Overview
- The first book of its kind to be derived from the Wolfenden papers.
- Presents a truly comprehensive picture of midtwentieth century British homosexuality.
- Includes source material from the Wolfenden report itself.
Part of the book series: Genders and Sexualities in History (GSX)
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Table of contents (6 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Introduction
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Front Matter
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The Witnesses
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Front Matter
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The Wolfenden Report
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
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.
Reviews
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Brian Lewis is Professor of History at McGill University, Canada.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Wolfenden's Witnesses
Book Subtitle: Homosexuality in Postwar Britain
Authors: Brian Lewis
Series Title: Genders and Sexualities in History
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137321503
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan London
eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-137-32149-7Published: 08 February 2016
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-137-32148-0Published: 18 February 2016
eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-32150-3Published: 08 April 2016
Series ISSN: 2730-9479
Series E-ISSN: 2730-9487
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 316
Topics: Popular Science, general, Gender Studies, History of Britain and Ireland, Modern History, World History, Global and Transnational History