Protect Your Lover
Reflecting on the safer sex campaigns of the '90s that paved the way for contemporary LGBTQ+ sex education and public health initiatives
ReadHealthy Gay Manchester Contact Sheet Pride (1994/1999) by Healthy Gay ManchesterLGBT Foundation
Proud to be behind you
Many will remember the 1990s as the peak of the HIV and AIDS crisis in the UK; LGBT Foundation, then known as Healthy Gay Manchester, was at the forefront of campaigning for safer sex practices.
Healthy Gay Manchester Safer Sex Pack Postcard Front (1994/1999) by Healthy Gay ManchesterLGBT Foundation
1994: Healthy Gay Manchester
Paul Martin arrived in Manchester in 1989 as a "bit of a radical fairy" and went on to form Healthy Gay Manchester in 1994. The newly-formed outreach team began delivering condoms, lube and information and support throughout various venues in Manchester’s gay scene.
This postcard produced by Healthy Gay Manchester was distributed to show the location of Safer Sex Packs around Manchester. The free Condom & Lube Distribution Scheme soon became the largest outside of London and one of the largest schemes of its kind in Europe, with volunteers packing thousands of condom and lube packs every week.
A Delivery of Safer Sex Packs to Healthy Gay Manchester (1994/1999) by Healthy Gay ManchesterLGBT Foundation
Safer sex for everyone
The demand for safer sex packs grew exponentially to the point where, in 2002, they had to be ordered ready-made as staff could not keep up with the demand to supply them by packing individually. Since its launch in 1994, the scheme has provided 31 million free condoms and lube.
HGM Great British Bear Bash Safer Sex Packs (1994/1999) by Healthy Gay ManchesterLGBT Foundation
Power to the people
Condoms and lube were just the start — Healthy Gay Manchester were on a mission to empower and educate around LGBTQ+ health through eye-catching resources such as leaflets, guides, posters and postcards with brazen imagery and slogans about everything from hepatitis B to HIV
Join the Club
Issue 2 of Between the Sheets, the Healthy Gay Manchester members' magazine, published in March 1996.
1996: Getting council services right for lesbians
Concurrent with HGM's efforts in the gay community, the Manchester Gay Switchboard consulted on Manchester City Council's action plan to ensure lesbian residents received fair treatment from council services.
Understanding Community Needs
Continuing on their mission to educate, in the late 1990s Healthy Gay Manchester contributed to significant strides in LGBT research.
The Lesbian & Gay Health Expo ran in the Health Tent at Mardi Gras 1997 and brought together health, lesbian and gay community, and complementary organisations to 1) have an HIV and AIDS focus, 2) give recognition to other health issues of concern to lesbian and gay men, particularly those who were marginalised in mainstream health promotion and treatment and care provision, 3) reflect the cultural diversity of lesbian and gay men's communities, and 4) contribute to the long-term development of gay men's HIV prevention work and lesbians' sexual health promotion work.
Lesbian and Gay Health Expo Brochure Interior (1997) by Healthy Gay ManchesterLGBT Foundation
Who is M.A.V.I.S.
M.A.V.I.S. was HGM's first foray into harnessing the power of technology to transform health and wellbeing service delivery—its kitschy, futuristic marketing is still reflected on with much fondness and nostalgia.
Manchester's Audio Visual Information System
Five M.A.V.I.S. touchscreen consoles were placed in gay venues in Manchester, providing users with the latest data on safer sex advice. While the consoles were short-lived, they showed HGM's innovative approach to embracing emergent digital technologies for public health campaigns.
Wish You Were Queer Postcard Front (1996)LGBT Foundation
Honouring Past and Present
In 2000, the Manchester Lesbian & Gay Switchboard and Healthy Gay Manchester merged to form the Lesbian & Gay Foundation - its incarnation for the next 15 years, consolidating the helpline and sexual health services into one unified approach to queer health and wellbeing.
Wish You Were Queer Postcard Back (1996) by Healthy Gay ManchesterLGBT Foundation
We continue to be inspired by the bold and irreverent marketing collateral of yesteryear - something we've revisited in our first-ever range of merch designs launching in 2025, the Archive Collection
Our journey to the present day continues in our Google Arts & Culture Story, "Out in the City", where LGBT Foundation flourished against the backdrop of Manchester's exploding LGBTQ+ scene in the noughties. Visit our Partner Page to celebrate five decades of Queer Hope & Joy with us!
With special thanks to Archives+ at Manchester Central Library who hold LGBT Foundation's collections. LGBT Foundation's 50th Anniversary is proudly sponsored by Barefoot Wine and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
