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Surviving the dark night: British queerness between 1885 and 1967
This dives into the dark history of the UK’s anti-gay legislations and polices that for 82 years completely criminalised any form of intimacy between men. The thoughts and opinions given by the writers reflect their personal attitudes and those of their times. Please note that this contains language and attitudes which may cause offence or be upsetting. My intent is to show the true darkness of those times, while bringing forth the light shining from within those who suffered in it.
“Dined with Virginia at Richmond. She is as delicious as ever. How right she is when she says when love makes everyone a bore, but the excitement in life lies in the little moves nearer to people.” Vita Sackville-West wrote this in February 1923 as the flames of romance began to blossom between her and Virginia Woolf.[1] Their love stood in contrast to the mores of the time. From the moment the UK’s 1885 Labouchere Amendment was passed male gay sex and any form of intimacy was punitively punished until the passing of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act homosexuality was outlawed, and anyone not heterosexual and married was forced socially to hide their love and make do with illegal trysts. The little moves nearer to people could well end up with time served in Reading Goal or worse.
As the world teeters on new anti-LGBTQI+ oppression here I explore a world where the freedom to love and express that love was both illegal and hidden, where to be yourself was kept to the shadows and long night. Britain prior to 1967 persecuted gay men harshly, while erasing lesbian women, trans people, and any other sexual identity which went against normative understanding. This was not some golden age, nor was it a place of plucky gay men fighting the good fight, it was a place of deep fears, blackmail, and worse. As the Times pointed out in 1958 the anti-male homosexuality laws were unjust and obsolete, especially as society refused to punish lesbian practices.[2] British law was a two-tier justice system, with social mores barely shifting over the 82 years.
