We’ve come so far but we’ve still got so far to go

Peter Wildeblood was the only openly gay man to testify before the Wolfenden Committee, the 1950s British government report that eventually led to the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967. His story, which is both inspiring and dispiriting, was told in the featurelength drama Against The Law.

Sensitively portrayed by the great Daniel Mays, Wildeblood was a journalist for, of all things, The Daily Mail.

It’s probably safe to assume that he wasn’t responsible for the nasty newspaper headlines shown at the start: “How to Spot a Possible Homo”; “Filthy Dirty Beasts” etc.

Wildeblood, like all gay men at the time, existed within this suffocating

climate of bigotry and fear.

The dramatization of this pivotal period in his life was interspersed with candid talking head interviews with several elderly gay men, who brought home the horror and madness of trying to survive in an oppressively prejudicial society. One man spoke of the illicit excitement of evading the police, likening the experience to being part of an underground sect.

Another told the tragic tale of being blackmailed into naming names. As a result, a man he spent the night with committed suicide. He’s lived with the guilt ever since.

Wildeblood was the victim of a similar case. Ostensibly a member of the establishment, he was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months for the heinous crime of falling in love with another man. This high-profile case was supposedly a warning to other gay men but his mistreatment actually triggered a gradual shift in public opinion. His eloquent account of the experience elicited sympathy, not rancour.

This moving production achieved its primary goal of confronting modern-day viewers with the shocking reality of life for gay men in the not-so-distant past.

This was a shameful period in history when the names and address of homosexuals were printed in the press. They were subjected to violent, inhumane medical treatment. They were a government-sanctioned persecuted minority. Their appalling mistreatment must never be forgotten.

Despite the bleak subject matter, Against the Law ultimately struck a cautiously optimistic note. After all, attitudes towards homosexuality have improved enormously in the last 50 years. Prejudice still exists, it always will, but thankfully most people these days don’t regard homosexuals as a depraved subspecies.

The 50th anniversary of this watershed moment was celebrated again in Prejudice and Pride: The People’s History of LGBTQ Britain, a twopart Open University documentary in which ordinary people from across the UK share their memories and artefacts.

Our hosts Stephen K. Amos and Susan Calman met various notable people, including the editor of Britain’s first magazine devoted to gay culture, and five pioneering representatives from the Gay Liberation Front. The programme also delivered a shocking reminder that homosexuality wasn’t decriminalised in Scotland until as late as 1980.

Also, it wasn’t officially uncategorised as a mental illness until 1973.

Like Against the Law, this was a sad yet hopeful document of societal change. Its power emerged from the candour of the participants, Amos and Calman included. In one particularly touching, unguarded moment, Calman shed tears as she listened to a gay woman reading aloud from a sorrowfully understanding letter written by her mother.

Taken together, these two programmes delivered an entirely sincere and heartfelt tribute to the strength and bravery of persecuted human beings. Long may they prosper.