What was the Sexual Offences Act 1967? | LGBTQ+ Rights

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In this video Natalia Bartkowiak, Orla Bentley, Tana Randle and Hannah Bedford examine the Sexual Offences Act 1967. Was this Act, which legalised homosexual sex between men over the age of 21, a progressive piece of legislation or did it still bear the marks of homophobia? What was its significance and impact on the lives of gay men and the wider LGBTQ+ society?

Throughout these videos we have chosen to use the term ‘LGBTQ+’ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) as an inclusive term, and one that is also internationally recognised in relation to contemporary marginalised sexual and gender identities. However, from a historical context, it’s important to note that LGBTQ, as well as the individual identities included in that acronym, are all relatively new terms. Many people that we look back on in history and think of as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans would not have identified in these ways and, indeed, would not have recognised or had access to this language.

Historians have increasingly adopted ‘queer’ as an umbrella term that helps us to study and understand people whose gender and/or sexuality did not conform to their society’s expectations of how men and women should live and love. ‘Queer’ remains a contentious term in our own times as it has been used, since the late nineteenth century, as a homophobic insult, especially towards gay men. However, since the 1980s, activists have been reclaiming the word ‘queer’, attempting to use it positively, as a banner under which all sexual and gender minorities can band together.