Queer Voices in Post-War Scotland Male Homosexuality, Religion and Society

by Meek, Jeffrey

• ISBN13: 9781137444097
• ISBN10: 1137444096
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-05-19
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Scotland decriminalized homosexual acts between consenting male adults in private in 1980, 13 years after similar legislation in England and Wales. This begs the question: why was Scotland different? Queer Voices in Post-War Scotland charts the experiences of gay and bisexual men in Scotland who from within the shadows of criminality forged identities and relationships despite the apparent opprobrium of the state, religious institutions and wider society. Through the use of extensive archival research and oral histories contributed by gay and bisexual men this book charts the history of male homosexuality within Scottish society from the 19th century until decriminalization occurred in 1980.

Author Biography

Jeff Meek is a social and cultural historian based at the University of Glasgow, UK, who has published on the impacts of World War One on Scottish society, and on the interactions between religion, the law and sexuality.

Table of Contents

1.Introduction
2.From Sodomy to Same-Sex Desire
3.Wolfenden and Scotland
4.Moments in Time: Growing up Queer in Post-War Scotland
5.The Scottish Minorities Group
6.In Sickness and in Health
7.God, Sin and Sodomy: Reconciling Religious Identities and Sexual Identities
8.From Crime to Community?
9.Non-Heterosexual Men, Scotland, and Homosexual Law Reform