The Story of Maurice Dobson: The Tough-As-Nails, Openly Gay Ex-Miner

Tucked away on the corner of Vicar Road in Darfield, an ex-mining village in South Yorkshire, there’s an inconspicuous, volunteer-led museum containing a truly surprising history.

The Maurice Dobson Museum and Heritage Centre is billed as a tribute to Darfield’s industrial and coal-mining past, as well as a place to grab a cup of tea and slab of delicious cake at the in-house café.

These are all accurate descriptors. But some of the most interesting artefacts inside nod to the colourful life of Dobson himself, somewhat of a local legend. There are a couple of shelves dedicated to Maurice himself. There are amazing photographs of him fully glammed up, wearing a fancy blouse and holding his cigarette.

Who was Maurice Dobson?

Maurice Dobson was born in 1912 in Low Valley, Wombwell, just a stone’s throw away from Darfield. He was born into a family of miners. His mum and dad both came from esteemed mining stock, and he was raised alongside seven siblings.

Dobson followed in his family’s footsteps at the earliest opportunity and headed down the pits, working as a coal miner before later joining the army. He served during the Second World War (1939 to 1945), spending his time stationed on brutal battlefields across North Africa.

Dobson survived the war and moved back to Darfield in the late 1940s, but he didn’t come alone; he came with his partner, Fred Halliday.

For decades, Dobson and Halliday lived in relative peace as an openly gay couple. They ran a corner shop filled to the brim with cold meats, pantry staples and jars of colourful sweets. Locals recall stepping inside to find Dobson perched on a high stool, dressed in a dapper suit with a cigarette holder in one hand and a parrot on his shoulder. Halliday was comparatively low-key, usually dressed in a brown smock instead.

Clearly, Dobson was charismatic. He’s described by those who knew him as eccentric, divisive and hard as nails. Despite being just over five feet tall, he could throw a mean punch. Rumour has it that local pubs treated Dobson as de facto security, nodding discreetly in his direction if troublemakers tried to start fights.

In recent years, local newspapers have retold the story of Dobson’s life, billing him as a “cross-dressing” eccentric. However, some people really go for it and say “Maurice would never have worn a dress”. People who knew him in the 1970s said that he was very well-dressed, and that he would wear fairly flamboyant clothes for a man at the time, but he never would have put a dress on.

There’s a lot about Dobson that’s anomalous in the wider context of gay histories. When we hear stories of same-sex desire between men before the decriminalisation of (most) homosexual acts in 1967, they’re usually tales of criminalisation. Dobson was never arrested, but that doesn’t mean that Barnsley in the 1950s and ‘60s was a haven of tolerance and acceptance.

In the Goodliffe case of 1954, a man named John Wilson had drunken sex with an old friend, Peter Goodliffe. What started as a hook-up behind a pub turned violent, as Wilson punched, kicked and stabbed Goodlife before stealing his watch, money and trousers.

Goodlife reported Wilson, which resulted in a lengthy prison sentence.

Yet Goodliffe’s account led him to be prosecuted too. In court, he detailed sex with numerous local men, from miners to office clerks, giving a testimony described by policemen as “so shocking that most of it could not be read out in court.”

Clearly, Dobson wasn’t the only man in Barnsley with same-sex partners before decriminalisation, but he kept his relationship with Halliday largely private. They were a known couple, and their love was certainly not unchallenged within the community, but they weren’t having sex in public, cruising or sleeping with multiple partners, all of which were more likely to get you arrested.

Police officers seemed to quite like Dobson. He was tough, and could handle himself in a fight. Seemingly, locals just saw Dobson as a colourful eccentric, a man with a penchant for sharp suits and light make-up who taught his parrot to tell the local kids to “bugger off” when they lingered too long.

According to various testimonies, Dobson was a champion boxer in his army regiment, a collector of fine antiques and a renowned dancer. However, we should take these stories with a pinch of salt. There’s probably a different Maurice for everyone that remembers him.

These nuances and complexities make the story of Maurice Dobson so fascinating. Usually, gay men’s histories are either rooted in criminalisation or the stories of the wealthy upper classes. They’re rarely set in working-class mining villages or feature men in seemingly harmonious, same-sex relationships. Whether they loved or hated him, Darfield’s locals paint vivid pictures of a charismatic and unique man whose legacy is worthy of preservation.

More photos can be seen here.

 Seeking Participants 

 Amplifying Queer Voices 

Hi, I’m Elena (she/her), a queer woman and trainee psychologist, committed to making the world safer for our community. 

I’m researching the journeys queer women go through with their identity after surviving ‘corrective’ sexual violence – a form of violence used to punish or ‘change’ someone for being queer.

 Why? To amplify our voices, advocate for better support, and fight for justice.

 What? A one-hour confidential conversation with me, centred on care, healing, and resistance.

 Who? Queer cis women (for this phase of research).

Confidentiality will be held with deep care. The focus is on solidarity and systemic change, and this research will lay the foundation for future work with other queer and trans communities. No questions will regard the incident(s) itself, and I too have endured this form of violence.

 Interested or want to know more? Would be lovely to hear from you.

Email me at u2631805@uel.ac.uk

Please share with anyone who might want to take part.

World’s most sexually liberated cities revealed

The results are in for the world’s most sexually liberated cities in 2025, and Manchester has made the top 10. No surprise to us Mancunions.

Global research by escort consultancy group Erobella analysed cities around the world and ranked them based on the number of gay bars they have, the frequency of LGBT+ events there, access to contraception, transgender rights, the legality of sex work and laws protecting against homophobic and transphobic behaviour. 

This year, eight European cities have made the top 10 most sexually liberated cities, whilst only one US city has made the list. This marks a clear shift from last year’s rankings, when seven US cities dominated the top 20 (New York, Los Angeles and Chicago have all dropped out of the rankings this year).

The change in results could be a reflection of “the politicisation of sex” in the US following the re-election of President Donald Trump and a resurgence of conservative values, which has impacted sexual health and reproductive rights, LGBT+ legal protections and sex work legislation.

Amsterdam, which is known for its Red Light District, unsurprisingly claimed the top spot. The capital city of the Netherlands was praised for its “comprehensive legal protections, abundant sexual health resources, and vibrant LGBTQIA+ scene”. 

Sex work was legalised in the city in 2000, with the Dutch government aiming to give sex workers “more autonomy over their profession, reduce criminal activity and improve their labour conditions”. The city is widely considered to be “the birthplace of LGBT+ rights” after homosexuality was decriminalised in 1811. 

Coming in at number two is this year’s only US city on the list, San Francisco. The city is home to one of the first gay neighbourhoods in the US, The Castro, while San Francisco Pride has continued to stand strong in the face of rollbacks in the US. 

Cologne, Germany; Vancouver, Canada; Lisbon, Portugal; and Berlin, Germany, claim the top three, four, five and six spots, respectively. 

Meanwhile, the UK has thrown a curveball in the form of Manchester, which sits at number 7. The city has a thriving LGBT+ scene, particularly in the Gay Village near Canal Street, which hosts over 30 gay bars and clubs.

Hamburg, Germany; Vienna, Austria; and Barcelona, Spain round off the top 10 most sexually liberated cities.

Birthdays

Bee Corner

A visit to “Bee Corner” has become an annual trip for Out In The City, and certainly one of our favourites, if truth bee told.

After lunch we caught the Bee Network bus (should that be “buzz”?) to Salford. It was a bee-utiful sunny day as we made our way just bee-hind Islington Mill.

Ambee, I mean Amber, and her team treated us to teas, coffees and chocolate bars. I can’t bee-lieve how relaxing it was sitting in the garden surrounded by bee-gonias and bee-onys.

A few of us bee-gan to get bee-suited in full gear in order to visit the hives. You might ask: “What’s all the buzz about?” The bee experience is something un-bee-lievable if you hadn’t bee-n bee-fore.

Amber gave us “goodie-bags” with honey and badges – everybody loves a good free-bee! Another great day out – it was the real bees-knees!

More photos can bee seen here.

Winnipeg’s Place of Pride Campus Receives $2.5 Million From The Manitoba Government

The new first-of-its-kind affordable housing and community centre project is expected to be fully complete by 2027.

A $2.5 million investment from the Manitoba Government was announced in June for phase two of Rainbow Resource Centre’s upcoming Place of Pride campus in central Winnipeg. The new first-of-its-kind affordable housing and community centre complex, has received a total of $5.5 million from the provincial government and is aimed at creating a safe and inclusive space for the more than 270,000 Manitobans who consider themselves part of the LGBT+ community – including those who identify and their immediate families.

Phase one of the $20 million project was completed last year, offering 21 affordable housing units for LGBT+ adults over 55 years old. The new government commitment will help create the facility’s community hub, set to break ground in the autumn. The new building will include a kitchen, cafe, arts hub, courtyard, counselling rooms, activity spaces and other facilities for those of all ages and stages of life.

“The Place of Pride initiative is a welcome addition to downtown housing,” said Premier Wab Kinew in a government issued release. “All Manitobans deserve a place where they feel safe and welcome, which is why this investment greatly benefits the seniors and community members who access the space.”    

Place of Pride is being developed by Rainbow Resource Centre, Canada’s longest serving, continually running LGBT+ centre. Opened over 50 years ago, it has been by the sides of LGBT+ Manitobans during their fight for equal rights, the HIV crisis and more. It has helped the community through challenges, grief, milestones and celebration. 

“For decades, Manitoba’s LGBT+ community has worked toward a dedicated, permanent ‘home’ of its own,” said Noreen Mian, executive director, Rainbow Resource Centre in a press release. The campus is set to be fully operational in 2027 and is currently looking for another $12 million investment to complete phase two.

Star Trek Legend George Takei

Takei’s breakout role came as Hikaru Sulu in the 1966 original Star Trek TV series, which managed to become one of history’s most distinguished franchises. Takei also starred in the first six movies and a slew of other Trekkie media since.

He’s been politically involved all his life, yet, for the first 68 years of his life, Takei stayed silent on one issue particularly close to his heart: the fight for LGBT+ rights.

Takei’s vivid memory recounts when he first realised that he was gay. “From about nine or 10-years-old at school, I discovered that I thought boys were so attractive”. He recalls one classmate who had “the sweetest smile” and “long lashes around his eyes”, and another who, while playing marbles, leant over and exposed the small of his back, leaving Takei flustered. 

His heartthrob was gay 1950s star Tab Hunter who, after gossip columns insinuated he was a homosexual, saw his bright career dimmed. “There again was a lesson to me … you can’t pursue an acting career and have the public know that you are gay. If you’re gay, you don’t get cast. And so I decided I’m not going to let people know,” Takei says. 

George Takei and his husband Brad Altman became the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage licence in West Hollywood in 2008, and have now been together for 38 years. In the 20 years since coming out, Takei has made LGBT+ activism a daily part of his life, in part, due to “guilt”. “I felt so guilty for being silent. I mean, I’ve been vocal on all these other issues. The civil rights movement for African Americans; the peace movement during the Vietnam War; nuclear testing. All those issues I was very vocal on, and my most personal issue, I was silent on. So, I needed to pay back.”

He feels he owed it to the LGBT+ activists who were loudly and proudly fighting for him to one day live openly. “I’m so indebted to those brave LGBT+ people who sacrificed on my behalf.”

Happy 88^th Birthday, David Hockney

David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.

On 15 November 2018, Hockney’s 1972 work Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) sold at Christie’s auction house in New York City for £70 million, becoming the most expensive artwork by a living artist sold at auction.

Hockney came out as gay when he was 23, while studying at the Royal College of Art in London. Britain decriminalised homosexual acts seven years later in the Sexual Offences Act 1967. Hockney has explored the nature of gay love in his work, such in as the painting We Two Boys Together Clinging (1961), named after a poem by Walt Whitman. In 1963 he painted two men together in the painting Domestic Scene, Los Angeles, one showering while the other washes his back.

This Was Always Me

Norman Goodman knew he was different from a young age. But it was seen as a mental illness. He faced aversion therapy and electroconvulsive therapy to ‘cure’ his feelings. For decades, Norman hid his bisexuality, even from himself, and lived a life as a husband and nurse.

It wasn’t until after his wife Marilyn passed away that Norman found the courage to come out publicly. Now in a loving relationship, Norman shares how embracing his true self brought peace … and why telling his story matters for other older LGBTQ+ people still in the shadows.

Norman speaks with Rich Clarke about decades of silence, mental health struggles, and finally living openly.

Listen in here.

Statement on the Supreme Court Ruling on the legal definition of sex – 30 June 2025

We are deeply concerned about the harmful implications of the recent Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010, for the trans, non-binary and intersex communities of Manchester and beyond, as well as for other groups. We stand in solidarity with trans, non-binary and intersex people. The negative repercussions of this ruling are already starting to be felt, with the safety of trans, non-binary and intersex people at risk. There are also potential negative implications of the ruling for other marginalised groups, such as the wider LGB communities, gender non-conforming people, and cisgender women. It is more important than ever for allies to actively challenge discriminatory language and actions and express solidarity with the trans+ communities.

Pride month may be over, but the fight for LGBT+ safety and dignity continues.

At Out In The City we’re proud all year round.

Hungary Pride ban prompts largest ever parade in Budapest

The right-wing Fidesz party, which has seen Viktor Orbán as the European country’s Prime Minister since 2010, passed an anti-LGBT+ law banning Pride marches in Hungary on the grounds that the depiction of homosexuality was a threat to minors.

The ban (in March this year), which was met by protests from opposition politicians and members of the public alike, proposed fines of up to 200,000 forints (£420) for organisers of Budapest Pride, and anyone attending, claiming the event could be considered harmful to children.

In further response to the Hungary Pride ban, tens of thousands took to the streets of Budapest on 28 June to defy Orbán, including the city’s Mayor, Gergely Karácsony.

The event ended up being the country’s largest-ever parade by some way, far outnumbering the expected turnout of 35,000 to 40,000 people.

“We believe there are 180,000 to 200,000 people attending,” the president of Pride, Viktória Radványi, said. “It is hard to estimate because there have never been so many people at Budapest Pride.”

5,000 dancing activists make the “world’s largest” human Pride flag

Five thousand Mexican LGBT+ activists in Mexico City reportedly set a world record by making the largest-ever human Pride Flag in the city’s central main square, known as Zócalo (Constitution Plaza).

The display began at 10.30am on 22 June and lasted for two hours. Each participant wore a t-shirt displaying one of the traditional Pride flag’s six colours, carried an umbrella of the corresponding colour, and moved to the song “A quién le importa” (“Who cares”) by Alaska and Dinaramaas – a defiant song about staying true to oneself in the face of societal disapproval.

A drone captured photos and videos as the participants filled the plaza’s entire 787 square foot space.

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada joined the crowd and said of the event: “Mexico City is and will continue to be the city of rights and freedoms. This monumental image we draw with our bodies and colours will be a powerful message to the country and the world. Mexico City is the capital of pride, diversity, peace and transformation.”

How the graves of a legendary Australian outlaw and his soulmate became a heritage site

Andrew George Scott aka Captain Moonlite (5 July 1842 – 20 January 1880) (left) and James Nesbitt (27 August 1858 – 17 November 1879) (right).

It was late 1879 in the Australian outback, and Captain Moonlite and his gang of young bushrangers were desperate and on the brink of starvation. Depending on who you believe, they’d come to Wantabadgery Station – roughly halfway between Sydney and Melbourne – either on the unkept promise of work, or with the full intention of robbing the locals.

Whatever their motives, Moonlite and his hungry men stormed the little settlement and its surrounding businesses, stealing supplies and booze and taking 25 prisoners. A shootout with law enforcement ensued, during which a police constable was mortally wounded – as was Moonlite’s beloved gang member, James Nesbitt. Local newspaper reports at the time said that Moonlite wept over Nesbitt “like a child, laid his head upon his breast, and kissed him passionately.”

Later letters from Moonlite revealed that he and Nesbitt shared a deep connection that was clearly more than just an intense bromance. “My dying wish is to be buried beside my beloved James Nesbitt, the man with whom I was united by every tie which could bind human friendship,” he wrote. “We were one in hopes, in heart and soul, and this unity lasted until he died in my arms.”

Bushrangers were to Australians what Wild West outlaws were to Americans, a motley assortment of frontier bandits. In terms of contemporary infamy in 1879, Captain Moonlite was not yet a top-tier bushranger on par with the notorious Ned Kelly, but he was well on his way.

Andrew George Scott was born in Ireland in 1842, and he came to Australia in 1868 by way of New Zealand. Ostensibly a lay preacher studying for the Anglican priesthood, Scott conducted his first bank heist the following year in the gold mining town of Mount Egerton, leaving a note behind meant to throw authorities off the track, signed with the intentionally misspelled moniker Captain Moonlite.

While in prison for his crimes at Melbourne’s Pentridge Gaol in the 1870s, Scott met fellow prisoner James Nesbitt, 16 years his junior, and the two became tightly bonded. When Scott was released from Pentridge in March 1879, young Nesbitt (who had been released a year earlier) was waiting for him at the gate, and the two moved into a boarding house together in the now-bohemian Melbourne neighbourhood of Fitzroy.

In the months that followed, Scott simultaneously embarked on a speaking tour urging prison reform in Australia’s harsh penitentiaries while becoming the subject of tabloid accusations about his potential connections to unsolved local crimes. During his speaking tour, he bonded with several young men, four of whom, along with Nesbitt, became part of his fledgling bushranger gang.

After the Wantabadgery shootout in November 1879, Scott was arrested and taken to Sydney’s Darlinghurst Gaol, where he and fellow surviving gang member Thomas Rogan were both hanged for the murder of Constable Bowen on 20 January 1880. Scott went to the gallows wearing a lock of his beloved Nesbitt’s hair on his finger. 

Scott’s dying wish to be buried next to his “dearest Jim” – who had been unceremoniously entombed near their last shootout in the outback town of Gundagai – was of course denied by authorities, and he was instead interred in an unmarked grave at Sydney’s Rookwood Cemetery.

Flash forward 115 years to 1995, when two local Gundagai women, moved by Scott’s century-old burial wishes, led a successful grass-roots campaign to have his body exhumed from Rookwood and transported the 220 miles to North Gundagai Cemetery, where Nesbitt is believed to also lie in an unmarked grave. Scott’s new tomb was given a proper stone marker.

New South Wales added Scott and Nesbitt’s graves to its State Heritage Register in March 2025. Minister for Heritage, Penny Sharpe said that the listing “reflects the desire to tell the diverse stories that reflect the rich history of NSW” and have “always existed” in the state.

Birthdays

Celebrating 50 Years of LGBT Foundation

In 2025 LGBT Foundation is celebrating 50 years of being at the forefront of LGBT+ rights, health and wellbeing. Paul Fairweather tells us about the early roots of the organisation in the 1970s, which began with the Manchester Gay Switchboard helpline.

“I came to Manchester in 1978 to work for the Campaign for Homosexual Equality and it was then that I heard about the Manchester Gay Switchboard which had launched in 1975.

Before the internet it was harder for LGBT+ to get support or information – there was Gay News, a fortnightly newspaper but most shops refused to stock it. There was also very little protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people at that time – you could lose your job or be denied services. So giving my time to volunteer for the telephone helpline felt crucial – we were not only providing information about LGBT+ groups and gatherings but also referring to further support.

We had the free use of a basement at the University of Manchester and the room we took calls in was tiny and grotty – and we still felt very hidden away. Of those first calls I remember talking to a gay man who had never spoken to anyone about his sexuality and was really terrified – particularly about what his parents would say. He eventually came along to a support group and I saw him blossom there – it felt good to be able to help someone to grow as an LGBT+ person.

Very quickly the basement became occupied by a range of LGBT+ groups and services and became known as the first ‘Manchester Gay Centre’. The efforts of this group of volunteers to start Manchester Gay Switchboard has been a catalyst for a whole range of other organisations that still continue, such as LGBT Foundation, so I’m still really proud of what we did.”

LGBT Foundation’s helpline offers support and advice for LGBT+ communities. The line is open from 9.00am – 6.00pm Monday to Friday and can be reached on 0345 3 30 30 30.

The LGBT Foundation also runs the Pride in Ageing programme for LGBT+ over 50s that creates joyful, fun and empowering events all year round. For more information call 0345 3 30 30 30.

50 Years of Queer, Hope & Joy Exhibition

27 June – 31 December – Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 5PD – Free

The 50 Years of Queer Hope & Joy Exhibition at Manchester Central Library invites the public into a powerful, moving and often joyful journey through the stories that shaped five decades of LGBT+ life in Greater Manchester and beyond.

From never-before-seen archive materials and oral histories to community artefacts and campaign posters, the exhibition showcases the resilience, resistance, and creativity of LGBT+ people across generations.

Whether you’re rediscovering the past or encountering it for the first time, this in-person exhibition places the lived experiences of LGBT+ people at the heart of the narrative.

The Word “Homosexuality”

The word “Homosexuality” first appeared in a letter written by pioneering Austrian-Hungarian sexologist Karl-Maria Kertbeny (pictured, left) to his colleague, German gay rights advocate, Karl Ulrichs on 6 May 1868.

It was the first time in recorded history that the term is known to have been used. “Homosexualität” would not appear in a publicly accessible document – a pamphlet published anonymously by Kertbeny – until the following year.

Several German advocates (German became the “unofficial language” of the emerging field of sexology) embraced its use, though for years terms such as “invert” would continue to be used to describe what had for years gone unnamed.

“Homosexuality” would make its debut in English when Richard von Krafft-Ebing’s 1886 Psychopathia Sexualis was translated in 1894. Because any discussion of the subject was considered obscene, it was only through technical journals that information would make it into the hands of the growing number of people who were desperate to understand the condition.

The Word “Gay”

The most recently acquired meaning – or sense – of the word “gay” among young people, is a derisive term similar in meaning to “lame” or “stupid”. It can be used to indicate disapproval of a thing (“a gay sweater”) or an activity (“playing a certain video game is gay”).

“Gay” can also be used as a pejorative. By calling someone “gay”, you effectively project the negative characteristics that are stereotypically associated with homosexual men onto that person, eg lack of physical prowess and unmanliness.

Yet the word “gay” has not always been synonymous to “homosexual” or “stupid”. It has actually known a fascinating history where its sense was dependent on the context, the intent of the speaker, and the variety of English (ie British or American English). Keep in mind, therefore, when a new sense first came into use, that does not mean that the previous senses were thereby obsolete. Many of these different senses have coexisted for a long time before one sense gained prominence over another.

Furthermore, resources like the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) of a previous denotation only gives us an indication as to when a particular use of a word had become current; it does by no means mean that that sense was not used before the dictionary’s first citation. Dictionaries are very much products of their editors, and are therefore subjective, even though most people consider dictionaries as authoritative resources.

There are a number of different senses that the word “gay” has taken on ever since its entry into the English language.

The origin of the word “gay”

The first recorded usage of the word “gay” in the OED dates back to around 1200 when it was used as an adjective meaning “brig or lively-looking, especially in colour.” The word had most probably come into the English language from Old French where “gay” meant “merry”, “cheerful” or “happy”. In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote, “Why is my neighebores wyf so gay?” (“Why is my neighbour’s wife so cheerful?”)

Depending on the context, “gay” also came to be used to denote “noble”, “beautiful” and “excellent” around 1325, with additional meanings of “light-hearted” and “carefree” around 1380.

The word acquired a tinge of promiscuity towards the end of the 14^th century, when it obtained the senses of “wanton” and “lewd”. These newer senses were effectively extensions of a previous denotation of “gay”, namely that of being “carefree”. Evidently people had started to associate “carefree” and “not having moral constraints”, thereby causing “gay” to take on this additional meaning as well. The use of the word in this sense became even more solidified when it also started to be used towards the end of the 16^th century as an adjective denoting a person who was “dedicated to social pleasures, dissolute, promiscuous, frivolous, hedonistic”.

“Gay” became even more closely linked to immorality in the 1790s when the word became associated with prostitution. In England, a “gay woman” had become a euphemism for a prostitute, whom you could find in a brothel or “gay house”.

In 1857, a satirical cartoon was published in Punch magazine. It showed two women talking at midnight; one was wearing lower-middle-class women’s clothes, while her much more expensively-dressed friend stands in a doorway with an expression of annoyance on her face.

“Ah! Fanny! How long have you been gay?” asks Bella, the one in the less-fashionable outfit.

Meanwhile, Fanny stares at her angrily. The reason? Fanny, the lady in fine clothes, has been ‘gay’ (i.e. she’s been working as a sex worker) and her friend has just found out. The ‘Great Social Evil’ in the title refers directly to sex work in Victorian England.

Around the same time, a number of other uses of the word with negative senses had been recorded by the OED, such as “a person who has ceased adhering to the plain and simple life or beliefs of the community”. This particular use was current among religious groups in the United States, specifically the Quakers. “Going gay” in these circles had come to denote the action of a religious person forsaking his or her religious beliefs.

The OED did however also record a positive use of the word around sixty years later; “gay” was used in specific regions in England to indicate that one was in good health. The OED’s earliest record of the word being used in this sense stems from 1855 with the phrase “I am quite gay, thank you.”

In the US, however, “gay” had retained its negative connotation; it had become a slang term for someone who is “too free in conduct, forward, impertinent.”

Gay = Homosexual

It is not entirely clear when exactly “gay” came to mean “homosexual”. Gertrude Stein, an American writer, is often mentioned as being the first person to popularise the word as a synonym for homosexuality. She used the word in this sense in her short story called “Miss Furr and Miss Skeene”, which she wrote in the early 1920s. Still, it would take until the 1940s before this sense would become more commonly used in the United States, and only as a slang word. Another person who was credited for being among the first to use “gay” to refer to homosexuals was researcher G W Henry, who had collected a great number of case studies on gays, bisexuals and lesbians in America. He published his work called “Sex Variants: A Study of Homosexual Patterns” in 1941, which naturally also included a definition of “gay” as “an adjective used almost exclusively by homosexuals to denote homosexuality, sexual attractiveness, promiscuity … or lack of restraint, in a person, place, or party.” Note how this definition includes promiscuity and lack of restraint.

The Stonewall Riots

A series of violent riots and demonstrations in America, which would later become known as the Stonewall Riots of 1969, jumpstarted the use of the word “gay” in its “homosexual” sense outside of the homosexual community. The riots sparked the beginning of the gay rights movement, which eventually inspired the founding of the Gay Liberation Front. Interestingly, the advent of the lesbian and gay liberation movement in the 1960s not only brought the slang definition of “gay” to everyone’s attention, it also inspired a change in who the word came to refer to. Whereas “gay” had initially been used to denote predominantly homosexual men, it had now become the preferred generic referent for both women and men. The term “homosexual” had been dismissed as too clinical, since the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders still had homosexuality listed as a mental disorder at that time, only to remove it from its list in 1974.

Gay today

Despite initial apprehensiveness about the word among homosexuals because of its previous sexual connotations, “gay” has now become firmly established as the preferred term of self-reference for both gay men and women, with lesbian being an additional option for female homosexuals.

Its previous meanings of brightness, excellence, merriness, carefreeness, lewdness, prostitution, promiscuity, lack of restraint, good health and forwardness have effectively faded out of use.

The terms gay and lesbian are now favoured over “homosexual” by the LGBT community because the term’s clinical history seems to suggest that gay people are somehow diseased or psychologically emotionally disordered.

Nevertheless, the most recent derogative sense of the word meaning “lame” is rapidly gaining ground. Efforts have been made to change this negative usage and promote a more inclusive and respectful language. Only time will tell whether “gay” will eventually revert back to having predominantly negative connotations, or whether the gay community will continue to claim the word as their own and thereby retain its positive connotation.

Birthday

The Queen’s Arms

The Queen’s Arms pub, near Eccles, has brought Anlo Izakaya vibes to Greater Manchester with its British take on Japanese bars.

On the outside, it’s hard to separate the Queen’s Arms from any other pub in Greater Manchester. Situated at the top of a small hill next to a low bridge by Patricroft Train Station in Salford, it looks like the perfect spot to sit with a pint on a sunny day and put the world to rights.

But it is so much more than that. Steeped in history dating back to 1828, the Grade-II listed pub was once situated by the tracks of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the world’s first steam-powered, inter-city railway, which opened in 1830. The pub lays claim to being factually known as the Oldest Passenger Railway Pub in the World, serving excursion traffic from Manchester and becoming a key social hub for railway passengers.

In 1851 Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children were on a visit to the area, and sailed to Liverpool before travelling by train to Patricroft where they got off at what was then the Patricroft Tavern. Rumour has it the Queen asked to use the facilities at the tavern, after which the royal family went by barge down the canal to stay with the Earl of Ellesmere at Worsley New Hall. After they left, the tavern was renamed the Queen’s Arms, in honour of the royal visit.

But almost 200 years after first being built, the pub is doing something special beyond just acknowledging its historical roots. This year the venue reopened as an Anlo Izakaya – a mixture between an English and Japanese pub. Led by Anthony Sit and Mr Lo, two friends from Hong Kong, they have brought their love for Japanese food into the historical venue, and it’s proved to be a hit.

Now a place where you can sit and enjoy the likes of Katsu curries and Tempura prawns alongside a beer to the soundtrack of “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty, it’s gone down a treat with both the local community and those wanting to try something a bit different.

The food and drink offering is unlike other pubs. Premium Japanese beer, Sapporo, is served on draft, whilst people can also choose to order sake wine if they wish.

Food-wise, there’s the likes of teriyaki ox tongue, alongside chicken katsu, chicken wings, tempura vegetables, and tempura soft shell crab. And it’s their tempura – which is also available with the likes of pumpkin, purple sweet potato, asparagus, mushrooms, or oysters – that is something really special on their menu. In some cases, like with the soft shell crab and prawns, they’re dusted off with a special blend of ‘typhoon shelter’ herbs and spices to give it an extra punch.

The Queens Arms was Grade-II listed in 1989 due to its range of architectural features, including Edwardian etched glass windows and doors, and fireplaces with Art Noveau surrounds inside. The pub has won local CAMRA branch ‘Neil Richardson’ award for a fine example of a traditional unspoilt pub in 2010 and 2016.

More photos can be seen here.

Wolfenden Report – (Article by Adam Maidment)

I came across a really interesting article which shined a spotlight on a story which was published 65 years ago and hailed as a rare positive light on the LGBTQ+ community at the time.

Published in the Sunday Pictorial (now the Sunday Mirror), the article (dated 26 June 1960) focused on “four self-confessed homosexuals” who met together to discuss the Wolfenden Report – a government-commissioned report published in 1957 which recommended the decriminalisation of homosexual acts.

Back then gays and lesbians were vilified, attacked and pitied.

It would have perhaps have shocked readers at the time (despite not really being shocking whatsoever) because such coverage would just not have really occurred in a mainstream publication at a time when homosexuality was considered to be both a crime and a mental illness.

Whilst still using some language that we would question today, the piece asked: “What are homosexuals like? Can they be cured? Would a change in the law free them to increase in number? Are they a basic danger to society?”

In the article, written by John Knight, the four men were assigned aliases – ready to speak out but not perhaps ready to be identified so publicly – as they spoke about their lives.

Sadly, they were also asked to answer whether they felt there was a link between homosexuality and paedophilia (which does dim the piece slightly for me but I’m trying to remember it’s of the time).

Estate agent Roger Butler – given the name of Steven G, 27 in the article – was one of the men to speak in the piece. A forgotten pioneer of the gay rights movement, he is believed to be the first man to come out voluntarily to the entire British public.

“The normal homosexual is revolted by men who run after little boys, just as a normal man, presumably, is revolted by men who chase little girls,” he said, standing his ground around the attempted connections.

When another of the men, described as an eminent surgeon, was asked if he wanted to be “cured” he replied: “This is an illogical question to people like myself. How can you want to be cured of something you know is incurable?”

I won’t divulge any more of the piece here, but it is well worth a read – especially as we’re in the midst of Pride Month. It did highlight to me how things have changed so much for the LGBTQ+ community, but it also made me remember that the community has always been paired with some kind of negative connotation.

Perhaps that’s enlightening in a way, to know that things have always been the case and it’s not a new thing, but it’s also very saddening to realise that, actually, whilst a lot of things have indeed changed – some things may be quite similar to how they have always been.

Stonewall Riots

The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, Stonewall revolution) were a series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of 28 June 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighbourhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Although the demonstrations were not the first time American LGBT people fought back against government-sponsored persecution of sexual minorities, the Stonewall riots marked a new beginning for the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.

Welcome to Pride Month (thanks to Alyson Malach)

This month we rise, with colours bold,
To honour stories yet untold.
From Stonewall sparks to today’s flame,
We march with love, we speak our name.

In every borough, street and square,
We show the world that we are there.
Not just surviving, thriving too,
In every shade and every hue.

From joyful dance to solemn fight,
We shine with pride and claim our right.
To live with love, without disguise
With open hearts and lifted eyes.

So, wave that flag, be loud, be true,
There’s room for all, not just a few.
Together strong, we light the way …
Welcome to Pride Month, let’s slay.

Refugee Week

Refugee Week was also held in the month of June. The theme this year was Community.

Community is made by the incredible ordinary and extraordinary simple acts of shared generosity.

We can begin the process of making community wherever we are. We can begin by sharing a smile, a warm greeting, a bit of conversation, by doing a kind deed or by acknowledging a kindness offered to us.

Communities can bring people together by bridging divides and offering support. They offer spaces of resilience and places for healing.  Let’s share the feelings of welcome and belonging, by listening, learning and laughing together.