A Family Matter

The movement toward securing LGBTQ+ rights began in earnest in the United Kingdom in 1967, when sexual activity between adult males (21 years of age) in private was legalized in England and Wales. It had been criminalized since the 16th century. The same did not apply to sexual activity between women, however, since being lesbian had never been criminalized. The closest it came to being so was in 1921, when the Criminal Law Amendment Act passed the House of Commons but failed in the House of Lords. The bill would have punished lesbian couples for “gross indecency,” as it was described. The bill was not passed; at the time, Parliament believed that the vast majority of women in the country did not even know that “lesbianism” existed.

The history of being lesbian is therefore distinct from being gay in the UK. Although not illegal, being lesbian was still subject to societal condemnation. The first organization in the United Kingdom to advocate for the rights of lesbians was the Minorities Research Group (MRG), formed in 1963. During the 1960s, a number of activist groups sprang up, and discreet social venues for lesbians were established. From 1964 to 1971, the MRG published a lesbian magazine, Arena Three.