Wolfenden's Witnesses: Homosexuality in Postwar Britain Contributor(s): Lewis, Brian (Author) |
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ISBN: 1137321490 ISBN-13: 9781137321497 Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan OUR PRICE: $52.24 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: February 2016 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - History | Europe - Great Britain - General - Social Science | Lgbt Studies - General - History | Social History |
Dewey: 305.3 |
LCCN: 2015303391 |
Series: Genders and Sexualities in History |
Physical Information: 0.75" H x 6.14" W x 9.21" (1.41 lbs) 316 pages |
Themes: - Cultural Region - British Isles - Sex & Gender - Gay - Sex & Gender - Lesbian - Chronological Period - 1940's - Chronological Period - 1950's - Chronological Period - 1950-1999 |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: The Wolfenden Report of 1957 has long been recognized as a landmark in moves towards gay law reform. What is less well known is that the testimonials and written statements of the witnesses before the Wolfenden Committee provide by far the most complete and extensive array of perspectives we have on how homosexuality was understood in mid-twentieth century Britain. Those giving evidence, individually or through their professional associations, included a broad cross-section of official, professional and bureaucratic Britain: police chiefs, policemen, magistrates, judges, lawyers and Home Office civil servants; doctors, biologists (including Alfred Kinsey), psychiatrists, psychoanalysts and psychotherapists; prison governors, medical officers and probation officers; representatives of the churches, morality councils and progressive and ethical societies; approved school headteachers and youth organization leaders; representatives of the army, navy and air force; and a small handful of self-described but largely anonymous homosexuals. This volume presents an annotated selection of their voices. |