Things that were Gay in school - Trackie McLeod

'Soft Play' is an exhibition of work by Scottish artist Trackie McLeod (b.1993) at Charleston in Lewes (15 October 2025–12 April 2026). Drawing on his experience of growing up queer in the Glasgow area in the 2000s, it references popular culture of the time including sportswear, music and computers.

I was moved by 'Gay if you don't', a 'List of things that were 'Gay' in School' inscribed on aluminium. It's a long list, to quote just a few examples:

HAVING YOUR RIGHT EAR PIERCED 

HAVING YOUR LEFT EAR PIERCED 

HAVING NICE HAND WRITING 

HAVING SHORT HAIR 

HAVING LONG HAIR 

WEARING A GAP HOODIE 

WEARING PINK 

WEARING SKINNY JEANS 

WEARING TROUSERS THAT WERE TOO SHORT 

WEARING A VEST 

WEARING A BLAZER 

WEARING SHORT SHORTS 

WEARING WHITE SOCKS WITH BLACK TRAINERS 

WEARING BLACK SOCKS WITH WHITE TRAINERS 

BEING PASSIONATE ABOUT ANYTHING 

ACKNOWLEDGING YOUR MUM AT THE SCHOOL GATES 

ACCIDENTLY CALLING THE TEACHER MUM 

GIVING SOMEONE A CHRISTMAS CARD 

HAVING A RING FINGER LONGER THAN YOUR INDEX FINGER 

Recently Nigel Farage has been accused by some of his former school'mates' of terrible racist abuse of pupils at Dulwich College. Some of his apologists have claimed that it should all be forgotten as it was so long ago - or even questioned whether these witnesses could really recollect what was said in the late 1970s. But nobody on the receiving end of bullying and abuse at school ever forgets such words no matter how many years go by. McLeod's list reminded me of incidents at my school in Luton - like the boy being homophobically teased as 'ballet boy' because his sister had a dance magazine delivered with the paper round (he was outed by paper boy). Dancing, or seemingly even your sister dancing, was definitely 'a thing that was gay in school'.

Trackie McLeod, Infrared (speakers were playing Showtex 'FTS' while I was in there)

 

Portrait of the artist in trackie (source)