A Family Matter

All of the relationships in the novel are impacted in some way by the effects of institutional antigay bias in the 1980s UK legal system. Institutional oppression differs from interpersonal prejudice, as it maintains the oppression of minorities through established laws and customs rather than through social consequence. In Dawn’s case, upon the discovery of her sexual orientation, the legal system—through its solicitors and the judge—misrepresents her and separates her from her daughter based on harmful stereotypes about the LGBTQ+ community. In a lesbian support group, Dawn learns that her experiences are common, as lesbian mothers rarely received any custody over their children in legal proceedings in the 1980s.

The unfortunate outcome is not so much of a surprise for Hazel, who is more mature and self-aware than Dawn regarding her sexual orientation. She has known about it since her schooldays, when she loved a girl named Jill and was vilified as not “normal” by her mother. However, this form of social antigay bias differs from what Dawn is experiencing, as the legal system’s prejudice will leave Dawn severed from her family regardless of what Heron and Maggie actually think about her personally.