tamsin wilton

LGBT Sexual Politics, Education & Learning, Health & Social Care

1952 – 2006   

Suggested by Sophie Meyer 

Sophie writes,
“Tamsin Wilton, born and raised in Redruth, was a lesbian activist and the UK’s first professor of human sexuality.   

Tamsin’s ability to take complex academic theories and disseminate them to the wider LGBT community in an accessible, often humorous way, made her work uniquely impactful. This was especially important during the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s-90s, as accurate information about the pandemic was hard to come by. For example, the historic London bookshop “Gay’s the Word” was raided by police for stocking AIDS pamphlets from America, as they were considered obscene material. By sharing up-to-date medical and social information, Tamsin made a signficant contribution to deconstructing the prejudice surrounding HIV/AIDS. 

This woman is important to me as a lesbian in Cornish history, a high profile academic historian of Queer Cornish history, and in her role in raising awareness about HIV/AIDS through up to date medical and social information which also highlights women’s role in the HIV/AIDS crisis.” 

 A little more from Wilton’s Wikipedia page:
Wilton researched and wrote extensively about gay and lesbian health, the process of transitioning to lesbianism, and the marginalisation of lesbian issues within sexuality studies.
In 2005 Wilton became Professor of Human Sexuality at the Sociology School at UWE in recognition of her achievements, which itself was remarkable given she had only begun to embark on an academic career fifteen years earlier.
She was a valued 'special' member of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Doctors and Dentists (GLADD) and was instrumental in establishing the first National LGBT Health Summit at Cardiff in 2006.
Wilton died from an aneurysm  on 30 April 2006 not long after moving back to her native Cornwall.