Gay News
Encyclopedia
Gay News was a pioneering fortnightly newspaper in the United Kingdom
founded in June 1972 in a collaboration between former members of the Gay Liberation Front
and members of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality
(CHE). At the newspaper's height, circulation was 18,000 to 19,000 copies.
of the Scottish Minorities Group
, Glenys Parry (national chair of CHE), Suki J. Pitcher, and Doug Pollard, who later went on to launch the weekly gay newspaper, Gay Week (affectionately known as Gweek) (he is now a presenter on Joy Melbourne 94.9FM, Australia's first full-time GLBTI radio station, and was for a time editor of Melbourne Star, the city's fortnightly gay newspaper). Amongst Gay News's early "Special Friends" were Graham Chapman
of Monty Python's Flying Circus, his partner David Sherlock
, and Antony Grey, secretary of the UK Homosexual Law Reform Society
from 1962 to 1970.
Sex between men had been partially decriminalised for males over the age of 21 in England
and Wales
with the passage of the Sexual Offences Act in 1967. After the Stonewall Riots in New York in 1969, the Gay Liberation Front spread from the United States to London in 1970. Gay News was the response to a nationwide demand by lesbians and gay men for news of the burgeoning liberation movement.
The paper played a pivotal role in the struggle for gay rights in the 1970s in the UK. It was described by Alison Hennegan
(who joined the newspaper as Assistant Features Editor and Literary Editor in June 1977) as the movement's "debating chamber". Although essentially a newspaper, reporting alike on discrimination and political and social advances, it also campaigned for further law reform, including parity with the heterosexual age of consent of sixteen, against the hostility of the church which treated homosexuality as a sin, and the medical profession which treated homosexuality as a pathology. It campaigned for equal rights in employment (notably in the controversial area of the teaching profession) and the trades union movement at a time when left politics in the United Kingdom was still historically influenced by its Nonconformist
roots in its hostility to homosexuality. But under the influence of its features editors, Howes and Hennegan, it also excavated the lesbian and cultural history of past decades as well as presenting new developments in the arts. Keith Howes later published the encyclopaedic reference, Broadcasting It, ostensibly dealing with homosexuality in film, radio and TV from 1923 to 1993 but amounting to a cultural review of British homosexuality in the twentieth century.
Two of the paper's news staff, Michael Mason and Graham McKerrow, later founded the London weekly newspaper Capital Gay
which was launched in June 1981.
Gay News challenged the authorities from the outset by publishing personal contact ads, in defiance of the law — in early editions this section was always headlined "Love knoweth no laws."
In the first year of publication, editor Denis Lemon was charged and fined for obstruction, for taking photographs of police behaviour outside the popular leather bar in Earls Court
, the Coleherne pub
.
In 1974, Gay News was charged with obscenity, having published an issue with a cover photograph of two men kissing. It won the court case.
The newspaper was featured in the 1975 movie Tommy
.
In 1976 Mary Whitehouse
brought a private prosecution of blasphemy (Whitehouse v. Lemon
) against both the newspaper and its editor, Denis Lemon, over the publication of James Kirkup
's poem The Love that Dares to Speak its Name
in the issue dated 3 June 1976. Denis Lemon was found guilty when the case came to court in July 1977 and sentenced to a suspended nine-month prison sentence and personally fined ₤1,000. When all totalled up, fines and court costs awarded against Lemon and Gay News amounted to nearly ₤10,000. After a campaign and several appeals the suspended prison sentence was dropped, but the conviction remained in force. The case drew enormous media coverage at the time. In 2002 BBC Radio 4
broadcast a play about the trial.
Gay News Ltd ceased trading on 15 April 1983.
The gay community has faced one of its biggest tragedies in recent times—this is the string of suicides by young gay individuals. The media has covered this in many different ways. Kelly Egan, of the Ottawa Times, introduces, “a study that found the suicide rate in Detroit decreased while a lengthy newspaper strike was on; then rose again when publication resumed. In Austria, sensationalized reporting of suicides on the subway line caused what researchers termed a "contagion" effect, leading to an alarming number of copy-cats.” At the end of her article, she also states that these young victims are not heroes, and they should not be painted out as such. Her argument is that the media chooses stories featuring young, beautiful kids, and then sensationalize the story. Many people share the belief that we should not sympathize with people who commit suicide, and that the media should not report on the events in a way that encourages this.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Judy Molland, in her blog, takes another stance. Within her blog, she cites a young gay boy’s final post before he committed suicide:
“Im a casualty of love. Well, Im tired of life really. Its so hard, Im sorry, I cant take it anymore. First Id like to mention my friends Nancy, Abby, Colleen, jemma, and Kasia. Being sad is sad : /. I’v been like this for way to long. I cant stand school, I cant stand earth, I cant stand society, I cant stand the scars on my arms, I cant f***ing stand any f***ing thing. I dont want my parents to think this is their fault either… I love my mom and dad : ) Its just too hard. I dont want to wait 3 more years, this hurts too much. How do you even know It will get better? Its not. I hit rock f***ing bottom, fell through a
crack, now im stuck.”
Molland goes on to question how someone could not be deeply saddened by the idea of a young person being pushed to suicide. Molland also quotes a religious figure, Bill Keller, who stated, “Last Friday, a 15-year-old Ottawa boy Jamie Hubley, committed suicide after documenting his hardships of being “gay.” Liveprayer’s Bill Keller said that while the media wants to demonize anyone who dares call this CHOICE of sexual activity what God calls it in the Bible, a sin, it is those in the media who glamorize and promote this choice as normal and acceptable, along with gutless pastors too afraid to speak out against this sin, along with faux churches that glorify this deviant, unnatural, and unhealthy choice of sexual activity, who are most responsible for Hubley’s death.” This brings to question the use of religion by the media to attach homosexuals. It creates the image that homosexuals and religion do not mix, despite the fact that there are many devout Christians in the world that are also gay.
One culmination after the tragedy of young gay suicides was the It Gets Better Project. Brian Stelter writes, “The campaign is intended to help gay teenagers who feel isolated and who may be contemplating suicide, and it coincides with a rash of recent news stories about bullying and the suicides of gay teenagers and young adults.” Public figures, celebrities, and regular people can create videos for young people who may be struggling with depression to show them that things can get better someday. This project is an example of the media trying to represent the events of gay individuals in a positive sense. They label these young people as victims who need help, rather than choosers of a grim fate.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
founded in June 1972 in a collaboration between former members of the Gay Liberation Front
Gay Liberation Front
Gay Liberation Front was the name of a number of Gay Liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots, in which police clashed with gay demonstrators.-The Gay Liberation Front:...
and members of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality
Campaign for Homosexual Equality
The Campaign for Homosexual Equality is one of the oldest gay rights organisations in the United Kingdom. It is a membership organisation which aims to promote legal and social equality for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals in England and Wales...
(CHE). At the newspaper's height, circulation was 18,000 to 19,000 copies.
History of Gay News
The original editorial collective included Denis Lemon (editor), Martin Corbett - who later was an active member of ACT UP, David Seligman, a founder member of the London Gay Switchboard collective, Ian DunnIan Campbell Dunn
Ian Campbell Dunn was a gay rights campaigner who lived and worked in Scotland.-Life and career:Dunn began his work in gay rights activism after finding that the Sexual Offences Act 1967, which partially decriminalized homosexual relations between adult men, applied only to England and Wales and...
of the Scottish Minorities Group
Scottish Minorities Group
The Scottish Minorities Group was a Scottish gay rights group officially founded in Glasgow on 9 May 1969. The group was a self-help organisation working for the rights of homosexual men and women, and had the aims of providing counselling, working for law reform and providing meeting places for...
, Glenys Parry (national chair of CHE), Suki J. Pitcher, and Doug Pollard, who later went on to launch the weekly gay newspaper, Gay Week (affectionately known as Gweek) (he is now a presenter on Joy Melbourne 94.9FM, Australia's first full-time GLBTI radio station, and was for a time editor of Melbourne Star, the city's fortnightly gay newspaper). Amongst Gay News's early "Special Friends" were Graham Chapman
Graham Chapman
Graham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...
of Monty Python's Flying Circus, his partner David Sherlock
David Sherlock
David Sherlock is a British writer and was the life partner of Graham Chapman of Monty Python, whom he met in 1966 in Ibiza.-Biography:David Sherlock was the inspiration for many Monty Python sketches, including "Anne Elk", and was the originator of the Python sketch "Death of Mary Queen of Scots"...
, and Antony Grey, secretary of the UK Homosexual Law Reform Society
Homosexual Law Reform Society
The Homosexual Law Reform Society was an organisation that campaigned in the United Kingdom for changes in the laws that criminalised homosexual relations between men.- History :...
from 1962 to 1970.
Sex between men had been partially decriminalised for males over the age of 21 in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
with the passage of the Sexual Offences Act in 1967. After the Stonewall Riots in New York in 1969, the Gay Liberation Front spread from the United States to London in 1970. Gay News was the response to a nationwide demand by lesbians and gay men for news of the burgeoning liberation movement.
The paper played a pivotal role in the struggle for gay rights in the 1970s in the UK. It was described by Alison Hennegan
Alison Hennegan
Alison Hennegan is a lecturer at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Trinity Hall. She is also a prominent campaigner for gay and lesbian rights in the UK and a journalist....
(who joined the newspaper as Assistant Features Editor and Literary Editor in June 1977) as the movement's "debating chamber". Although essentially a newspaper, reporting alike on discrimination and political and social advances, it also campaigned for further law reform, including parity with the heterosexual age of consent of sixteen, against the hostility of the church which treated homosexuality as a sin, and the medical profession which treated homosexuality as a pathology. It campaigned for equal rights in employment (notably in the controversial area of the teaching profession) and the trades union movement at a time when left politics in the United Kingdom was still historically influenced by its Nonconformist
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
roots in its hostility to homosexuality. But under the influence of its features editors, Howes and Hennegan, it also excavated the lesbian and cultural history of past decades as well as presenting new developments in the arts. Keith Howes later published the encyclopaedic reference, Broadcasting It, ostensibly dealing with homosexuality in film, radio and TV from 1923 to 1993 but amounting to a cultural review of British homosexuality in the twentieth century.
Two of the paper's news staff, Michael Mason and Graham McKerrow, later founded the London weekly newspaper Capital Gay
Capital Gay
Capital Gay was a weekly free gay newspaper published in London. It was founded by Graham McKerrow and Michael Mason and published its first edition on June 26, 1981, Pride Week. Its last edition appeared on June 30, 1995, having become Britain's longest-running gay newspaper...
which was launched in June 1981.
Gay News challenged the authorities from the outset by publishing personal contact ads, in defiance of the law — in early editions this section was always headlined "Love knoweth no laws."
In the first year of publication, editor Denis Lemon was charged and fined for obstruction, for taking photographs of police behaviour outside the popular leather bar in Earls Court
Earls Court
Earls Court is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It is an inner-city district centred on Earl's Court Road and surrounding streets, located 3.1 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It borders the sub-districts of South Kensington to the East, West...
, the Coleherne pub
Coleherne pub
The Coleherne public house was a gay pub in west London. Located at 261 Old Brompton Road, Earls Court, it was a popular landmark Leather bar during the 1970s and 1980s....
.
In 1974, Gay News was charged with obscenity, having published an issue with a cover photograph of two men kissing. It won the court case.
The newspaper was featured in the 1975 movie Tommy
Tommy
Tommy is a given name that is usually the English diminutive of Thomas. The name also could refer to:- People with the given name Tommy :* Tommy Alcedo , Venezuelan road cyclist* Tommy G...
.
In 1976 Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse, CBE was a British campaigner against the permissive society particularly as the media portrayed and reflected it...
brought a private prosecution of blasphemy (Whitehouse v. Lemon
Whitehouse v. Lemon
Whitehouse v. Lemon is a 1976 court case involving the blasphemy law in the United Kingdom.- Facts :James Kirkup's poem The Love that Dares to Speak its Name was published in the 3 June 1976 issue of Gay News...
) against both the newspaper and its editor, Denis Lemon, over the publication of James Kirkup
James Kirkup
James Falconer Kirkup, FRSL was a prolific English poet, translator and travel writer. He was brought up in South Shields, and educated at South Shields Secondary School and Durham University. He wrote over 30 books, including autobiographies, novels and plays...
's poem The Love that Dares to Speak its Name
The Love that Dares to Speak its Name
The Love that Dares to Speak its Name is a controversial poem by James Kirkup.It is written from the viewpoint of a Roman centurion who is graphically described having sex with Jesus after his crucifixion, and also claims that Jesus had had sex with numerous disciples, guards, and even Pontius...
in the issue dated 3 June 1976. Denis Lemon was found guilty when the case came to court in July 1977 and sentenced to a suspended nine-month prison sentence and personally fined ₤1,000. When all totalled up, fines and court costs awarded against Lemon and Gay News amounted to nearly ₤10,000. After a campaign and several appeals the suspended prison sentence was dropped, but the conviction remained in force. The case drew enormous media coverage at the time. In 2002 BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
broadcast a play about the trial.
Gay News Ltd ceased trading on 15 April 1983.
The gay community has faced one of its biggest tragedies in recent times—this is the string of suicides by young gay individuals. The media has covered this in many different ways. Kelly Egan, of the Ottawa Times, introduces, “a study that found the suicide rate in Detroit decreased while a lengthy newspaper strike was on; then rose again when publication resumed. In Austria, sensationalized reporting of suicides on the subway line caused what researchers termed a "contagion" effect, leading to an alarming number of copy-cats.” At the end of her article, she also states that these young victims are not heroes, and they should not be painted out as such. Her argument is that the media chooses stories featuring young, beautiful kids, and then sensationalize the story. Many people share the belief that we should not sympathize with people who commit suicide, and that the media should not report on the events in a way that encourages this.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Judy Molland, in her blog, takes another stance. Within her blog, she cites a young gay boy’s final post before he committed suicide:
“Im a casualty of love. Well, Im tired of life really. Its so hard, Im sorry, I cant take it anymore. First Id like to mention my friends Nancy, Abby, Colleen, jemma, and Kasia. Being sad is sad : /. I’v been like this for way to long. I cant stand school, I cant stand earth, I cant stand society, I cant stand the scars on my arms, I cant f***ing stand any f***ing thing. I dont want my parents to think this is their fault either… I love my mom and dad : ) Its just too hard. I dont want to wait 3 more years, this hurts too much. How do you even know It will get better? Its not. I hit rock f***ing bottom, fell through a
crack, now im stuck.”
Molland goes on to question how someone could not be deeply saddened by the idea of a young person being pushed to suicide. Molland also quotes a religious figure, Bill Keller, who stated, “Last Friday, a 15-year-old Ottawa boy Jamie Hubley, committed suicide after documenting his hardships of being “gay.” Liveprayer’s Bill Keller said that while the media wants to demonize anyone who dares call this CHOICE of sexual activity what God calls it in the Bible, a sin, it is those in the media who glamorize and promote this choice as normal and acceptable, along with gutless pastors too afraid to speak out against this sin, along with faux churches that glorify this deviant, unnatural, and unhealthy choice of sexual activity, who are most responsible for Hubley’s death.” This brings to question the use of religion by the media to attach homosexuals. It creates the image that homosexuals and religion do not mix, despite the fact that there are many devout Christians in the world that are also gay.
One culmination after the tragedy of young gay suicides was the It Gets Better Project. Brian Stelter writes, “The campaign is intended to help gay teenagers who feel isolated and who may be contemplating suicide, and it coincides with a rash of recent news stories about bullying and the suicides of gay teenagers and young adults.” Public figures, celebrities, and regular people can create videos for young people who may be struggling with depression to show them that things can get better someday. This project is an example of the media trying to represent the events of gay individuals in a positive sense. They label these young people as victims who need help, rather than choosers of a grim fate.