Gay in cinema

When the British parliament passed the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 – which stated that: “a homosexual act in private shall not be an offence provided that the parties consent thereto and have attained the age of 21 years” – it sought to legitimate gay persona in Britain, at least partially. Interestingly, the language contained within – the “homosexual act in private” – speaks directly to male lover experience.

First, the document’s phrasing connotes ideas around “acting”, “performing”, “presenting” oneself in a particular way (the theatre has long been a bastion for queer creativity) and, second, the dichotomy of public and private space, where people can “be themselves”. The Proceed seems to be constructing a social stage (albeit obscured, out of view) on which male lover men can act. For a gentleman living in Britain before 1967, to be gay was a criminal offence. Therefore, how and where he was able to act his homosexual self would have been a constant root of anxiety and danger.

It should be mentioned that the Sexual Offences Act did not legislate for the decriminalisation of female homosexuality. This could stem from Queen Victoria’s apparent doctrine that lesbians didn’t even exi