Peter Tatchell has endeavoured to make a citizen’s arrest on Robert Mugabe TWICE and received a beating for his efforts, he’s persuaded UK venues to stop booking Murder Music artists which has in turn reduced homophobic lyrics in dancehall music and he consistently challenges hate preachers who incite violence against LGBTI people. Not bad, huh? We caught up with him for Loverboy #3 to find out more.

Peter, can you tell me more about The Peter Tatchell Foundation?
Yes, The Foundation does about fifty per cent LGBTI work and fifty per cent other Human Rights Issues. About half is UK-based and about half is focused on issues overseas. We try to focus our energies on below the radar issues. So when virtually no one else was campaigning for same sex marriage years and years and years ago, we were. Today we’re one of a small number of groups campaigning for straight couples to have a civil partnership which is still prohibited.

What’s been your scariest moment?
There have been so many. In 1978 at Waterloo station a mob of National Front supporters set upon a young black teenager. I intervened and they turned on me. I thought I was going to be killed. Everyone just stood and watched. I managed to get up and walk to the ticket office, pleading to the guy to let me in. But he wouldn’t because he was afraid they would beat him too.
In Moscow in 2007, the Moscow city police just stood by and watched me being beaten to the point of nearly passing out. Then when they saw I had been pretty badly bashed they then intervened to arrest me and let my attackers walk free.

What do you make of the conservative views that are coming from certain LGBT figures? For example Caitlyn Jenner’s ‘judgment of gay marriage.’
Well, in the 1960s most people involved in the LGBTI movement came out of the Radical left. They were the only ones willing to take on the establishment and take the risks of being out. But over time more traditional, conservative LGBTI people have gotten involved with the movement. That has tended to shift the consensus to a more ‘conservative’ outlook. In the early days same sex marriage and parenting wasn’t even on the agenda. We were rejecting those heterosexist institutions.

So Caitlyn Jenner’s views is another example of how these ‘conservative’ views are filtering into LGBT politics?
Yes.

Gotcha. Is the term gay icon thrown around too liberally?
Yes. I think the criterion of being a gay icon has become somewhat devalued. There are people who have done precious little to push LGBT rights forward who are held as gay icons. Some have even opposed LGBT rights. That doesn’t make sense to me. I can’t see the black community adopting such a low base for icon status.

Read more in Loverboy #3. Out now.
The Peter Tatchell Foundation.

Peter with Loverboy’s Creative Director, John Brock, and Editor-in-Chief, Michael Turnbull.