Sec 28: Fifty years on
It’s been 50 years this year, since the partial decriminalisation of homosexual acts conducted in private, between consenting men over the age of 21, thanks to the UK Sexual Offences Act of 1967. The BBC as well as other media channels commissioned a selection of programmes to mark the event. Cue much rejoicing from the likes of me, who enjoy lapping up queer* content. But as the programmes aired, I noticed a preponderance of white, cis, male, gay narratives. At first I tried to ignore it. After all, the law was aimed specifically at men, and people do need to remember, or know this particular history, as well as recognise how much things have changed. However, the more I saw women and other kinds of queer people excluded from the stories, the more I began to feel disappointed by the approach.
In 2012, the BBC produced a report which found that while gay men are still under-represented on television, the visibility of lesbians and bisexuals across BBC TV, radio and online, is far less. Unfortunately, the report did not include the representation of transgender people. As evidenced by this summer’s queer programmes, it appears that the BBC has not learnt from it’s own report.
It is well documented that the law has historically been wilfully ignorant of lesbians and transgender people. If women were not the target of anti-homosexuality law, it was premised on the attitude that the legislature would not deign to acknowledge they existed, albeit it in a negative sense. Nevertheless, the law affected them too. State-sanctioned homophobia created an environment where lesbians had to live in hiding, endure homophobic slurs in public, and fight for their civil rights. Queer women were subject to the same, if not more, homophobia because they were gay and women. Julie Bindel, speaking in the Guardian article in which she was the only woman out of five in the panel explains, “The author Maureen Duffy, now 83, was the first lesbian in the UK to come out pre-1967 and speak against anti-gay discrimination. When I interviewed Duffy she told me that in her opinion there has long been an assumption that lesbians have historically not suffered as much direct prejudice as gay men because the criminal law,until Section 28, targeted only men. But mostly, says Duffy, as with sexual and domestic violence, lesbians often suffered silently and invisibly.”
In the same article, Bindel talks about her own experience of coming out in 1977, “In between being sacked from jobs, thrown out of pubs, beaten up, sexually assaulted, and labelled a “freak” and “kiddy fiddler”, I was informed by some gay men and heterosexuals that lesbians were not oppressed because we were “not illegal”. I witnessed women having their children removed and placed in the custody of violent ex-partners; being raped by police officers as “punishment” when our clubs were raided on a pretext; and being cruelly rejected by families and childhood friends.”
The failure to create TV shows that are broad enough to explore how women, and other queer people were also affected by the egregious legislation aimed at men, is a gaping lacuna in the telling of queer histories. It perpetuates the invisibility of queer women and other queer people, whilst whitewashing queer life in Britain.
It is a failure to recognise, and comment on the parallels between the law’s treatment of gay men, and how the rest of society saw the Other, whatever kind of minority they were. Nor did the decriminalisation of homosexuality happen in a vacuum. The sixties was a period in which many were agitating for other kinds of civil and political rights. Often, these activisms were imbricated.
Laws have consequences in directing how people think, behave and act. Society as a whole was transformed by the change in law. Plus, many straight people, like gay people, supported and detracted from the decriminalisation. Matthew Todd, the former editor of Attitude magazine and author ofStraight Jacket: How to be gay and happy, comments on the contribution of straight people to the movement, “It’s clear LGBT people making their voices heard made the biggest impact on the progression of equality, but straight allies were crucial, too. From TV producers including gay characters on shows and public figures such as the glorious agony aunt Claire Rayner demanding “we need to change this fucking stupid law” to the mainstream celebrities at fundraisers and in the gay press – they all helped change public opinion. Cross-party support was vital. Conservative MP Edwina Currie tabled the 1994 age of consent amendment and helped slowly chip away at her homophobic party.” These narratives could have been included and shown in a balanced manner.
Dustin Lance Black, the Oscar winning script- writer of the 2009 film Milk , who is also husband to Tom Daley, is actively agitating for more inclusivity, cooperation and dialogue, not only within the queer community, but also across minorities and other civil rights groups. He argues convincingly that a divided minority, fighting for civil rights in isolation, will be easily conquered by those who rule by fear, instead of hope, and love. He reminds us that everyone is a minority, depending on how you slice the pie. It is therefore in all of our interest that full rights are extended to everyone, and that we see more positive, and inclusive media representation. Lives depend on it. Queer people who have grown up in a straight world, are doddering, and dying from the weight of poor mental health.
A September 2017 report by Stonewall uncovered that hate crime against queer people has gone up 78% since 2013. It states, “The number of lesbian, gay and bi people in Britain who have experienced hate crime has increased by 78 per cent in five years, from nine per cent in 2013 to 16 per cent in 2017. ” It is startling to hear that in spite of all the progress made, “One in five LGBT people (21 per cent) have experienced a hate crime or incident due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity in the last 12 months.” In launching the report, Ruth Hunt the Chief Executive of Stonewall said, “This report warns against complacency, and stands as a call to action for everyone who supports equality. We now need to work together, to bring forward the day when no individual faces hatred or discrimination simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.” Hunt also called on those who care about equality for all to become visible allies.
It is therefore vital to showcase queer life, on national television, in its full diversity and vibrancy, in order to change hearts and minds. Additionally, we must urgently have conversations and take action on the serious issues affecting those within the queer community, such as racism, misogyny, xenophobia, ableism, gay shame and drugs and alcohol abuse.
In fairness, it is heartening to see so much queer TV and I have enjoyed some of the coverage of the queer life in the BBC’s Gay Britannia. In particular, I enjoyed listening to Queer Icons on Radio 4. On TV, Queers the series of eight monologues, each from a different decade, Queer Britain presented by the YouTuber Riyadh Khalaf and Olly Alexander: Growing up Gay , have made interesting viewing. I’m yet to watch Prejudice and Pride: The Peoples’ History of LGBTQ Britain presented by Stephen K. Amos and Susan Calman. I just wish these important stories had included young girls and women, and / or that lesbian YouTubers had also been invited to the national broadcast party.
⚘