LJMU PhD student Samantha Barker is seeking participants to contribute to her origianl research on being part of an LGBTQIA+ community with memories from the 1970s and 1980s and the cultural significance of clothing.

The study is open to:

  • Individuals who self-identify as belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community and were 18+ in the 1970s or 1980s.
  • Relatives or close associates of the above.

What to expect:

You will be invited to participate in an interview either online or in person. If online, you will be sent a secure link to a Microsoft Teams meeting which you can join from. If in person, you can opt to meet at interview locations such as LJMU Special Collections & Archives in Liverpool, Bishopsgate Institute in London, or at a convenient public location to you such as a cafe or public library.

Each session will take two hours of your time. You will be asked to share personal stories related to clothing, and ideally bring photographs or meaningful clothing items to guide the interview. You may also be invited to a second optional follow-up session to reflect on the earlier conversation and discuss any new thoughts or memories.

You will receive a gift card as a thank you for your contributions to this area of research.

If you consent to your data being preserved for long term use and memory, LJMU Special Collections & Archives may optionally retain a private copy for preservation purposes. No data from these recordings will be shared publicly without your prior and explicit consent.

How do I participate?

Get in touch with the Principal Investigator Samantha Barker at S.M.Barker@2024.ljmu.ac.uk to book a session and for all queries related to these recordings.

If you have any questions related to archival preservation of your oral history, please additionally email archives@ljmu.ac.uk.

Research Ethics Information:

Research Ethics Committee Reference Number: 251210LJMUREC197
Principal Investigator: Samant a Barker, LJMU postgraduate research student
LJMU Email address: S.M.Barker@2024.ljmu.ac.uk
LJMU School/Faculty: Humanities and Social Sciences (History)
LJMU Central telephone number: 01512312121
LJMU Special Collections & Archives email: archives@ljmu.ac.uk
LJMU Special Collections & Archives telephone number: 0151 231 3241

– Christopher Olive, Assistant Archivist 2026