Chaucer’s Italy

pretended family relationship” (101). It was a reaction by the government to those Labor local authorities which had tried to tackle homophobia (e.g. Greater London Council setting up a Gay Rights Working Party in 1981) and to stop schools talking about homosexuality (e.g. Leicester teachers had published Outlaws in the Classroom: Lesbians and Gays in the School System [Outlaws in the Classroom 1987]). Baker shows how the right-wing press targeted many LGBT books and videos, not just Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin by Susanne B€ osche (1983). He takes us through the Parliamentary debates highlighting the main homophobic protagonists and their shocking arguments. As Baker suggests, homophobia was “pompous and authoritative” (25). A lot of the debate focused on the interpretation of words and phrases like “pretended family relationship” and “promote”. In the debate on 16 February 1988, “pretended” was mentioned 55 times and “promote” 63 times. Toward the end of the debate, Lord McIntosh of Haringey said “(and I [Baker] detect a note of weary sarcasm in the transcript)” that he defended the right of any noble Lords “to deal with this difficult – nay impossible – wording not only line by line and word by word but syllable by syllable if they want to” (14). It’s no surprise that Section 28 came at the height of the moral panic over HIV/AIDs pandemic. Chapter 4 “The Path of Most Resistance” takes us through the many responses to stop Section 28 showing how LGBT people united with many becoming political for the first time. Resistance was substantial. From Organization for Lesbian and Gay Action (OLGA) and the national Stop the Clause campaign to a group of lesbian protestors abseiling into the House of Lords on a clothesline to invading the BBC Six o’clock news. Protesting didn’t stop when Section 28 became law. Chapter 5 “Under the shadow of Section 28” explores the terrible effects and the far-reaching consequences Section 28 had. School life was “tense, frustrating and scary” (189) for LGBTQþ teachers (also captured in the film Blue Jean released in 2023) who felt unable to deal with cases of homophobia. It was even worse for students who were bullied or wanted to find out more about their sexuality. The vague wording of Section 28 reached far beyond schools and Baker considers its effect on lesbian mothers who faced increasing discrimination in child custody cases. The arts also suffered. Again Baker highlights campaigning of lesbians and the organization of a gala benefit “Before the Act” produced by twentieth Century Vixen run by Wendy Martin and Trina Cornwell. Michael Cashman describes how “a raft of known-to-be-gay” performers were suddenly “unavailable” or heading “out of town” (204). The penultimate chapter looks at the rocky road to repeal and why it took six years for the Labor government to abolish Section 28 despite election promises in 1997. There is also a brief look at the separate repeal and “Keep the Clause” campaign in Scotland. Finally Baker ends with a reflective chapter “A legacy is etched.” While there has been progress in terms of LGBT legal equality, repealing Section 28 did not mean the end of homophobia (Baker cites a study in 2021 by Cibyl on behalf of young people’s charity Just Like Us found that LGBTQþ school children are more likely to be bullied, contemplate suicide and feel lonely on a daily basis.) (Cybil (Rachael Milsom) 2021). Teaching sexuality is still an issue in the UK (Baker cites the work of teacher Andrew Moffat in Birmingham). Baker also looks very briefly at LGBT discrimination around the world, offering the story of Section 28 as an example of how things can change. What makes this book particularly rich are the comments from campaigners and activists: from Susannah Bowyer (part of Lesbians against the Clause who descended over the balcony in the Lords’ chamber on 2 February 1988); Michael Cashman (played Colin Russell in EastEnders and co-founder of Stonewall); Charlie McMillan (Chief Executive of Project for HIV and AIDS Care and Education West); Angela Mason (member of Gay Liberation Front and Chief Executive of Stonewall 1992– 2002); Stifyn Parri (played Chris, boyfriend of Gordon Collins, in Brookside); Richard Sandells (actor with theater group Gay Sweatshop). There is much to reflect on. When Chris Smith, the first openly gay Member of Parliament, was asked how he felt during the debates, he replied: “It was really grim sitting through them. Some ridiculous things were said. It made you ashamed, it made you angry, it made you upset. But you had to sit there and debate it as politely as you could” (128). Comments such as those by Ian McKellan (actor and co-founder of Stonewall) that “although Section 28 was debated almost entirely in terms of schools, when it was passed it said that it had no jurisdiction over what schools actually did. So it was all a bit of a red herring”made me think (188). The story of Section 28 is both powerful and shocking. It is a book that should be read by everyone, particularly young people, who might never have heard of Section 28, because history can be easily forgotten, and rights won can definitely be lost.