Post by addisona on Feb 11, 2022 13:41:42 GMT
Absurd but true story of the UK lesbianism ban that never was – and why terrified men scrapped it
In August 1921, the First World War had recently ended with rationing still being phased out, and Irish War of Independence ceasefire talks were ongoing. Unemployment was skyrocketing, women were demanding equal voting rights, and the year even saw a 100-day drought.
But what were MPs concentrating on? Trying to criminalise lesbianism, obviously.
In 1885, section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act had made “gross indecency” between men illegal, punishable with at least two years in prison, with or without hard labour.
The Offences against the Person Act 1861 had also already criminalised “buggery” with no less than 10 years in prison, but the Criminal Law Amendment Act was vague, as “gross indecency” could be interpreted in a myriad of ways and applied to any act of intimacy. The law was used to convict both Oscar Wilde and Alan Turing, among many other men.
But by 1921, the government had realised there were quite a number of queer people they weren’t able to put in prison, and MPs introduced a bill which would have punished “gross indecency” between women.
They suggested adding another clause to the Criminal Law Amendment Act, titled “acts of indecency by females”.
It read: “Any act of gross indecency between female persons shall be a misdemeanour, and punishable in the same manner as any such act committed by male persons under section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885.”
The bill made it to the House of Lords, where it was promptly stuck down, but not for the reason you might think.
The Lords believed that if they made lesbianism illegal, they would simply create more lesbians, as feeble-minded women caught on to what, understandably, seemed like a great idea.
www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/02/10/uk-lesbian-ban-lgbt-history/
In August 1921, the First World War had recently ended with rationing still being phased out, and Irish War of Independence ceasefire talks were ongoing. Unemployment was skyrocketing, women were demanding equal voting rights, and the year even saw a 100-day drought.
But what were MPs concentrating on? Trying to criminalise lesbianism, obviously.
In 1885, section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act had made “gross indecency” between men illegal, punishable with at least two years in prison, with or without hard labour.
The Offences against the Person Act 1861 had also already criminalised “buggery” with no less than 10 years in prison, but the Criminal Law Amendment Act was vague, as “gross indecency” could be interpreted in a myriad of ways and applied to any act of intimacy. The law was used to convict both Oscar Wilde and Alan Turing, among many other men.
But by 1921, the government had realised there were quite a number of queer people they weren’t able to put in prison, and MPs introduced a bill which would have punished “gross indecency” between women.
They suggested adding another clause to the Criminal Law Amendment Act, titled “acts of indecency by females”.
It read: “Any act of gross indecency between female persons shall be a misdemeanour, and punishable in the same manner as any such act committed by male persons under section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885.”
The bill made it to the House of Lords, where it was promptly stuck down, but not for the reason you might think.
The Lords believed that if they made lesbianism illegal, they would simply create more lesbians, as feeble-minded women caught on to what, understandably, seemed like a great idea.
www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/02/10/uk-lesbian-ban-lgbt-history/