February is announced to be LGBT month and the city of Sunderland offers a variety of events.
Venues that have officially confirmed they are hosting LGBT related events are: Lola’s Bar, The Basement, Eazy Street, Gatsby’s and Ttonic.
According to University of Sunderland Students Union Vice President, Daniel Punch, there will be a couple of events held within the university campuses, too.
However, some members of the Sunderland LGBT community are not very keen on the idea.
A woman, who wished to remain anonymous, is not sure Sunderland is putting enough of efforts towards the LGBT month.
She said: “I am not satisfied with the way the LGBT community is treated in Sunderland – it is a very narrow-minded city.
“Sunderland doesn’t really do anything for the LGBT community.”
Arnie Keena, host of the gay night at Lola’s bar, known as Teapot Tuesday, disagrees and says that “equal rights are in full swing now”.
He insists that although LGTB community in Sunderland is small, it is still significant, as Sunderland is the largest city north of Leeds.
In his opinion, LGBT month does serve educational purposes, but it is rather aimed at the young people who only ‘”take it as another chance to have a drink”.
He said: ‘The younger generation needs to know the meaning of gay pride. It’s not just there to party, it’s there to promote a safe environment for LGBT people.
“It is there to push that there’s no place in society for homophobia. It’s there to fight for LGBT communities across the globe for those who are persecute for being gay.”