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Pushing at the Frontiers of Change: A Memoir of Quaker Involvement with Homosexuality
In 2009, Quakers in Britain decided to seek a change in the law to see same-sex marriage as equal to opposite-sex marriage. It was a joyful and profound moment in Quakers’ history, but one that took decades to reach.
In this fascinating book, David Blamires charts that history, from the publication of Towards a Quaker view of sex in 1963 and the response it provoked, to the challenges in the lead-up to 2009. ¬ Throughout, legal issues and attitudes in society are described alongside personal accounts and an exploration of Quakers’ wider input into the conversation about homosexuality. What emerges is a frank perspective on how small but committed groups of Quakers – their actions, meetings, publications and belief in equality – have contributed towards vast social change for gay rights in the UK.
In this fascinating book, David Blamires charts that history, from the publication of Towards a Quaker view of sex in 1963 and the response it provoked, to the challenges in the lead-up to 2009. ¬ Throughout, legal issues and attitudes in society are described alongside personal accounts and an exploration of Quakers’ wider input into the conversation about homosexuality. What emerges is a frank perspective on how small but committed groups of Quakers – their actions, meetings, publications and belief in equality – have contributed towards vast social change for gay rights in the UK.
- GenresNonfiction
104 pages, Paperback
First published March 5, 2012
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July 31, 2016
Covering the period between 1957 and 2010, this brief history illustrates modern British Quakers' movement from thinking that the laws against homosexuality might be wrong, to celebration of same-sex marriage in identical terms to mixed-sex marriage.
I think it would be fairly dry reading for a non-Quaker, but it was an interesting quick read for me and I learned some stuff, including when bisexuality and transgender were first consciously addressed and included in Quaker LG/B/T thinking.
I think it would be fairly dry reading for a non-Quaker, but it was an interesting quick read for me and I learned some stuff, including when bisexuality and transgender were first consciously addressed and included in Quaker LG/B/T thinking.
Displaying 1 of 1 review