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| This is the 2013 logo for LGBT History Month UK |
Today is the first day of February and, in the UK, the first day of LGBT History Month 2013. In this post, I am going to talk about why we need LGBT History Month, some interesting parts of British LGBT history, and where we are likely to go from here.
LGBT History Month first took place in the UK in 2005, and is now well established. Long time sponsors include the Metropolitan Police Service, the Metropolitan Police
Authority, Amnesty International and the Crown Prosecution Service. Taking inspiration from the US's LGBT History Month, in October, and with respectful acknowledgement to the example of Black History Month, the founders School's Out chose February mainly because of the successful repeal of Section 28.
So there's the basics. Now here's the question I've heard people occasionally say: “So why is there a LGBT History Month, when there’s no Heterosexual History Month?”
Why is it so important to have a history month for the QUILTBAG spectrum, while seemingly ignoring the history of anyone else? I’ll put it extremely bluntly, because I've argued this point far too many times: eleven out of twelve months of the year it is Heterosexual History Month. It may not be intentional, but it’s true.
When was the last time any teachers taught about Alan Turing or Oscar Wilde at anything less than degree level studies? I’m not suggesting that we talk about high level mathematics or code breaking, but at least a mention of them would be nice – even when studying the Second World War in school, nobody mentioned the fact that Turing just happened to break the code that everyone else had ignored because it was seemingly impossible to break? When was the last time anyone knew that, while homosexuality was made legal in England and Wales in 1967, Scotland and Northern Ireland didn't make it legal until the early 80's?
It’s pretty surprising to me; especially considering Section 28 (also known as Clause 28 or Section 2A) was repealed a decade ago. A decade is more than enough time for change to happen, you would think.
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| Section 28 caused a lot of controversy (S) |
For those of you who are lost, let me tell you about Section 28. Section 28 was attached to the Local Government Act 1986 and enacted in 1988. It affected England, Wales, and Scotland, and stated that a local authority "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship".
Essentially, all books and texts talking about homosexuality in a positive light were banned from public libraries and government-funded schools. Although it did not criminalise homosexuality, and despite its supporters repeating that it did not prevent the counselling of pupils who are being bullied for being who they were, there were severe repercussions for the LGBT community. Many LGBT support societies in schools were shut down due to fears from local councils that they breached the ban. An entire generation of QUILTBAG people grew up with little to no affirmation that what they felt was normal.
Section 28 was repealed without concession in June 2000 in Scotland and by the Local Government Act 2003 for the rest of Great Britain, despite opposition from some politicians (usually from the Conservative Party, let’s be honest). Since then there has almost been an LGBT radio silence in comprehensive schools in the UK, with little to no active push to include LGBT issues into the syllabus, despite the fact that it would reduce the level of homophobia and transphobia in schools. No, seemingly the small minority who read the Daily Mail and are worried about gay people destroying marriage (presumably by having happy, well-adjusted marriage or something, I’m sketchy on the details) or developing a gay bomb to spread our orientation about by force (the US tried it, it doesn't work), or starting some sort of gay zombie apocalypse (ok, because that’s a legitimate fear right there)
So what else has happened in Britain’s history that could be relevant to LGBT History Month? Well, did you know that the stereotype that gay men are feminine actually originated in the UK, not too far back in history? In fact, it started with Oscar Wilde’s first trial in 1895. Wilde prosecuted the Marquess of Queensberry for libel, after the Marquess left a calling card for him on which he had written, “For Oscar Wilde, posing Somdomite.” This was essentially a public declaration that Wilde had committed a crime, as homosexuality was illegal at the time. To win his case (and therefore avoid going to prison for two years), Wilde’s opponent not only had to prove that the allegation was true, but that there was some public benefit to making the allegation openly.
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| Oscar Wilde, famous poet and writer (S) |
Queensberry’s lawyers hired private investigators to collect evidence for his case, and they decided to portray Wilde as a depraved man who habitually enticed youths into the “homosexual lifestyle” – their angle was to warn off other young men who might otherwise have been “trapped” by Wilde. The case became famous, and the public followed it closely. Then, unfortunately, Wilde lost the case against him.
Now, the reason why all this is relevant is because Wilde was the first well-known gay man in Britain. Aside from him, homosexuality was a well-guarded secret. So, as is traditional for the papers, he became the stereotype. Through the years that stereotype has been exaggerated and changed until it became that same stereotype that we know and are exasperated by today. There you have it; you have the nineteenth century British press to thank for that.
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