Janice Quigley

Janice Quigley came to MK in her mid-20s in 1987, to escape the busy atmosphere of London. Her best friend lived in MK and Janice knew that the city was very green, and there were plenty of walks. and that attracted her. After initial temporary housing she obtained rental housing from MKDC and in 1996 bought her current house in Fishermead. She has worked in Mental Health and as a Council social worker, but is now an independent social worker. She really appreciates MK, but dislikes the trend to build upwards in the City Centre, and the many new housing developments being built.

Janice is a lesbian (she came out in 1988), and set out to build a new circle of friends in MK by volunteering for Rape Crisis, where fellow volunteers helped her to realise that there were many opportunities for a fulfilling life for a lesbian in MK. She helped with Lesbian Line; planned group trips to Pride in London; and attended MK Pride. Janice and her partner also delivered the ‘Pink Paper’, a newspaper looking at the news from a gay perspective. She discusses various aspects of the gay community, like the word ‘dyke’, safe spaces, and the lesbian dress code.  When asked how the LGBTQ+ community should be represented in MK Museum, Janice finds that difficult. In her opinion: ‘as long as you are pointing out somebody as being under a particular ‘umbrella’, that’s not true inclusion’.

Janice identifies as a woman. By 1995, she decided that she wanted to have children with a gay man; she found David, her co-parent, in the small ads of the Pink Paper. She describes her experiences of giving birth to her children with a gay man, and co-parenting. The births enabled her to mend her relationship with her father, and she praises the ‘amazing’ care at MK Hospital.  Janice is so grateful for the fabulous opportunities that she has had from living in MK for most of her life: ‘I have learnt so much about myself and other people and my career in social care has been just fabulous… it’s been a good place to live’.