam.

The union mostly heterosexual led to children some of whom mostly repeated the heterosexual union system to produce children some of whom repeated the heterosexual union system. This happened for the 3000 centuries of the HomoSapien Family that we all belong to alongside the homosexual union system ,stemming from homosexual children of a heterosexual union or bisexual union system, that did not produce children but produced same-sex bonding in many arenas of life like education, sports , entertainment and even the military or government . Great examples of Same-Sex Unions include the union between Abraham and his servant Eliezer, Naomi & her daughter in law Ruth, King David & Prince Jonathan , Yeshua Jesus & his disciples especially his unions with John, Lazarus Peter & James , Paul & Timothy, Paul & Onesimus , Philemon & Onesimus.

These same sex unions developed in tandem with heterosexual unions making the heterosexuals like Peter Kepha a bisexual as he had a wife and even according to the Gospel of Thomas Yeshua Jesus was also a bisexual with his kissing of Mary Magdalene and his secret homosexual meetings with his male disciples recorded in the Secret Gospel of Mark but denied in another Gospel ,the Gospel of Clement presumably to hide Yeshua Jesus' homosexuality.

From Ancient Israel's time throughout the last 20 Centuries homosexual unions have existed in tandem with heterosexual unions with a gradually increasing public display,public awareness and public exposure of homosexual unions . Throughout that exposure or revelation there has been varied reactions.

Some Governments responded harshly due to Religious Sentiments but as Scientific Sentiments rightly took precedence the successive Governments changed and now recognize homosexual unions with decriminalization of homosexual unions, legalization of mixed orientation marriages or unions or sexual associations aka sex and even legalization of polyamory as seen in the State of Massachusetts.

The change also rightly took place in churches or denominations hence Religious Sentiment Centers with mainline denominations rightly accepting homosexual clergy and rightly blessing homosexual unions. Other churches are yet to give their position on homosexual unions while others ignorantly attack homosexual unions without deeply studying Science & Arts which are God that validates Sexual Diversity due Biodiversity aka Rainbownormia.

Recent History is replete with male and female homosexuals both Black and White in Sciences, Arts & Religion such as the late Heaven-based Alan Turing, the late Heaven-based Oscar Wilde ,the late Heaven-based Langston Hughes,the late Heaven-based James Baldwin, the late Heaven-based Bayard Rustin, the late Heaven-based Rev. James Cleveland, the late Heaven-based Clara Ward a Black Lesbian Gospel Musician, Bishop Yvette Flunder, Bishop Joseph Tolton, the late Heaven-based Pastor Lonnie Frisbee, the late Heaven-based Apostle Paul Cain , the late Heaven- based Bishop Eddie Long, TBN Founder the late Heaven-based Paul Crouch Sr. whom I call the King of Christianity and his late Heaven-based wife Jan Crouch Queen of Christianity with their sons and their wives now the current Kings & Queens of Christianity , the late Heaven-based Binyavanga Wainaina , the late Heaven-based Kawira , the late Heaven-based Sheila Lumumba , the late Heaven-based Edwin Chiloba , the late Heaven-based Nick Brentol Omondi a Kenyan Gospel Musician and Praise & Worship Leader , Tonex Bslade a Black Gospel Musician and all the other Earth-Based Gays and Lesbians.

Africa is gradually joining the beautiful trend of tolerance as a minority of countries that are intolerant to homosexual unions are so to their chagrin as Human History has had diverse/rainbow/ various unions in its societal settings no matter the religious settings.

The hyped Heteronormia is actually inaccurate as Homonormia was present together with Heteronormia and Binormia. Meaning from the start of Homo Sapien Civilization we actually started and still are Rainbownormia that is Heteronormia , Homonormia & Binormia and NOT Heteronormia alone. In fact 50% of Hollywood's actors in the 30s were homosexuals acting in heterosexual, bisexual ( rainbowsexual) and homosexual movies where one sex dominated a movie like Western Cowboy Films/ Movies.

Then in the 1980s a powerful enablement came for the homosexual unions that wanted children . IVF was born and it helped infertile couples, one of the couples being homosexual couples and single individuals, have children.

This biomedical revolution has given Gays & Lesbians power to have children hence nations hence continents hence races hence worlds( not all Gays & Lesbians want to have children and that is fine; I'm one of them . We should be respected for our decision 😊😊 )

For our Gay Wakanda or Gay City State we will encourage our Gay men to only have boys and thus import their sperm to the Lesbian City State who will in turn join the sperm to surrogate mothers eggs and thus they will carry the babies for the Gay men and once the babies are born will be transported back to our Gay Wakanda/ Gay City State.

And that's it ...there is our Hebden, our Gay Hebden, our Gay Wakanda where we will have every profession filled with Gays / Men and every child will be male .

And we know in God's Yeshua Jesus' Heaven that there is a Gay Planet with only men working together ,living together and loving men .

Life is about building Heaven on Earth , let us see how Lesbians built Lesbian Heaven on Rainbow/Mixed Earth in Hebden Bridge UK.

Comments by

Founder of QSTPS

Arthur Owiti / Tendaishe Owiti/Owiti

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

Hebden Bridge: The surprising 'lesbian capital of the UK'

Stephen Emms

Alamy Quaint buildings by a canal in Hebden Bridge (Credit: Alamy) — (Credit: Alamy)

Home to just 4,500 people and set in a scenic, rural valley, this quaint market town has blossomed into a bastion of tolerance.

"None of the bars here are gay bars," said Liz Paton. "But at the same time, they all are."

Paton is the charismatic owner of Drink, an independent taproom in the Yorkshire market town of Hebden Bridge, where my boyfriend and I were visiting for a long weekend.

Nestled between Manchester and Leeds in the scenic Upper Calder Valley, for years this rural town – which calls itself a "bohemian paradise", thanks to its many eco-friendly shops, artisan markets, galleries and indie bookstores – had been on my wish list. And so on my recent birthday, we finally booked a trip to stroll its cobbled streets, explore its rivers and canals, climb the surrounding wooded hillsides and – of course – gaze down from its eponymous 16th-Century packhorse bridge.

Though only boasting a population of roughly 4,500 people, this small, peaceful community has long been known as "the lesbian capital of the UK" – 8.95% identified as LGBTQ+ in the last Census. I was curious to trace the queer history of "Trouser Town" (a nickname referencing Hebden Bridge's manufacturing heritage). But as I soon discovered, its evolution from a rural mill town to a tolerant bastion was a bit blurry.

Alamy Hebden Bridge is a quiet, 4,500-person market town set in the scenic Upper Calder Valley (Credit: Alamy) — Hebden Bridge is a quiet, 4,500-person market town set in the scenic Upper Calder Valley (Credit: Alamy)

Back in the 1970s, artists and activists were drawn here by cheap housing after the cotton mills shut down. "One historical and cultural factor [that helped establish a burgeoning lesbian community] may have been the separatist wing of 1960s and 1970s feminism," said Dr Andrew Moor, who teaches film studies at Manchester Metropolitan University. "There was an element which allied itself with alternative hippy culture's experiments in alternative living, communes and a resistance to full-throttle capitalism. Hebden was the right size and in the right place."

Former resident Bev Manders moved here in the 1980s. "Certainly up to 1986, lesbians weren't particularly visible as far as I can ascertain," she said. But so steady was the growth of the community that, in neighbouring Todmorden, a monthly Women's Disco was launched. "The first took place on New Year's Eve 1986 at Cornholme Church Hall," said Manders. "With a fair amount of women there, it's my belief that this is the point we became more visible, and it also gave others the impetus to be visible – and some to come out."

The disco was held in various venues before relocating to Todmorden Cricket Club, where it still takes place on the second Saturday of the month. "Within a short time, word got out and there'd be women coming from Bradford, Leeds, Burnley and even Cumbria, Blackpool and Nottingham."

From 1986 to the early 1990s, Manders recalls that "an influx of lesbians" descended on the small town. "A number moved to the valley as they knew someone who lived there or had previously visited. Others had heard through the grapevine about this 'new' place with lesbians. In addition to the disco, there were writers' groups, book clubs, a choir and walking groups. Some were exclusively lesbian, some women-only."

By the late 1990s a monthly pamphlet, Lesbian Zone, was available to buy via subscription or at specific bars – and by 2004 Hebden had the highest number of lesbians per capita in the UK.

Today, this unassuming town is known as a bastion of tolerance (Credit: Stephen Emms)

Stephen Emms Today, this unassuming town is known as a bastion of tolerance (Credit: Stephen Emms) — Today, this unassuming town is known as a bastion of tolerance (Credit: Stephen Emms)

Bar owner Paton was born and raised in Calderdale but drawn to Hebden from a young age. "I was aware of the 'lesbian hippy' moniker," she said. "It was about seeking refuge amongst more open-minded people: artists and new-wave travellers made for happy bedfellows during the 1970s and '80s."

Tim Whitehead, now artistic director of Happy Valley Pride, which welcomes thousands of people from across the country every July, is another Hebden Bridge resident who grew up nearby but was drawn to its countercultural side. "I used to come here in the 1980s with my family. Whereas other Yorkshire towns were like [the pensioner-centred 1970s BBC sitcom] Last Of The Summer Wine, you'd come into Hebden and it would be people in caftans wandering around. But there was always a mix: hippies, artists and the lesbian community, as well as traditional Yorkshire town people."

Lou Millichamp arrived in Hebden in 1994 knowing no one and started running the subterranean Nelson's Wine Bar in 1997: originally set up by two gay men, it was one of Hebden's first safe spaces that welcomed both lesbians and queer men. "In the '90s when I worked there," said Manders, "Friday nights would be heaving with lesbians and gay men from the valley and nearby areas."

Today, Millichamp still runs Nelson's in "a partnership" with two other women. It's now a candle-lit vegan bar and restaurant serving innovative small plates like king oyster "scallops" with coconut pea puree and crispy kale; and a tomato, pistachio and saffron tart. As we ate, we watched lively groups of mostly LGBTQ+ folk clinking wine glasses all around us.

Many of Hebden Bridge's former mills have been converted to galleries and shops (Credit: Alamy)

Alamy Many of Hebden Bridge's former mills have been converted to galleries and shops (Credit: Alamy) — Many of Hebden Bridge's former mills have been converted to galleries and shops (Credit: Alamy)

Despite such tolerance, it was, sadly, still homophobia that proved the catalyst for Happy Valley Pride (the area's nickname – and the inspiration for the hit BBC show – is due to long-associated issues with drugs). In 2015 a piece of homophobic graffiti appeared in Hebden on "a big piece of tarpaulin", said Whitehead. "So a group of locals, led by Darren Spruce, took it down and invited members of the community to turn into an enormous artwork as a way of reclaiming it."

A year later, in 2016, Spruce contacted Whitehead to programme acts for a week-long festival with a main event on the Saturday, and Happy Valley Pride took root. Now attracting more than 6,000 attendees each year, the grassroots event nonetheless pulls in performers from legendary London club Duckie. "There are free events, workshops, talks and dancing," said Paton. "Very few things are ticketed, and it's a glorious cross section that shows how very mundane being gay is. We're not trying to overtake anything: we just want people to stop equating our sexualities with sexual deviance."

Part of Happy Valley Pride's focus is on its two neighbours, Todmorden and Mytholmroyd, both of which make scenic canalside strolls (in opposite directions) from Hebden.

Todmorden has a gritter, more industrial feel than its rival, and "the gay community tends to be on the younger side", said Paton. Here, we enjoyed pints at independent bar-venue Nan Moor's, popular with both local and offcumden (a Yorkshire word meaning "not-from-round-here") LGBTQ+ visitors.