Tom Marshman is a show off and an over-sharer, in his new work Section 28 and Me he asks; has the impact of growing up within section 28 legislation made him this way?
Over the year Tom has asked this question in conversation with the queer community he explores the legislation introduced by Thatcher’s Conservative government which stopped schools mentioning queer life.
Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, or simply ‘Section 28’, was a regressive and queerphobic piece of legislation passed in Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) in 1988 under Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government. The law was passed at the peak of societal disapproval toward homosexuality with 64% thinking it was ‘always wrong’ in 1987 – the year before Section 28 was passed (British Social Attitudes survey).
The effect of Section 28 was to insert another section, Section 2A, into the Local Government Act 1986, stating that local authorities: “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”.
Arguably, a key turning point which led to the enactment of Section 28 was Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin, a 1981 Danish picture book (published in English in 1983) depicting a young girl living with her dad and his boyfriend. Various news outlets covered that this book was available in a school library within the Inner London Education Authority; however, it was in fact a teacher’s resource and never seen by students (Buckle, 2012). Section 28 was in place in Scotland until 21 June 2000, and England and Wales until 18 November 2003. Confusion arose while the Section was being debated in Parliament, and after it was formally implemented, partly because what constituted “promoting” was never clarified or defined. There was also the matter of its impact on schools – both in theory and in reality.
Despite Section 28 being completely repealed in Britain over nearly 20 years ago, its legacy is still apparent. This can be gleaned from research such as Lee (2019) regarding teachers’ experience both during and after the Section 28 era. Lee (2019) found that those who taught within the Section 28 era were constantly afraid of being ‘outed’ and spotted with their partner in public, typically living far outside their school’s catchment area as a result, and almost 50% reported having anxiety or depression linked to being a teacher throughout the Section 28 era (compared with only 24% who started after 2003). There are other effects of Section 28, too. For example, a survey by Stonewall in 2017 found that almost half of all LGBT+ still face bullying just for being LGBT+, and that more than two in five young trans people had tried to take their life. Guidance soon to be released by government (supposedly by the end of 2023) will hopefully go some way in combatting the stigma still faced by LGBT+ pupils, but the government must not forget the history of discrimination faced by LGBT+ youth (see King-Hill and others, 2023) and embrace queerness as more than just acceptable.
Collated by Liam Davis and Surngama Datta
References:
British Social Attitudes survey link: https://bsa.natcen.ac.uk/latest-report/british-social-attitudes-30/personal-relationships/homosexuality.aspx
Catherine Lee, ‘UK’s LGBT teachers still scarred by the legacy of homophobic legislation more than 30 years on’ (18 July 2019) at https://theconversation.com/uks-lgbt-teachers-still-scarred-by-the-legacy-of-homophobic-legislation-more-than-30-years-on-118618
https://www.stonewall.org.uk/school-report-2017
KentOnline, ‘Gay campaigners welcome KCC policy change’ at https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/gay-campaigners-welcome-kcc-poli-a16471/
The Sunday Times, ‘Schools escape Clause 28 in ‘gay ban’ fiasco’ (29 May 1988) at https://briandeer.com/social/clause-28.htm
Sebastian Buckle, ‘Homosexual Identity in England, 1967-2004: Political Reform, Media and Social Change’ (PhD thesis, University of Southampton), published October 2012
Sophie King-Hill and others, ‘Relationships and sex education review: government must remember history of LGBTQ+ discrimination in English schools’ (12 May 2023) at https://theconversation.com/relationships-and-sex-education-review-government-must-remember-history-of-lgbtq-discrimination-in-english-schools-203008
Stonewall, ‘2017 School Report’ at https://www.stonewall.org.uk/school-report-2017