Lavender balloons floated upwards, emerging then dissolving pictures were
gradually tinted from B&W with rainbow hues, Sarah Jane Morris added
a tranquillised vocal (backed by celestial strains) to the opening titles
and Zoe Wanamaker soothed through the narration with dulcet tones. I was
gently drawn into a world of passionate friends in the first part, Age Of
Innocence (1920-1951). There were secret codes, BFs, pashes and temptation
for the girls, and house tarts, caning, rugby scrums and cold showers for
the boys. And then came the evil Radclyffe Hall and her wicked book (which,
by all accounts, disturbed the rather jolly universe of queers and dykes)
followed by the growth of the homosexual underground, a burgeoning sub-culture
of clubs and bars. A new world was mapped out, one of gay tea dances and
pinkie rings, but a world that was soon ravaged by WWII. While the gay men
soon busied themselves with mutual masturbation in hammocks, the lesbians
were wandering the streets waiting for that 'lovely look of recognition'
from like-minded females.
The interviewees (aged up to 97 but nearly all looking at least fifteen years
younger) were congruent that this was a significant period for lesbians and
gays, despite the continuance of an 'underlying fear of discovery'. This
wide-spread trepidation was referred to frequently, tacked on the end of
phrases such as 'greater tolerance' and 'growing optimism'.
The second episode, Double Lives (1953-67), and told of secret doorbells,
introduction-only parties, chance conversations, and the rise of cottaging.
In a time when seeking change was deemed 'reckless' it was no surprise that
the 1957 Wolfenden report was ignored for 10 years, despite attempts by This
Week ('64 and '65) and Man Alive ('67) to explore the twilight world of the
homosexual. This was chaperoned by an ascent in anti-gay feeling, which resulted
in various aversion therapies and, in one case documented here, potential
brain surgery. No wonder then that when the Sexual Offences Act 1967 was
brought in, some believed in a 'feeling a progress' where the closet door
'wasn't flung open, but it was unlocked'.
The final 50 minutes, Coming Of Age (1968-96), covered the most progressive,
aggressive period in lesbian and gay history, but touched only on the major
advances. While we were 'too busy being happy to march' and wearing pink
satin bell-bottoms, the Gay Liberation Front was formed, with the zap of
the Festival of Light in 1971 by bogus nuns ('We weren't being violent back
at the Christians, we were doing the can-can'). Gay News flew off the shelves
for the princely sum of 15p and Heaven opened its doors. The Americans influenced
the scene with clones and hanky codes. Lesbians abseiled in Parliament while
queers shouted, marched and protested Clause 28. Tabloid coverage of AIDS
reached fever pitch, afflicted with insidious reporting and blushed with
odious revelations. Pioneering support groups were established, and a 16
year-old dyke went to her first Pride March.
If you think my detailing is expedient, wait until you see the programmes.
There's 77 years of history jam-packed into less than 3 hours (1.94 minutes
per year) and so much is missing. Given that the race for lesbian and gay
equality has been a hard fought and now seems inured, something had to give.
The age of consent campaign became one such casualty of the scheduling war,
but its omission is lamentable. A useful tool may have been a strapline that
marked other events during that time. The legal changes in Ireland were lost
(Scotland and Wales had vanished completely), the experiences of blacks and
Asians were ignored, as was any disabled viewpoint.
Still, the most amazing thing about It's Not Unusual is that is to be broadcast
at all. If only each area were to have its very own documentary, can you
imagine? I can't say I was thoroughly disappointed but I wasn't best pleased
either, as the programmes couldn't tell me a single thing we didn't already
know and it wasn't so much pink as... well, rose-tinted. Pondering, I realised
that the programmes aren't entirely for my kith and kin. It may prove an
invaluable resource for heterosexuals and the thousands of younger lesbians
and gays who have no idea of their history because they're too E'd off their
tits to bother saluting those that came before and enabled them to live the
lifestyle.
©Megan Radclyffe Publ. Millivres 1997
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Time Out Books Time Out Clubs Time Out Films