University of Southampton Research Repository Eprints Soton
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University of Southampton Research Repository ePrints Soton Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination http://eprints.soton.ac.uk UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Homosexual Identity in England, 1967-2004: Political Reform, Media and Social Change by Sebastian Charles Buckle Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October 2012 2 ‘There are as many ways to live as there are people in this world, and each one deserves a closer look.’ - Gully Harriet the Spy, dir. by Bronwen Hughes (Paramount Pictures, 1996) 3 4 Abstract The thesis concentrates on examining how images and representations have shaped a discourse on homosexuality, and how, in turn, this has shaped a gay and lesbian social and group identity. It explores the political, media, and social spheres to show how at any point during this period, images of homosexuality and identity were being projected in society, contributing to public ideas about sexual identity. This is broken down into three chronological time periods: a ‘gay liberation’ period during the 1960s and 1970s, a ‘visible subculture’ period during the late 1970s and 1980s, and a ‘becoming mainstream’ period in the 1990s and early 2000s. The central premise of this thesis is that identity is not just self- created, but is often the result of the images and messages we see around us. Thus while other historians have concentrated on how men and women have created and adopted their own sexual identities, this thesis looks at how images in society have influenced a public discourse on homosexuality which has helped create social and group identities. Taken together, these images help create a group identity, which often has much more relevance for how the majority of people understand what it means to define someone as a gay man or a lesbian in any of the three periods studied. Thus, a publically-perceived sexual identity is created which is used by both heterosexual people in forming ideas about gay life, and homosexual people in discovering their own sexuality and sexual identity. The political/legal sections of the thesis use a wealth of primary sources including Hansard, Government reports, oral testimony, lobbying papers, manifestos, memoirs, public statements, newsletters, minutes, and social surveys. The media sections use newspapers, magazines, films, and television programmes, while the social sections rely on oral testimony, the records of gay groups, pictures, newsletters, maps, health campaign literature, memoirs, and news articles. Taken together, they provide examples of the dominant images being projected in the three time periods, by these three media. While this thesis recognises that there is no single gay identity at any one point – with various exclusions and competing ideas being presented – there is a more general picture framed in each of these periods. The conclusion recognises the role of images in society in creating sexual identities, while also examining the overall development of a gay social and gorup identity from its inception at the beginning of this period, to its place at the end. 5 6 Contents List of Illustrations ............................................................................................................ 9 Declaration of Authorship ............................................................................................... 11 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ 13 List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................. 15 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 17 Objectives ................................................................................................................ 19 Historiography ......................................................................................................... 22 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 32 Chapter One: Gay Liberation ........................................................................................... 39 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 39 Early Optimism ......................................................................................................... 40 Early Images ............................................................................................................. 57 Ostentatious Behaviour and Public Flaunting ............................................................ 78 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 98 Chapter Two: A Visible Subculture ................................................................................ 101 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 101 Political Backlash .................................................................................................... 102 Conflicting Public Images ........................................................................................ 128 Gay Space .............................................................................................................. 149 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 162 Chapter Three: Becoming Mainstream .......................................................................... 165 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 165 An End to Unjustifiable Discrimination .................................................................... 166 Real Lives in the Media ........................................................................................... 186 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 207 Bibliography ................................................................................................................. 217 Archives ................................................................................................................. 217 Newspapers and Magazines .................................................................................... 219 Printed documents ................................................................................................. 220 Interviews .............................................................................................................. 223 Films and Television Programmes ........................................................................... 223 Websites ................................................................................................................ 224 Books ..................................................................................................................... 229 Journals and Chapters ............................................................................................ 237 Theses .................................................................................................................... 240 7 8 List of Illustrations Image 1: Early GLF dance.……………………………………………….………..……88 Image 2: Gay Day.………………………………………………………………..…………92 Image 3: Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin…………………………………..…115 Image 4: Canal Street, Manchester…………………………………………..…..152 9 10 Declaration of Authorship I, Sebastian Charles Buckle, declare that this thesis entitled Homosexual Identity in England, 1967-2004: Political Reform, Media and Social Change and the work presented in it are my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research. I confirm that: 1. This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; 2. Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; 3. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; 4. Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; 5. I have acknowledged all main sources of help; 6. Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself; 7. Either none of this work has been published before submission, or parts of this work have been published as: [please list references