''GEMMA'' is a magazine and a social group founded in 1976 whose mandate is to provide a "friendship and support group for

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

lesbians A lesbian is a homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with fem ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

". The organisation was founded by members of lesbian organisation

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

and mixed organisation

Campaign for Homosexual Equality The Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) is a membership organisation in the United Kingdom with a stated aim from 1969 to promote legal and social equality for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals in England and Wales. Active throughout the 1970s ...

, including Elsa Beckett. Gemma's member newsletter was published in regular print, in

braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

as well as

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

format. In her essay ''Unearthing Our Past: Engaging with Diversity at the Museum of London'', Raminder Kaur describes a leaflet promoting the activities of Gemma, which is a part of the

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Gui ...

collection, as "crucial to exploring the theme of multiple identities or difference within difference".Kaur, Raminder. ''Unearthing Our Past: Engaging with Diversity at the Museum of London'' accessed Feb 5,2012 http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Collections-Research/Research/Your-Research/RWWC/Essays/Essay1/KaurEssay8.htm

References

Disability and sexuality Disability mass media LGBT-related magazines published in England Lesbian-related magazines LGBT history in the United Kingdom LGBT organisations in England Magazines established in 1976 Lesbian organisations based in the United Kingdom {{LGBT-org-stub

See also

References