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On 27 July 1967, the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) was passed and sex in private between two men over the age of 21 was legalized in England and Wales. Gay men in Scotland and Northern Ireland had to wait until the early 1980s. And it wasn’t until 2001 that the age of consent for men who have sex with men was lowered to 16, and brought into line with heterosexual couples. In 2003, “buggery” was finally repealed from statutory law across the UK. Still, between 1885 and 2013, almost 100,000 men were arrested for same-sex acts.

Behind this struggle were pioneering figures and groups, including members of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), the Homosexual Law Reform Society and the Committee for Homosexual Equality. To mark 50 years since gay sex was partially legalized, we asked gay, queer and Trans people to share what this anniversary means to them.

Stuart Feather, 77, is a painter, actor and author of Blowing the Lid: Gay Liberation, Sexual Revolution and Radical Queens. He was among the GLF activists who fought for the partial decriminalization of homosexuality

It’s also important for all people in general to understand the wonderful diversity of lesbian, gay, bi and Trans people in our community – this is not something we often see in pale, male and stale LGBT representation in the media.

People underestimate the power that sharing their stories has, and it’s really important that we celebrate the role models who are brave enough to do so. Visibility of diverse role models is so vital for lesbian, gay, bi and Trans people, especially those who feel less able to be themselves or less represented.