Gay Male Sexual Identity in the Mid-Twentieth Century: Familial Reaction—A Case Study of Three Older Gay Men

Abstract

This article explores the nature of the relationships that three older British gay men had with their respective families in the early part of their lives. Two distinct periods are identified by the participants as having a particular focus on their families' reaction to their sexual identity. The paper provides vignettes of the narratives of three gay men that illustrate their complex family relationships. These vignettes also illustrate that, for some people, families, familial relationships, and bonds transcend their perceived obligations to other social constructs. They recount a diversity of reactions, which include members of their family being fully complicit with their gay male relationships at a historical time when such relationships were criminal acts.

KEYWORDS:

• Elderly gay males
• sexual identity
• historical accounts of homosexuality

Notes

1. Enactment of the Criminal Law Amendment Act—criminalised gay male sex.

2. Sexual Offences Act—partially decriminalised gay male sex.

3. The term cottages in a United Kingdom context refers to public toilets in which men had sex with other men. In North America, cottages would more generally be referred to as tea rooms.

4. During the 1939–1945 war, the use of external lights at night was prohibited, establishing what were referred to as blackout conditions. The objective was to confuse or not assist the German Air Force in identifying targets for night-time bombing.