Thread by @Matthew_Hodson

Section 28 didn’t come out of nowhere.
It came from a society where 75% thought homosexuality was wrong.
From a society that feared the sight of a man in drag would corrupt.
From a society that believed ignorance was better for children than any knowledge of gay lives.
🧵 1/16

In 1983, 5 years before Section 28, the Daily Mail stirred up controversy by claiming that children, as young as Primary School age, were being fed gay propaganda.
The Daily Mail was particularly incensed by a book called Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin.
2/16

The book (kid lives with her dad and his boyfriend, they do normal family things, no-one fights) wasn’t freely available.
If the school was liberal, it was given to children whose family’s resembled Jenny’s - a kindness when there was no representation of gay families on TV.
3/16

The formation of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, as seen in the movie Pride, led to better relationships between Unions and #LGBTQ communities.
Amid some grumbling, a commitment to criminalise homophobia was adopted at Labour’s 1985 Party Conference.
4/16

Ken Livingstone’s GLC and Manchester City Council showed support for gay rights.
The right wing press labelled this, alongside anti-racism initiatives, the work of ‘loony-lefties’.
The Conservatives fought - and won - the 1987 Election on an anti gay (‘anti-woke’) agenda.
5/16

Fear of homosexuality was compounded by fear of a new, deadly disease, AIDS, that first claimed lives in the UK in 1982.
Initially almost all affected were gay and bi men.
The death toll mounted and, as we were grieving and dying, the attacks on our communities only grew.
6/16

Lies and distortions, dreamt up or amplified by an unchecked media, the hostility of the Police, Church and faith leaders, ignorance, fear of #AIDS and a Government keen gain political capital led to Section 28.
It reflected a homophobic society.
It was a vote winner.
7/16

Section 28 was intended to silence discussion of lesbians and gays.
It failed.
It united and energised our communities.
The 1988 Manchester Stop the Clause rally brought 20,000 lesbians, gays and allies together, at the time the largest #LGBTQ gathering in Europe ever.
8/16

Anti-Section 28 protest unified and activated LGBTQ communities.
The numbers attending Pride marches soared.
The proportion of people who were open to friends, family and colleagues about their sexuality grew - and homophobic attitudes and beliefs began to recede.
9/16

In 1997 New Labour swept to power.
In 2000 the age of consent for gay men was finally equalised and LGBT were allowed to serve openly in the armed forces.
The same year Scotland repealed Section 28 but the Lords, cheered by the media, defeated repeal in England and Wales.
10/16

Scotland was the first to repeal Section 28, despite a massive ‘Keep the Clause’ campaign to retain it funded by Stagecoach millionaire and SNP donor Brian Souter.
A Souter funded poll indicated support for the legislation but Parliament overwhelmingly voted for repeal.
11/16

Despite significant progress in legal equality for LGBT people under Blair’s Labour Government, Section 28 remained law.
Activist anger against the slow progress on this totemic legislation demanded change. So long as it persisted, our lives were classed as inferior.
12/16

In 2003, the Conservatives allowed their MPs to vote freely on the repeal of Section 28.
Their votes, allied with the Labour Government’s and the Liberal Democrats resulted in a massive vote to repeal, 368 to 76.
71 of the 76 votes against came from Tory MPs.
Finally!
13/16

Although Section 28 was designed to suppress discussion of homosexuality, the years that it was on the statute books coincided with greater visibility of LGBTQ lives, on the streets and screens, than ever before; some of it prompted by outrage at this cruel, homophobic law.
14/16

The introduction of #Section28 marked the peak of homophobic attitudes in the UK.
For all the years that it was law, the belief that homosexuality was wrong diminished and acceptance grew.
We lost the battle to halt Section 28 but it armed us well to win the war.
15/16

You can’t teach kids to be gay.
You can teach kids that it’s ok to be gay.
Seeing #LGBTQ+ people represented (on TV, in classrooms, in every walk of life) can make self acceptance easier and faster.
More and happier LGBTQ people aren’t a problem - we’re a blessing!
16/16 🧵 Ends