Odd men out: Male homosexuality in Britain from Wolfenden to Gay Liberation: Revised and updated edition - Paperback

by John-Pierre Joyce (Author), Simon Callow (Introduction by)

Examines the transformation of homosexual men from 'odd' to 'normal' during the tumultuous decades of the 1950s and 1960s.

Back Jacket

From senior civil servants and spies to activists, drag queens and celebrities, Odd men out charts the tumultuous history of gay men in 1950s and 60s Britain. It takes us from the earliest tentative steps towards decriminalisation to the liberation movement of the early 1970s. Along the way, it catalogues shocking repression, including laws against homosexual activity and the use of brutal medical 'treatments' hormones prescribed as a condition of probation (as in the case of Alan Turing), and the use of chemical, and then electrical, aversion therapy.

With the rise of a new gay identity, along with greater acceptance - from 'odd' to 'normal' - came major shifts in public attitudes and legal reform. Odd men out draws on medical data and opinion polls, broadcast recordings, theatrical productions, and extensive interviews with key players, as well as an in-depth analysis of the Wolfenden Report and the circumstances surrounding its creation. It brings to life pivotal moments in gay mens' cultural representation, ranging across the West End and emerging writers like Joe Orton, the British film industry, the BBC, national newspapers, fashion catalogues and music magazines.

Celebrating the joy of gay lives as well as the hardships, Odd men out preserves the voices of a disappearing generation who revolutionised what it meant to be a gay man in twentieth-century Britain.

Author Biography

John-Pierre Joyce is a writer, journalist and teacher. He has written for national, local and specialist newspapers and magazines, and he has advised on film and television projects.