Twenty-Eight: Stories from the Section 28 Generation

by Kestral Gaian

In May 1988, a law was passed that made 'promotion' of LGBTQI+ identities illegal across the United Kingdom. It was not repealed until the early 2000s. For fifteen years, young queer people in the UK grew up in the shadow of this oppressive law.

Students of the 80s, 90s, and early 00s are still feeling the impact of the original "don't say gay" law to this day. At a time where new laws prohibiting the support of young LGBTQI+ people are appearing across the world, we need to hear from the people impacted by Section 28 now more than ever.

These are their stories.

Genres: Queer

328 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2023

About the author

Kestral Gaian is an author, poet, and playwright whose work refuses to sit neatly inside a box. Their writing inhabits the places where genres overlap and come undone: the personal and the political, the digital and the human, the soft and the furious. Kestral’s work is defined by a deep belief that stories can help us practise being better humans. Or at least weirder, kinder ones.

Kestral's background is wide ranging, from psychotherapy to technology to community activism, and this diversity infuses their art. Audiences and readers often describe being moved not just by what Kestral writes, but by how it feels to inhabit the worlds they create: playful, thoughtful, deeply human.

Whether writing poetry, plays, lyrics, or fiction, Kestral Gaian is committed to work that challenges, delights, and endures. Their voice is one of defiance and tenderness, of systems questioned, and of
humanity held close.

Reviews

[Morgan Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

A profound and important piece of work for those who grew up under Section 28 in the UK. From those who lived through out to those who have felt the effects in the years proceeding it - I am more than happy to have found this book, and I hope it can bring some support and clarity to those who needs it. Let's not make the same mistakes again.

[Gemma Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many important stories about this dark part of education history. Both devastating and inspiring. With the far right more emboldened than they’ve been in a long time, it’s crucial that we remember this awful legislation and the young lives ruined by it.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of incredible, heartbreaking and unbelievably important stories that everyone should be aware of