‘Blue Jean’ evok the anxieti of beg a gay teacher the Thatcher era

Contents:

• IAN GAY - MASTER THATCHER
• IAN GAY MASTER THATCHER SALWAYASH, BRIDPORT
• IAN MCKELLEN CRICIZ MARGARET THATCHER, RELLS LATE PRIME MISTER'S ANTI-GAY POLICI
• ‘BLUE JEAN’: DON’T SAY GAY THATCHER-ERA ENGLISH DRAMA
• MARGARET THATCHER, GAY DISPATCHER
• ‘BLUE JEAN’ EVOK THE ANXIETI OF BEG A GAY TEACHER THE THATCHER ERA
• IAN GAY MASTER THATCHER SALWAYASH, BRIDPORT

IAN GAY - MASTER THATCHER

New ctomers n now stantly disver and get touch wh plac like Ian Gay - Master Thatcher Bridport. Sign up for the View om Wtmster email for expert analysis straight to your boxGet our ee View om Wtmster emailToday marks 30 years sce Margaret Thatcher's Conservative ernment troduced s highly ntroversial Sectn 28 clse, part of the Lol Government Act 1988, banned the "promotn" of homosexualy by lol thori and Bra's schools.

Councils were meanwhile forbidn om stockg librari wh lerature or films that ntaed gay or lbian them, forcg young people to look elsewhere for tnal material, fdg solace novels like Jeate Wterson's Orang Are Not the Only F (1985) and the posive exampl set by the era's "out" or androgyno pop stars. Margaret Thatcher at the Conservative Party Conference, June 1987 (Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty)Activists also stormed the BBC on 23 May 1988, handcuffg themselv to a TV mera and disptg a broadst of The Six O'Clock News prented by Sue Lawley and Nicholas Manchter, more than 20, 000 people marched agast Sectn 28 while the actor Ian McKellen me out publicly for the first time orr to voice his Thatcher, rponsible for the first new homophobic law to be troduced a century, had voiced her opposn to gay rights at the 1987 Conservative Party Conference Blackpool.

"Children who need to be tght to rpect tradnal moral valu are beg tght that they have an alienable right to be gay, " she said.

IAN GAY MASTER THATCHER SALWAYASH, BRIDPORT

"She was embolned to exprs her prejudice by a rise homophobia exacerbated by the AIDS/HIV crisis and s hostile verage the right-wg tabloid Tori palised on this sentiment that same year's electn mpaign, suggtg that Labour was tent on seeg pro-LGBT+ books tght school, a powerful piece of rhetoric at a time when the 75 per cent of the populatn believed homosexualy was "always or mostly wrong", acrdg to a ntemporary Brish Social Attus survey. Sectn 28 marked a disturbg backwards step for tolerance and clivy after the stris ma by the Brish LGBT+ movement sce the crimalisatn of male homosexualy 1967, a surge of progrs that had seen activists fe allianc wh Labour unns and the Natnal Unn of Meworkers, as picted the film Pri (2014), and the electn of Margaret Roff, Bra's first "out" lbian mayor, Manchter pernic fluence of the clse unqutnably played a huge role legimisg hate and rercg playground homophobia and bullyg, monisg LGBT+ children and ensurg many stayed imprisoned the closet for fear of social reprisals or clse endured until was repealed Stland on 21 June 2001 and the rt of the UK on 18 November lear and later PM David Cameron apologised for Sectn 28 as a "mistake" on 1 July timely passg arguably reprented a watershed moment for LGBT+ rights Bra and marked progrs has sce been ma, a procs facilated by the emergence of Twter as a platform for cultivatg more sensive attus towards qutns of reprentatn and diversy. Ian McKellen me out as gay to fight .

You would be hard prsed to fd a recent Brish law more ntroversial and more reviled than sectn 28 of the Lol Government Act the late 80s, the gay and lbian people of the UK were loudly mandg equaly, much to the chagr of tradnalists. Sectn 28 was the Conservative ernment’s rponse; Margaret Thatcher’s answer to those who believed “they have an alienable right to be gay” vaguely word law prohibed lol thori and schools om “promotg” homosexualy and prevented uncils om fundg much-need lbian and gay iativ.

At a time when gay people were stgglg to pe wh the Aids epimic, was a llo attempt to supprs an already margalised Conservative policians, sectn 28 was an easy, short-term w. It was an obv populist gamb to solidify support among the 75% of the populatn who thought that homosexual activy was “always or mostly wrong”. ’ Photograph: Joel GoodmanAt the time that sectn 28 was beg discsed parliament, I was one of Manchter cy uncil’s gay men’s officers, workg on issu such as employment, service livery and velopg muny groups.

IAN MCKELLEN CRICIZ MARGARET THATCHER, RELLS LATE PRIME MISTER'S ANTI-GAY POLICI

I had also helped to set up the North Wt Campaign for Lbian and Gay Equaly, the group rponsible for orchtratg the Manchter had a secret office the town hall attic where more than 100 people would meet every week. What we were dog was pletely one the group had anised such a large event before, but a re group had been very active the gay movement sce the early 1970s.

The gay scene was que small and I knew the owners of the lol venu went to the gay bars and clubs – such as New Unn, Rembrandt, the Thompsons Arms and Napoleon – where the owners agreed to stop the mic so that we uld speak about the march and sectn 28. There were also lots of qutns about sectn 28’s possible impact on gay bars and clubs, as well as ncerns about the attu of the police force. Photograph: Rick Colls/Rex/ShutterstockUnr the then chief nstable of Greater Manchter, Jam Anrton, the police were very hostile and were raidg gay bars and clubs.

‘BLUE JEAN’: DON’T SAY GAY THATCHER-ERA ENGLISH DRAMA

I had experienced some harassment on the street and the gay village, but no one would report hate crim bee of the attu of the police. Twenty thoand turned up for the march, and revalised the gay movement the TempleOn 23 May 1988, the eveng before sectn 28 me to force, lbian activists stormed the BBC News stud where Sue Lawley was midway through the Six O’Clock News.

Michael CashmanNow a Labour polician, 1988 Michael Cashman was his send year on EastEnrs, where he played Col, one of the first gay characters a natnal soap. I clearly remember readg about sectn 28 January 1988 the weekly paper Capal Gay.

MARGARET THATCHER, GAY DISPATCHER

It had the date of the London march agast and I knew that, as a gay man playg another on televisn, I had to be there or I uld never look at myself the mirror aga. Sectn 28 had been brought on the back of the stigmatisatn and discrimatn suffered by gay men; particular those alg wh Aids and HIV. Michael DanceSchools were one of sectn 28’s ma targets, wh the bill prohibg the promotn or “acceptabily of homosexualy as a pretend fay relatnship”.

‘BLUE JEAN’ EVOK THE ANXIETI OF BEG A GAY TEACHER THE THATCHER ERA

What was brilliant, though, was that my school turned out to be 100% supportive and that I had the support of straight teachers and the Hargey branch of the Natnal Unn of Teachers, which always stood up for gay teachers natnally. A lot of schools pretend that homosexualy did not exist and allowed a lot of misrmatn, prejudice and abe to go unchallenged. And, of urse, had a terrible effect on young people: stunts suffered homophobic abe silence and teachers and schools did nothg about sectn 28 ma me more ut, however, didn’t stop me om takg up issu to do wh sexual liberatn or equaly.

If stunts were homophobic, I always challenged them.

I remember one stunt dog a prentatn on the difference between HIV and Aids to dispel the myths about the ia was a “gay plague”, which ed major tert among the stunts. History has vdited those who fought agast this legislatn that enshred bigotry and PowerFound 1987, the weekly Pk Paper helped to mobilise lbian and gay rears agast sectn 28. Lisa Power was one of s -edors, as well as an activist wh the Organisatn for Lbian and Gay Actn.

IAN GAY MASTER THATCHER SALWAYASH, BRIDPORT

A lot of lbians and gay men the 80s weren’t polil; they jt went out to bars and clubs.

But this did make people thk much more strategilly about how we should go about gettg lbian and gay rights to w the war.

What we had at the time was a gay movement that was very good at fightg among self and very good at batg polil pots – but wh no history of makg alli wh the wir world and no effective lobbyg Power … ‘Sectn 28 brought what we lled the scene queens together wh the polil. Some people the gay movement were angry that we had started somethg that acted like a straight lobby group, but we were nvced need dog.