When it was announced this week that code-breaker Alan Turing had been chosen to appear on the £50 note, it was a welcome and liberating moment for queer people across the UK.
In reality though, many of us rarely come in contact with £50 notes unless we’re working a till or doing a particularly good job up on a dancing podium. That’s why we shouldn’t just stop at only having a queer person on the £50 pound note. ALL notes should feature us queers, we’ve made an insurmountable contribution to cultural life so it’s the least the Bank of England could do to acknowledge that. Of course, we don’t want to de-throne the likes of Jane Austen and Sir Winston Churchill from their pride of place, so we suggest replacing whoever that person is on the other side of each note. Does she need to be on ALL of them?
Here’s who we want to see featured on all the other pound notes:
£20 – Quentin Crisp, for his contributions to snark
When being openly gay was a crime in Britain, Quentin Crisp would swish down Shaftsbury Avenue with a full face of make-up and brightly coloured fingernails. An embodiment of queer defiance, he epitomises the rebellious attitude we should all have in the face of oppression. He was also an arbiter of good taste, and a revered memoirist, bringing stories of his stories of being an openly gay young man in the ’50s to the mainstream. iconic quotes include:
“Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level.”
“If at first you don’t succeed failure may be your style.”
“There is no need to do any housework at all. After the first four years, the dirt doesn’t get any worse.”
£10 – Miriam Margolyes, for her contribution to the anecdotes
The woman who’s turned the chat show appearance into an art form. Whether recalling sucking off a solider or creaming her knicker when meeting Lawrence Olivier at stage door, there is a Margolyes anecdote for every situation. Flouting common held notions of decorum, she’s the farting bundle of agonisingly British thesbian lesbian who’s earned her place in the public’s heart one period story at a time. Though her glittering career spans several decades garnering praise and prizes across the board, it’s her contribution to the entertaining anecdotes that should be recognised when she takes her deserved spot on the ten-pound note.
£5 – Samantha Fox, for her contributions to sexual liberation
“Touch me, touch me, I want to feel your body.” Has there ever been a sexual liberation more British than that brought on single-handedly by one Miss Sam Fox? One of the most photographed women of the ’80s, she made her way from Page 3 to Top 10 in just three short years. A feat that seems unimaginable now. A pin-up girl for the age of scrunchies and leg warmers, her hits empowered people across the country to own their sexuality. Her queerness came to the forefront in the late nineties when she judged a lesbian beauty pageant, before coming out publically with her same-sex relationship in 2003. To this day, her hits still beloved by thousands, with the video for her her latest hit single ‘Hot Boy’ reaching hundreds of thounds of views on YouTube. She’s the perfect fit for the £5 note, being an accessible and relatable icon.
The post The Queer Icons That Also Need to Feature on Pound Notes appeared first on QX Magazine.