The Sexual Offences Act 1967
I wanted to share some information and resources on the changes that happened in the UK laws regarding homosexuality in 1967, because I've seen a few posts on various platforms which word what happened very vaguely. I think it's really important that we're accurate when talking about real laws that affected real people, and also knowing the context people were living their lives only leads to more interesting, fruitful conversations.
Essentially my concern is that we shouldn't be boiling the events of 1967 in to simple statements like 'homosexuality became legal in the UK' because that is incorrect. It sends the wrong message about what was happening in mainstream society, and removes all the nuance from the differences between private and public spaces.
The Sexual Offences Act 1967 permitted homosexual acts between two consenting adults over the age of twenty-one in private. It did not apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland, and it remained illegal for men in the military and merchant navy (x). This is important because men continued to get arrested for sex that didn't take place in strict privacy or if there were more than two people present.
Not only that, but the punishment was also made worse if either of the men involved were under 21, increasing the potential jail sentence from two to five years. To be absolutely clear, this only applied to homosexual men, in the UK age of consent for heterosexual sex was and remains 16.
Additionally, research also suggests that after the 1967 act came into play, the policing of homosexuality actually increased and prosecutions went up in the following years (x). There continued to be undercover police operations, jail time, behavioural aversion therapy, oestrogen 'treatments' and more (x).
Lord Arran, who piloted the bill, also had this to say:
"I ask those who have, as it were, been in bondage and for whom the prison doors are now open to show their thanks by comporting themselves quietly and with dignity. This is no occasion for jubilation; certainly not for celebration. Any form of ostentatious behaviour; now or in the future, any form of public flaunting, would be utterly distasteful and would, I believe, make the sponsors of the Bill regret that they have done what they have done. Homosexuals must continue to remember that while there may be nothing bad in being a homosexual, there is certainly nothing good. Lest the opponents of the Bill think that a new freedom, a new privileged class, has been created, let me remind them that no amount of legislation will prevent homosexuals from being the subject of dislike and derision, or at best of pity. We shall always, I fear, resent the odd man out. That is their burden for all time, and they must shoulder it like men—for men they are." (x).
While what he did was radical for a politician of his time, the message here is very clear; gay men should say thank you, be quiet, and we don't want to have to see or hear anything about this again.
And look, I'm barely scratching the surface here. Naturally, it's a really nuanced subject and of course, it was a stepping stone in the right direction. There are some interesting first hand accounts here which range from feeling there was a shift in perspective, that it got much better, and that it got worse. Some people didn't give a shit about the laws in the first place, some people found their community was getting in more trouble after the law passed, others felt it gave them freedom and opened up the way for much more radical movements. All these experiences are valid and true, and like all queer stories, it's complex and nuanced.
But to stress my point, we do need to be careful about the language we're using. In 1967 homosexual sex was partly decriminalised, homosexuality did not suddenly become completely legal or something celebrated by the general population.
To send on a positive note though, I'll remind everyone of this book I shared the other day, which does have chapters detailing the spaces that queer men and women were spending their time and building community where they could be accepted and loved.
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