Susie McCabe, one of Scotland’s most celebrated and multi-award winning stand-up comedians, has been announced as the first official Patron of our charity.
Susie uses her platform to advocate for equality and has publicly discussed her experiences as a lesbian growing up under Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, a law which banned local authorities from “promoting homosexuality” and led to censorship in schools.
She won the Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award in 2024 and has headlined sold-out shows across the country, with shows lined up for Glasgow’s Kings Theatre in March.
I grew up under the long shadow of Section 28, legislation that was brought in by a British government to make sure that those working in education establishments couldn’t talk to young people about being LGBT.
That policy caused a silence, and that silence was deafening. It caused scars of isolation, loneliness, and shame. We should never go back there and no young person should ever feel that way.
In a society that feels more polarised, and I can see some of the same old rhetoric from the past, LGBT inclusive education is too important to ignore. I will bring humour, passion, and fight to this role to make sure that not one young person feels the way that I felt because of my sexuality.”
As a Patron, Susie will publicly advocate for our charity and our education initiatives. We work with schools across the country to address homophobic bullying, delivering education workshops for primary and secondary learners and professional learning for teachers.
Schools across the country now teach about the contributions of LGBT people to society and culture thanks to our work, with pupils learning about figures like British codebreaker and mathematician Alan Turing and Sally Ride, the first American woman to travel to space.
Our most recent outcomes data shows that we worked with 424 schools and over 10,000 pupils, with 9/10 young people reporting that they had a stronger understanding of the impact of homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying because of our work.
Susie grew up when Section 28 was in place, so she knows full well the damaging effect of homophobia and seeing no role models or visibility of diverse groups, people or families in her learning at school.
She has now become one of Scotland’s most revered comedians and has done so with resilience and an unwavering pride in who she is. Not only is Susie an excellent advocate for our community but we believe that she can play a significant role in advancing our work to ensure that LGBT young people are free from prejudice at school.
With her support, we will continue working to ensure that all young people are safe, included, and reflected in their learning at school, and we are delighted to welcome Susie as our first official Patron.”
Having already worked with us at events for young people in Glasgow, Susie has had the opportunity to see the power of LGBT Inclusive Education. We are excited to see what further impact we can achieve as she takes on this new role with us.
You can find out more about our professional learning for teachers and student teachers in the Professional Learning section of our website. We also have information for Parents and Carers here.
