{"title":"Chaucer’s Italy","authors":"Leah Schwebel","doi":"10.1080/03612759.2023.2237262","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"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.","PeriodicalId":220055,"journal":{"name":"History: Reviews of New Books","volume":"395 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2023-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"History: Reviews of New Books","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03612759.2023.2237262","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
摘要
假装的家庭关系”(101)。这是政府对那些试图解决同性恋恐惧症的工党地方当局的反应(例如大伦敦委员会在1981年成立了一个同性恋权利工作组),并阻止学校谈论同性恋(例如莱斯特的老师出版了《课堂上的歹徒:学校系统中的同性恋者》[1987年课堂上的歹徒])。贝克展示了右翼媒体是如何将矛头指向许多LGBT书籍和视频的,而不仅仅是苏珊娜·欧舍(Susanne B€osche)的《珍妮与埃里克和马丁的生活》(Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin)(1983)。他带我们回顾了议会辩论,重点介绍了主要的恐同者和他们令人震惊的论点。正如贝克所言,恐同是“傲慢和权威的”(25)。很多争论集中在“假装家庭关系”和“促进”等词语的解释上。在1988年2月16日的辩论中,“假装”一词被提及55次,“促进”一词被提及63次。在辩论即将结束时,哈林盖的麦金托什勋爵说:“(我[贝克]在文字记录中发现了一丝令人疲惫的讽刺)”,他为任何贵族贵族都有权利“处理这种困难的——不可能的——措辞,不仅是一行一行、一个字一个字地处理,而且是一个音节一个音节地处理,如果他们愿意的话”(14)。毫无疑问,第28条是在艾滋病毒/艾滋病流行的道德恐慌达到顶峰时出台的。第4章“大多数抵抗之路”带我们通过许多回应来阻止第28节,展示LGBT人群是如何联合起来的,许多人第一次成为政治人物。阻力很大。从“同性恋行动组织”(OLGA)和全国性的“停止条款”运动,到一群女同性恋抗议者用晾衣绳绳绳滑入上议院,再到入侵BBC六点钟新闻。当第28条成为法律时,抗议并没有停止。第五章“在第28节的阴影下”探讨了第28节的可怕影响和深远影响。对于lgbtq老师(也出现在2023年上映的电影《蓝色牛仔》中)来说,学校生活是“紧张、沮丧和可怕的”(189),他们无法处理恐同案件。对于那些被欺负或想要了解更多性取向的学生来说,情况更糟。第28条模糊的措辞远远超出了学校的范围,贝克认为它对女同性恋母亲的影响,她们在儿童监护案件中面临越来越多的歧视。艺术也受到了影响。贝克再次强调了女同性恋者的运动和由温迪·马丁和特里纳·康威尔经营的二十世纪荡妇组织的慈善晚会“在法案之前”。迈克尔·卡什曼(Michael Cashman)描述了“一大批已知是同性恋的”表演者是如何突然“找不到”或“出城”的(2004)。倒数第二章探讨了废除第28条的艰难之路,以及为什么工党政府花了六年时间才废除了第28条,尽管1997年的选举承诺。这里也简要介绍了苏格兰独立的废除和“保留条款”运动。最后,贝克以发人深省的一章“遗产已被刻下”作为结束语。虽然在LGBT法律平等方面取得了进展,但废除第28条并不意味着同性恋恐惧症的结束(贝克引用了Cibyl代表年轻人慈善机构Just Like Us在2021年进行的一项研究,该研究发现,lgbtq(在校儿童)更容易被欺负,更容易想到自杀,更容易每天感到孤独)。在英国,性教育仍然是一个问题(贝克引用了伯明翰教师安德鲁·莫法特的研究)。贝克还简要介绍了世界各地的LGBT歧视,以第28条的故事为例,说明事情可以如何改变。使这本书特别丰富的是活动家和积极分子的评论:苏珊娜·鲍耶(1988年2月2日,反对该条款的女同性恋者的一部分,从上议院会议厅的阳台上下来);迈克尔·卡什曼(Michael Cashman,在《伦敦东区》中饰演科林·拉塞尔,也是石墙乐队的联合创始人);查理·麦克米伦(西部艾滋病毒和艾滋病护理和教育项目首席执行官);安吉拉·梅森(1992 - 2002年同性恋解放阵线成员和石墙运动首席执行官);Stifyn Parri(在Brookside中扮演Gordon Collins的男友Chris);理查德·桑德尔斯(戏剧团体同性恋血汗工厂的演员)。有很多值得反思的地方。当第一位公开同性恋身份的国会议员克里斯·史密斯(Chris Smith)被问及他在辩论期间的感受时,他回答说:“坐在那里看完辩论真的很难受。说了一些可笑的话。它让你感到羞耻,让你生气,让你沮丧。但你必须坐在那里,尽可能礼貌地辩论。”伊恩·麦凯伦(Ian McKellan,演员,石墙运动的联合创始人)评论道:“尽管第28条几乎完全是围绕学校进行辩论,但当它通过时,它说它对学校的实际行为没有管辖权。”所以这一切都有点转移我的注意力”(188)。第28节的故事既有力又令人震惊。 这是一本每个人都应该读的书,尤其是年轻人,他们可能从未听说过第28条,因为历史很容易被遗忘,赢得的权利肯定会失去。 这是一本每个人都应该读的书,尤其是年轻人,他们可能从未听说过第28条,因为历史很容易被遗忘,赢得的权利肯定会失去。
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.