Clare Dimyon
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Clare Dimyon MBE | |
|---|---|
 Clare Dimyon at Bratislava Rainbow Pride 2010 | |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Educator and broadcaster |
| Known for | LGBT rights activism |
Clare Bat Dimyon is a British advocate for LGBT rights.
Activism
[edit]As a Quaker, Dimyon has campaigned for peace and human rights since 1984 when she attended Greenham Common to protest against Cruise missiles aimed at the then Soviet Union and the Soviet-occupied countries of central and eastern Europe.[citation needed] She came out as a lesbian in the same year.[1] She first created a purple banner proclaiming that "everyone knows a Black lesbian, Stormé, started Stonewall", referencing Stormé DeLarverie's role in the Stonewall riots, a watershed moment in the gay liberation movement.[1]
Dimyon has advocated for LGBT rights in former Soviet republics. In 2009, she was the subject of the media attention after petitioning the British Ambassador to Latvia to have the embassy hang the rainbow flag for the LGBT pride parade in Riga. According to The Argus, the result was the first instance of the flag being displayed outside a British embassy;[2][3] this was followed by similar instances in Brazil and Poland.[3]
Dimyon was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours for "services to promoting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in central and eastern Europe".[4][5] Her 2011 exhibition, "Proud of our Identity", held at the Solaris Center in Tallinn, showcased photographs of and by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people taken at various Pride events throughout Europe, including photographs of Estonian LGBT people.[6] Dimyon and British Ambassador to Estonia Peter Carter were speakers at the 2011 Baltic Pride in Estonia.[citation needed]
In support of a 14-year-old girl who was abducted and raped in Oxford in 2016, Dimyon spoke of her experience as a survivor of a life-threatening sexual assault in 1984, which occurred while she protested at the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp.[7][8]
Personal life
[edit]Dimyon is the granddaughter of Godfrey Meynell, who was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1935 for his military service.[9]
A Quaker, Dimyon gave an account in The Friend of her pilgrimage to northwest England in 1983 and multiple visits to Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the 2010s.[10] In 2019, The Times reported that an NHS clinic had apologised for its reaction to her request to be seen for a mammography by a "natal female", as opposed to a woman who was not assigned female at birth.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Heuchan, Claire (12 June 2019). "The Craftivism of Clare Dimyon: Celebrating Stormé". AfterEllen. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ Saunders, Emmeline (6 May 2009). "Brighton woman flying the Rainbow flag across Europe". The Argus. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ a b "The IoS Happy List 2011 - the 100". The Independent. 8 May 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ "Lesbian activist awarded MBE". Pink News. 3 November 2010.
- ^ "No. 59446". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2010. p. 25.
- ^ "British Embassy presents an exhibition of photos by Clare B Dimyon, MBE: PRIDE Solidarity - "Proud of our Identity", 31 March - 14 April, 2011". UK in Estonia. 4 April 2011. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ "Oxford abduction: Rape survivor reads 14-year-old victim's letter". BBC News. 12 October 2016.
- ^ Dimyon, Clare (9 October 2016). "To the abducted schoolgirl in Oxford, here are some thoughts from a teacher who is a rape survivor". The Independent. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ Mira, Katya (21 November 2007). "Campaigners call for war hero to be honoured". The Argus. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ Dimyon, Clare B (18 August 2017). "Friends and Shushary". The Friend. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ Hellen, Nicholas (8 December 2019). "Patient branded transphobic after asking for female medic". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 25 November 2022.