The Fight for Gay Liberation Isn’t Over — Here’s What Comes Next

David Kelly
Jul 28, 2017 · 8 min read
Early Gay Lib literature was, erm, assertive.

Homophobia is dead. You’re equal now. The struggle is over. Times have changed. Stop moaning. Quit shoving it down our throats. Get over it. Shut up and eat your cereal.

Judging by the complacent, triumphalist wave of specially-commissioned dramas, commemorative documentaries and celebratory editorials marking half a century since the Sexual Offences Act of 1967, the fight for gay liberation is finished. We have reached the mountain top and we have seen the Promised Land.

Or so you might be forgiven for thinking.

Much of the anniversary coverage, while certainly welcome and overwhelmingly positive, has still been flawed, presenting a rose-tinted view of what the law meant for being gay in the UK in 1967 — and a complacent view of what it means fifty years on.

The change in the law 50 years ago was only a very partial, uneven decriminalisation of homosexuality. It only applied in England and Wales. Homosexual acts were only made legal between two men over the age of 21 and in private — which meant that no other person, of any age, could be present in any other part of the property.

It did not apply to those in the military or the Merchant Navy. It did not apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland. State persecution of gay people actually increased substantially after 1967. Even the mere mention of homosexuality in schools was soon outlawed by the Thatcher government. The UK age of consent remained decidedly unequal until 2000. And, of course, gay marriage has only become legal over the last few years and remains prohibited in Northern Ireland.

The prevailing message of much of the anniversary coverage has been, understandably, positive and celebratory. But underlying this has been the mistaken suggestion that, well, everything is now fine. With the advent of gay marriage, many people, both gay and straight (especially those living in cosmopolitan, urban bubbles), seem to think that full equality has been won and we can all now pack up and go home.

They are, however, in utter denial about the struggle which still lies ahead. Our society is still not remotely equal — legally, and certainly culturally, we have a long way to travel. (Never mind the rest of the world.)

The fight for gay liberation isn’t over.

If you ever need proof of that, or of the fear and violent homophobia which is deeply ingrained in our society, just ask yourself:

· How many gay kids are getting bullied at school, committing self-harm or attempting suicide? (Hint: So Many, Too Many)

· How many gay kids in working-class neighbourhoods are out and safe? (Hint: Not Many)

· How many gay couples feel comfortable and safe simply holding each other’s hands in public places? (Hint: Few)

· How many gay kids from traditionally religious families are out and safe? (Hint: Even Fewer)

· How many out footballers play our national sport? (Hint: Erm, Zero)

Or, alternatively, you could just fire up the internet and read the comments left under any article about LGBT issues or by any out LGBT writer. This isn’t just the amoral cesspool of the Daily Mail we’re talking about here, it’s supposed havens of enlightened liberal progressivism too.

In his latest piece for the Guardian, Owen Jones suggested that now was not the time for complacency in the fight for equality because, even after so many great legal advances since 1967, so many are still so palpably suffering — from discrimination, from abuse, from violence, from stereotyping, from poor mental health.

“Hatred of LGBT people,” Jones wrote, “still infects society”. As one commenter wearily put it: “Just by reading the comments you can tell Owen is absolutely right”. Even allegedly sympathetic commentators were peeved that Jones had dared to suggest that everything in the garden wasn’t quite as rosy as the prevailing societal narrative likes to suggest. Half of the comments appeared to be so disgusting or abusive that they were erased by the moderators; the other half thought Jones an ungrateful curmudgeon.

Looks quite nice, actually. © Wiki Commons

One wrote: “I think it is important to celebrate progress and not always to complain about things not being perfect yet… Stop being miserable. Celebrate.” Gay marriage had solved everything, said another — “What more do you want?” Others took exception to this kind of loose talk, but nevertheless hoped that the gays wouldn’t “shove it down our throats”. (What exactly “it” is, is never specified.) A kinder, gentler soul accepted that there remain copious bigots out there, but proffered a handy tip from the Anne Frank School of Survival: “My only advice would be to try to avoid them”. Ah, why hadn’t I thought of that before? We’ll all hide in the attic or move to San Francisco.

So, to invoke Lenin — whose revolutionary anniversary “also occurs at this time”, as my priest would say, were he a pinko — What is to be done? What needs to happen for full and true equality to be realised?

Here’s what we need to fight for next:

· Comprehensive, Inclusive LGBT education in every school: All relevant aspects of the curriculum should include LGBT issues, with teachers trained to deliver them. Most schools suffer from a “Section 28 hangover”, when “promotion” of homosexuality in schools was illegal. Comprehensive, LGBT-inclusive sex, health and relationships education must be mandatory, with no opt-outs for faith schools, as called for by Scotland’s impressive Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaign.

· Gay marriage in Northern Ireland: Thanks to the veto of the violently homophobic Democratic Unionist Party, gay marriage is still illegal in Ulster despite overwhelming popular support. It’s time for equality.

· Ban conversion therapy: Last year Malta became the first country in the world to outlaw “gay conversion therapy”, which the NHS, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and all leading counselling and psychotherapy bodies have condemned as “unethical, unscientific and dangerous”. The emotional trauma it causes is futile and callous.

· Improved sexual health provision: Information about and provision of sexual health services needs to be better resourced and more accessible. Support groups and charities which do great work need more funding to reach more vulnerable people. Over 88,000 people are living with HIV in the UK — this is not a problem which has gone away. Over 95% contracted HIV through unprotected sex. Safe sex should be promoted through easy and free access to condoms. PrEP, a drug which successfully prevents from infection, should be available on the NHS, as in Scotland.

· Enforcing equal adoption rights: Only 48% of people in the UK believe that gay couples should have the same right to adopt as heterosexual couples. Since 2005, gay couples have had that right, but many report being discriminated against by agencies because of their sexuality.

Every little helps.

· Equal right to give blood: At the height of the AIDs epidemic, gay men were banned entirely from giving blood in a sweeping, discriminatory move which perceived an entire class of people as dirty and diseased, regardless of individual circumstances. In 2011, they were finally allowed to do so, but only if they had abstained from sexual intercourse for 12 months. Needless to say, no such restrictions ever applied to straight people. This period of abstinence is being reduced to 3 months, but this is still unjust because, as one writer put it: “Heterosexual men can have unprotected sex with multiple partners — complete strangers — and still donate blood, while a gay or bisexual man who practises safe sex with a known partner is excluded for a three-month period.”

· Crackdown on homophobic and transphobic hate crime: The vast majority of hate crimes are unreported and unprosecuted. It’s time for victims to be empowered to speak up and for the police to hit back.

· Asylum for gay refugees: Those claiming asylum in the UK because they would face persecution or death in their home country due to their sexual orientation are treated abominably by the British state. Before 2010, many were refused permission to stay and returned to places like Uganda and Iran where homosexuality is illegal and can be a death sentence, because they could, as the Home Office put it, “act with discretion”. As Home Secretary, Theresa May introduced new guidelines which mean applicants have to “prove” their homosexuality or face deportation. Some have resorted to filming themselves having sex to provide evidence. We reject 75% of gay asylum seekers, kicking them out of the country and sending some to their deaths. This is inexcusable.

· Equality in sport: So few of our elite professional athletes are out, particularly in sports like football, fearing a hostile reaction from fans, media and sponsors. Homophobic language and abuse is a common occurrence on the terraces and in the changing room at grassroots and elite level. It’s time for the authorities, parents and ordinary fans to root this out, through education, zero tolerance and “naming and shaming”.

· Equality in media, film and the arts: Moonlight’s Oscar triumph shows we’ve come a long way in the battle for rounded and diverse portrayals of gay characters. That the anniversary of 1967 has received so much media attention is a great thing. But there are still too few gay stories being told on the big and the small screen — and too often characters are embarrassingly one-dimensional, stereotypical sidekicks.

Angels in America (1993)

I hope this gives some idea of what might come next for the movement. We have much still to do.

So, in the words of Prior Walter at the very end of Tony Kushner’s gay epic, Angels in America: “The great work begins”.

David Kelly

Written by

Writer, Scotland. Politics, international relations, football, culture.

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