Being a Gay Man in the 50s and 60s

October 5, 2018

This Week: Homosexuals (1964) – An Extract

This episode of acclaimed current affairs series This Week was the first British non-fiction programme about homosexuality, following reports on other ‘taboo’ subjects, such as abortion, suicide, and drug addiction.

This edition focuses on the problems encountered by gay men in British society, making comparisons with Holland, where homosexuality was not illegal and gay men could live freely without fear of arrest and imprisonment.

Bryan Magee, the presenter of This Week, interviewed over 200 gay men, getting in contact with many through the Albany Trust, before he chose several to take part in the programme.

The gay men were brave in facing the camera, although they remain anonymous, enabling them to talk frankly and honestly about their experiences and sexual matters.

Many of the interviews found their way into Magee’s book One in Twenty (1966). It was translated into eight languages and continued to sell well into the 1970s.

This ground-breaking programme undoubtedly contributed to the campaign to change the law and decriminalise homosexuality, which finally happened in 1967.

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Coming Out in the 1960s

Four young activists interview gay, lesbian and trans-gender elders who explore how the perfect storm of 1960s activism -- the anti-war, civil rights, and the women's movements -- inspired them to fight for their personal freedoms. These were the years that led up to the Stonewall Riots in 1969. The elders explain what the underground LGBT community looked like pre-Stonewall, and how their treatment created a resentment that boiled over and ultimately gave way to the national modern LGBT movement.