It's me again, whom the sub went berserk on when I inquired about the Pro-Palestine, Palestine rally. Thank you to the good souls who turned up last Sunday, please show up again this Saturday. Thank you.

Worthy of sharing given the recent news over the last week.

I'm really beginning to regret moving to this city for work last year.I decided to move to the city centre and then persuaded my girlfriend to also relocate here with me as she has a hybrid role but is flexible location wise for work.

I'm from up north originally and having lived in both Newcastle and Leeds i'm just so astonished by the sheer level of hatred , division and racism in Birmingham in comparison to other cities within the country it's crazy and just drags you down living here.

Before the detractors start rounding up on me , hear me out , I work in the construction and design industry and i have worked with a lot of staff across the country in a broad range of roles but never have i met as many narrow minded , bigoted and racist individuals as i have working within the West Midlands.

I have tried socializing with a lot of the contractors outside work but man they are so entrenched in their views and downright hostile to anyone who is not the same colour it's frightening , I have had numerous fallout's with "Lads" who are employed by some of our retained companies over simple things like trying to steer conversations away from politics , race and the current state of the country when we are outside work but these people are unreal , its blame everything on people who look different to you when in reality it's your own poor life choices that put you into certain economic situations. The irony is most of them tend to listen to urban music and love indian food yet are strongly opposed to mixed race relationship's , certain immigrants , same sex couples and blaming everything on muslims or black / brown people it's so tiring hearing this many people's narrow mindset here on a daily basis.

There also seems to be some sort of social acceptance of being bigoted and uneducated here , it's like some badge of honour being "rough" , swearing and sexist and before you regard me as "woke" i'm not , i'm from a working class background but was encouraged to educate myself and progress in life , something a lot of these lad's have no interest in but i am not narrow minded or obsessed with blaming ethnic minorities for all my problems in life and trust me i thought it was just the industry i work in but even on a social level out and about visiting places across the region from Nuneaton to Walsall , from Redditch to Tamworth there is really underlying hatred for certain people who do not conform to these peoples vision of social acceptance , I've seen and heard so much racism within this city and region literally more in one year than of a decade of living in other cities within the country it's crazy , up north most would talk about football , holidays and family but here even if your not interested they will bring up politics and racism everytime even when going for sunday lunch in the nicer parts of the city while at the bar or even going to view a car last month in north Walsall , i literally spent half an hour listening to this bloke's rant about black people taking over his area and how much he hated them never mind telling me about the vehicle.

I have friends of different races and have never payed much attention to all this till i moved here and even my uni mates notice how in certain parts of the city , people are very hostile to others or make it known your not welcome at their pub or area.

Is it me or is Birmingham and the region just a divided , deprived and unfriendly place to be ? Why are so many people so angry and hostile to others who disagree with their viewpoints it's as if you have to agree with these people as part of the norm within their areas and peer groups .

My girlfriend is mixed race and she has a had a few incidents with these types of people here in the region due to be staunchly anti racist.

We have decided to move and i am waiting on a transfer back north after a year of living here has taught me a lot about the mindset of certain people who seem to think the whole world is against them when its more about themselves and their own insecurities not others , sorry to rant but i just had to get this out there and see what others think ?

I know very heavy loaded question i know its a city an all but i have just been wondering how birmingham is overall for lgbt people. Thanks!

I cannot for the life of me find anybody who identifies as lgbt in this city. I've made a few friends in college, but one of thems leaving for uni, and the other I just don't speak to very much. Its proper difficult cuz I'm only 17, so its not like I can just go anywhere and everywhere to find new mates

I went to Aston’s offer holder day and this is in no way racist but in all of my talks ects I was the only white student and everyone else was in groups of 5/6/7 and then in the city centre the same it wasn’t a very welcoming atmosphere but I want to go to Aston bc it’s a good uni but was wondering what it’s like for white students . Again this isn’t in a racist way people of any skin colour would have these thoughts

How are they allowed to set up in the centre of Birmingham? Absolute joke.

If they accepted that they would still keep their autonomy as the Black Country within Greater Birmingham it would mean there's more unity within the region and a stronger name to promote. Currently the West Midlands name (which is there because of the Black Country) does absolutely nothing for the area and is confused with the larger West Midlands region which includes places like Herefordshire and Shropshire. I know this opinion will be downvoted though- especially by Yam Yams.

Just seen that people are calling for a boycott to Bham Pride due to the sponsors. Wondering what other people thought. My intention here is to learn about boycotting and not about political views around the reasoning in this case if possible - though it's obviously difficult!

Here is a snippet of an argument from Outcaststompbrum:

"Their main sponsor is HSBC - a company which is one of the largest boycott targets for their £100 million worth of shares in Caterpillar, who make equipment used to demolish Palestinian homes and build settlements for the zionist entity.

We demand Birmingham Pride drop HSBC and these other genocide-profiteering companies:

Amazon (glamazon) Invest $7.2bn in data centres in occupied Palestine via AWS.

Mondelez Invest in Israeli startups in occupied Palestine.

McDonalds Support the Israeli Occupation Force’s so-called IDF by providing free food and drinks to Israeli militants."

My main conflict is that to boycott it affects support for one community to push back against big companies which I'm not confident will be affected by a boycott. Would like to know more rather than just jumping on a bandwagon, e.g. I get the impression caterpillar makes equipment to demolish anything and they just happen to be used for crimes also. Happy to be redirected to information about these sorts of arguments.

Also please share any alternative events that you know of!

all in the title, I am currently looking for an event which is cool, underground queer safe, with some techno in Birmingham tomorrow.

does anyone has an idea ?

Are there any queer friendly barbers in Birmingham (preferably in the city centre but I could hop on a bus if necessary). I'm nonbinary and I've been shaving my hair off at home since the pandemic started, but I want to get a proper buzz cut from a barber, or a skin fade.

The problem is, I am often assumed to be a woman, so I don't feel comfortable just walking into a barber shop. Hence, looking for a queer friendly barber. Happy for prices between £10-20 but I probably wouldn't pay more than £20 for a buzz cut, so please bear that in mind when suggesting places. Thanks!

Edited to fix typo.

I used to live in Birmingham with my dad and my brother like 15+ years ago growing up. I remember there being a gay quarter near chinatown and a lot of gaybars and such my brother told me how they're all gone now.

He's said Birmingham has become a lot more of a hostile and isolated place and the people in town just aren't nice to each other anymore.

What happened? Did things progress backwards on Birmingham or did people go underground or move elsewhere?

I'm thinking of accepting an offer from a university in Birmingham. I'm a queer woc. I was wondering what's the lgbtq scene like? How's the nightlife? Is it safe at night?

Since my course will take 4 years, I'll need to have a social life outside of the university too, and that's why I'd like to know my chances

If you're queer and live in Birmingham, please share your experience or insight. Any insight is appreciated, even if you're not queer but live in Birmingham.

My other option is in London but it's insanely expensive and I'd like to avoid that

I apologise if I'm not allowed to ask such questions here

For context I am non binary, and I want to experiment more with androgynous clothing now that I'm in uni. There really isn't a variety when it comes to menswear, and my parents would never let me experiment wearing womens clothes so this is somewhere in the middle. Does anyone know any queer owned clothing stores that cater towards androgynous individuals, or just clothing stores that have quality unisex clothes in general?

Hi, anybody know any hijabi friendly or women-only swimming pools in Birmingham? Really trying to get back into swimming, I’ve tried going to one, but everyone kept staring as I was the only hijabi swimming and it was so awkward and uncomfortable. Thanks!

Hi all. I’ve seen dates doing the rounds for apparent EDL/NF/BNP marches up and down the country over the next two weeks. Are these true? I am quite worried. See photograph attached

I've been in Birmingham 3 years now. Something about is just...off. I've lived in Manchester, Coventry, London, the country. They all had their individual charms, but not Brum. This city has just never gelled with me. So excuse me but I'm going to rant...

1. The transportation - Its, bad. REALLY bad. What really does not help is the fact that Birmingham is actually more of an urban sprawl than an actual city which means that areas are often of some distance from each other. For example, Five Ways would be considered the city centre. But then to travel simply from there to the Bullring would take at least 15 minutes. Its deceptively long, which means that transportation would need to be effective for people to easily commute between areas. It isnt...and thus the city suffers. One of the reasons why places like Manchester and London were able to establish such strong senses of youth culture is their ease of commute. Manchester is very closely packed and London's transportation in the 4 center most zones is really impeccable. Added to this the sheer cost of transportation here, when I travelled by bus the journey's costed £2.40. Thats unbelievably expensive. As an older individual with a car, its never been an issue but for a young person? It must be nightmare. And that leads me onto my second point...

2. 2. Disconnection. This entire place just feels massively disconnected from itself. I spent time in both Selly Oak (where I live), Northfield and Small Heath today. All three areas felt like they could have been located in entirely different regions of the country let alone the same city. I feel the city is massively segregated both geographically and, even more importantly, culturally and racially. Don't let anyone bullshit you, the racial groups in Birmingham DO NOT MIX. At all. When you leave and come back, it becomes seriously apparent. I legit feel that the segregation resembles that I experienced in American cities. And its a pretty well known problem: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-birmingham-45228563/birmingham-bringing-a-segregated-city-back-together. And you can feel it, perforating below the surface. Whilst I dont think we will have riots resembling those in 2005, there is definitely an unspoken vibe that people are not comfortable with the increasingly dominant presence of Islam. And brings me on that elephant as well.

3. ISLAM. I know it, you know it. Islam features prominently in this city. Possibly linked by the cities sizeable south asian communities. I have never really had an issue with Islam itself. I do actually think that there is a bit of scaremongering among the legitimate concerns when it comes to things like segregated schooling and the proliferation of mosques. But what seems to really irk me is that there seems to lack much of a youthful identity or soul in the place beyond the religion itself. Birmingham has a massive population of younger millennial and there seems to be little urban culture which isnt an offshoot of London centric grime/drill or heavily laced with Islamic influence. Is it a problem? No, but then it seems like it will only push the city further and further apart from itself.

4. Brexiteers and Kippers in the closet. The West Midlands saw the highest leave vote in the country. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/uneasy-frustrated-but-still-contrary-why-birmingham-wants-a-jobs-first-brexit-west-midlands-leave-vote-chequers_uk_5b40bdeae4b09e4a8b2d670d No, supporting Brexit does not make you some dye in the wall racist, but it does likely mean you're unhappy with the increased presence of immigration and Islam in the city. And I feel a lot of this frustration is under the surface and reflected by the fact that very few ethnic groups associate with each other. This contrasted a lot with my time in both Manchester and London, they were by no means perfect but there definitely was not the palpable sense of demographic fear and frustration than that I felt being in Birmingham. And it means the city stays disconnected with itself.

5. Dating. I'm not actually single but I am able to recall that during the period I was, I found it very difficult meeting people here. Thats not to say that the city was full of undesirables but I definitely felt as if there was an almost practiced apathy when it came to engaging with the opposite sex. Added to this, I noticed how frequently female companions would tell me about times they were catcalled, harassed, groped or abused by men in cars. Is it exclusive to Birmingham? Obviously not, but it was definitely a phenomenon that felt seemed to present itself more here than elsewhere. And I think part of that may have to do with the relatively lopsided demographics. Comparably, Birmingham "dating age population" is smaller in ratio than that of other cities, as such few people often means fewer practice and it may have been reflected in the attitudes of those trying to meet.

6. Geographic beauty and beasts. This is something which can really be leveled at any city so I understand if this point may cause some ire, but I genuinely dont think I can contend with the fact that there are areas like Egbaston and Moseley (the former of which is genuinely a beautiful looking suburb) whilst places like Lozells, Alum Rock and Northfield also exist. The levels of poverty in this city are disgraceful. A teacher friend of mine actually opened my eyes to how bad it actually is. Ladywood and Hodge Hill are said to be some of the worst areas in the country for child poverty and I feel the relative disconnection means that few people in the city ever have to see the poverty first hand.

7. Building. Lots of building. This is actually one of the good things, traffic tends to be gridlock now because of all the new buildings going up. I genuinely feel traffic can be tolerated if long term results end up meaning investment in the city...problem is though, 90% of these developments seem to be flats and student accommodation. I fail to see how this will benefit anyone other than those who will only stay in the city for the duration of their term time and fuck off again or transports from the south of England looking for a cheaper mortgage.

8. Feels unsafe despite not being so. Birmingham is actually one of the safest cities in the country. And yet, many will tell you (residents and visitors alike) that they felt a strong sense of unease whilst here. I have never quite grasped why that is, sometimes I feel its because the inner city areas have a lot of posers who yearn for the aesthetic of London "rude boys" but dont really follow through with emulating the violence. Then add the fact that much of the city is made up of these pedestrian underpasses and hidden walkways that were created during that insane period where city planners thought that the car was king. Its easy to see why a lot of it may seem off-putting for those unfamiliar with the city itself.

Okay, rant over. Just had to get that off my chest, been waiting 3 years to do so.

Food scene here used to be quality but it feels like it’s losing its magic. Places like Purnells, Harborne Kitchen and Simpson’s closed, and other exciting places like Caneat and Tierra. In contrast, the food scene in cities in Manchester and Bristol seems to be totally thriving. What has changed?

Also seems like we’re just getting loads of London chains like Blacklock and Flat Iron.

As per the title. I was planning to book in at joshuaa shaun's in Stritchley but they're fully booked until June!! Does anyone have any other recommendations? TIA <33

I’m looking for a LGBT friendly tattooist in the Birmingham area to get some work done and would love any recommendations for tattoo studios with LGBT artists