TV drama It’s a S looked back at a dark era for the gay muny. Here, some of those who remember tell of the real-life agony – and the hope
Contents:
- "IT'S A S" - THE 1980S WERE A TIME WHEN YOUNG GAY MEN WERE TURNED TO SOMETHG TO FEAR
- GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT
- PROUD: THE FIRST GAY PRI LONDON
"IT'S A S" - THE 1980S WERE A TIME WHEN YOUNG GAY MEN WERE TURNED TO SOMETHG TO FEAR
While there have, undoubtedly, been signifint ton LGBT history earlier s, I believe the Eighti was a particularly important perd. That saw a major shift towards the emergence of a global gay culture. The gay genie me right out of s ltle pk bottle and to the streets (and the * gay activism in the 1980s uk *
But back the ‘80s, GRID (gay-related immune ficiency as AIDS was first known) was tied to sexualy and somethg to be ashamed of. Lookg back today, the fact that the UK knew so ltle about AIDS, and then did so ltle to warn gay and bisexual men the early days, is sndalo. But “It’s a S” also ptur the posiv of LGBT+ life at the time: enterg a gay pub for the first time brimmg wh nerv and nocence; the passn and openns of new iends; and of the prec tim spent shapg your own fay.
In 1967, the Sexual Offenc Bill was passed, crimilisg homosexual acts between two long as they were over 21, both nsentg, and nductg any sexual acts wh the privacy of their own hom. The Gay Black Group (formed 1981 by a number of Black and Asian gay and lbian people who found that most LGBTQ+ groups had a lack of mory members, makg hard for them to fd empathy and people to talk to who would unrstand) approached the Greater London Council 1982 to requt fundg. Three years later, 1985, they received their fundg and set up the Black Lbian and Gay Centre, which was open to all lbians and gay men.
As the knowledge behd grew and people began to realise that was a vis that uld fect people through blood and sex, 1983, gay men were asked not to donate blood. Sectn 28 banned lol thori om ‘promotg homosexualy’ or ‘pretend fay relatnships’, and prohibed uncils om fundg tnal materials and projects perceived to ‘promote homosexualy’. At the very end of the , 1989, the untry saw somethg they’d never seen a prime-time soap opera first ever gay kiss, Eastenrs!
GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT
1980s timele of major events LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr) rights history, cludg homosexualy, gay marriage, gay adoptn, servg the ary, sexual orientatn discrimatn protectn, changg legal genr, donatg blood, age of nsent, and more. * gay activism in the 1980s uk *
In the same year, rponse to the Sectn 28 legislatn, actor and gay rights activist Sir Ian McKellen was speakg on BBC Rad 3 about the issu raised by the Act and publicly me out. It was named after the 1969 Stonewall rts New York Cy’s Greenwich Village, and om the outset looked to prevent such attacks as Sectn 28 on lbians, gay and bi people om ever occurrg aga.
In 2003, Stonewall was granted charable stat and has sce gone on to help achieve the equalisatn of the age of nsent, lift the ban on LGB people servg the ary, secure legislatn which allowed same-sex upl to adopt, helped secure civil partnerships and then same-sex marriage and ensured that the recent Equaly Act protected lbian, gay and bi people terms of goods and servic.
In 2015, Stonewall extend s rem to mpaign for trans equaly alongsi lbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) equaly, followg an extensive nsultatn wh over 700 trans people. In the UK, the Thatcher ernment created Sectn 28 of the Lol Government Act, makg illegal for lol thori to support anythg that might promote homosexual relatnships as a viable alternative to heterosexual ‘fay life’.
PROUD: THE FIRST GAY PRI LONDON
Gay rights movement, civil rights movement that advot equal rights for LGBTQ persons—that is, for lbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenr persons, and queer persons—and lls for an end to discrimatn agast LGBTQ persons employment, cred, hog, public acmodatns, and other areas of life. * gay activism in the 1980s uk *
And even the US Army, who had clared homosexualy to be “patible wh ary service” 1982, were forced to adm 1989 that gay recs were “jt as good or better” than heterosexuals. For example, the UK’s ernment add Sectn 28 to their Lol Government Act that ma illegal for lol thori to support anythg that promoted homosexual relatnships as an alternative to a heterosexual “fay life”.