This Pride season, SKITTLES® has once again joined forces with Queer Britain to launch the Chosen Family Map – a digital map spotlighting eight London locations that reveal the role of chosen families across the city. Throughout history, LGBTQ+ people have found sanctuary, joy, support and laughter in chosen families; groups bound not by blood but by community, solidarity and shared experiences.
The map is an online resource for young people to learn about London as a historically rich LGBTQ+ hub, bringing the past and present of the city to life. It gives people a new way to discover London’s LGBTQ+ history – whether from home, the university library, or as inspiration for a self-guided walk through the city.
This latest collaboration builds on SKITTLES®’ ongoing work with Queer Britain, with the map bringing to life powerful stories that spotlight how chosen families have long been, and continue to be, at the heart of LGBTQ+ joy, connection and acceptance.
The map features locations where communities have found connection, support and belonging, both historic and current. This includes:
- Julius Caesar Taylor’s Molly House, a secret meeting place where queer men found community and safety in the face of 18th century criminalisation of same-sex relationships
- Lytton Strachey’s former home, where the Bloomsbury Group – a renowned collective of writers, artists and thinkers who challenged early 20th-century social norms like same-sex relationships – would frequently socialise
- The LGBTQ+ Traffic Lights in Trafalgar Square, that continue to embed LGBTQ+ visibility into daily life, creating moments of recognition and connection that echo the sentiment of chosen family
The launch will be supported by a £100,000 donation from SKITTLES® to Queer Britain, helping the museum continue its work to reclaim, preserve and expand the UK’s LGBTQ+ archives.
Speaking about this latest chapter in their collaboration with SKITTLES®, Andrew Given, chief executive of Queer Britain, said: “Through our continued collaboration with SKITTLES®, we’ve been able to build on our work uncovering real-life examples of chosen family and bring this to people in new and meaningful ways. With many LGBTQ+ archive materials often omitted, fragmented or non-existent, it’s crucial that we both protect these histories and make them accessible, and the Chosen Family Map offers a powerful way for people to engage with these stories in the places they happened. It’s an opportunity to spotlight not just the challenges faced, but the joy, creativity and connection that has always been at the heart of LGBTQ+ life.”
Emily Owen, Senior Brand Manager at SKITTLES® UK added: “We know that the bonds formed between friends, communities and creative circles have always been a vital source of connection, support and joy. Chosen families have shaped LGBTQ+ life for generations, offering a powerful reminder that family is about shared experience as much as it is about where you come from. We’re proud to be launching the ‘Chosen Family Map’ this Pride, bringing stories of chosen family into the real world and inviting people to explore the places and the people, that have helped define what chosen family means today.”
At a time when ideas of “family” continue to evolve, the Chosen Family Map celebrates the queer communities who become family through shared experience, care and connection and the spaces that have made those relationships possible.
Designed as a journey through the city, the interactive map invites everyone to explore, reflect and connect with London’s ongoing story of chosen family, while creating new moments of togetherness along the way.
Visit Skittles.co.uk to uncover these hidden stories and celebrate the spirit of chosen family across London.
