Come Together: The Years of Gay Liberation 1970–73

by Aubrey Walter (Editor)

On the origins of European queer politics

Come Together tells the incredible story of the emerging radicalism of the Gay Liberation Front, providing a vivid history of the movement, as well as the new ideas and practices it gave rise to across the United Kingdom. Before marriage equality or military service, Come Together reminds us of paths forged but not taken by queer politics in its earliest stages.

Genres: Queer, LGBT, History, Nonfiction, Politics

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Aubrey Walter was a founder of the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Men’s Press, which published in London from 1979 until 2006.

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a short introduction on the history of the Gay Liberation Front in Britain, this book is a collection of articles from the GLF magazine, Come Together (a triple entendre of political union, sex act, and John Lennon song). There was only ever 16 copies of this magazine published, from 1970-73, with the majority being produced in London (with issue 16 made by the Manchester branch and issue 14 by the Birmingham branch, as the group tried to decentralise to spread costs and represent more members near the end of the groups lifespan). A mixed selection of articles are represented, with an effort to select representative or interesting debates rather than provide an equal sampling from each issue.

As with all the other reading I have done about liberation groups in the 60s/70s/80s, it is hard not to notice just how little has changed, even when a lot has changed. That is to say, these articles were written at a time when being gay could see you get fined, fired, imprisoned, or incarcerated in a mental health asylum (administered to by nurses often too terrified to show compassion lest they be branded as homosexuals too and lose their livelihoods). Despite this, the issues that so many of the articles grapple with are still intimately familiar to most modern queers: is worth coming out? How and who to? Which streets can be safely walked down with your partner? Like now, debates raged about tensions between the butch (who might replicate harmful elements of heterosexual masculinity), the femmes (who might replicate harmful stereotypes about what gays should look and act like), the "screaming queens" (who might harm the "respectability" that middle-class gays tried to use to curry favour with homophobes), and the lesbians (often sidelined and condescended to by gays uncritical of the misogyny they grew up with). Discussions with prudish gays worried about outlandish pride events compromising their status are identical to ones I've heard and participated in before. The homophobia and misogyny that certain gays carry is still visible in plenty online today, and indeed the nature of social media emboldens such flippant bigotry. The arguments for straight-gays (hiding your sexuality from most) is still nearly convincing - "we have been willing to sacrifice at least a part of our personal fulfillment and stability to the community in order to recieve such economic and social perks as it may offer so long as we exist behind the mask" - in a way that causes me to use cop outs like "partner" to avoid honesty with strangers, colleagues, and students.

Most of the contributors of Come Together emphasis how vital coming out is, and are more militant than the cautious straight-gay I quoted above, and certainly it IS easier and safer to come out now with more doing so at ever earlier ages, but the societal and economic conditions behind the bigotry and immiseration of queers are still in place (indeed, the last few years have seen them intensifying and bringing the same weapons to bear on trans people as they used for decades on the degenerate homos). In this way, and many others, I think a contribution to issue 7 was prophetic in its declaration that "if Gay Lib only makes gay 'Respectable' then we have just created another product, expanded the market, suggested another false choice, another chain. We do not want to substitute the fetish of homosexuality for the fetish of heterosexuality". And to the extent that capitalism has embraced homosexuality - a narrow and restrictive extent that seeks to label and categorise in order to foster reliable markets and malleable consumers - this marks a deterioration in the hopes and prospects of true gay liberation. Despite the onslaught of homophobia, violence, and online abuse that gay people face while lawmakers belittle, defund, and impoverish them, queers are still told that there is nothing left to fight for; a false sense of security has stymied any political motivation for better while obscuring the very appendages of capitalism that prevent any progress.

So yeah, the articles are often interesting, fun, and reveal the diversity of thought and perspectives at a turning point in gay history. I've given four instead of five as I think it could have been better put together and edited to provide a history and commentary on the group, but certainly it is still a useful resource.

[Eurethius Péllitièr · Rating 4 out of 5]

While bits of analysis appear this collection of articles is written brilliantly in the Queer Subjective where, in hindsight, and equipped with contemporary queer language, you can feel the struggle to explain feelings

[Hal Schrieve · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved reading these Historical Posts from GLF publications 1970-73. Much of the discourse is jarringly current, particularly where it touches on racism, classism, and trans inclusion. "Want a Token Sister, Mister?" is shockingly relevant to 2025.

I was surprised how much early pro-drag, proto-trans "we must get rid of gender" talk there was in here (though then as now, it mixes with what I find retrograde fixations on getting rid of The Butch) and also how many descriptions there were of meetings with hundreds of people. Power was built collectively, hugely, by people finding their way to the same spots over and over again. Many of the divides and fights between GLF and specific kinds of Maoists make less sense to me--Walter explains at the start the ways that she saw communist orgs reject gay aesthetics or participation and enumerates her interpretation; her narrative of the tensions pulling GLF groups apart are really valuable witness accounts, though maybe also take with a grain of salt/other perspectives-- but this book is an invaluable historical document. I am astonished to think of the growth that so many people did together in a very short span of time, and the work they published communally and disseminated.

[Caris · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Content warnings for this book: sexual content, paedophilia*

This is a collection of notes, letters, and pamphlets from the Gay Liberation Front at the peak of the queer movement post-Stonewall. Like other entries in Verso’s ‘Queer Left’ series, these writings focus on the political activism and community building of queer folks. Unfortunately, the moments of repetition and statements surrounding age of consent don’t do this collection any favours. If you have a general knowledge of queer history, this doesn’t offer much of anything new, and its shortcomings aren’t all that surprising either.

The best thing this collection does is show us a glimpse of the discourses going on within the movement of the 70’s. It features artwork, photography, and even anonymous letters from closeted homosexuals to queer organizations at the time. There are a few inclusions from trans voices (including a beautiful and still-relevant piece on transsexuality), however, there is a stark lack of perspective on/by trans people and other marginalized queer folks. I think it’s worth reading, but it’s the kind of book that’s best spent picking through the essays that speak to you most.

[C. B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a microcosm of 1970s gay liberation in the UK. The book is hindered by being such a communal project, but also rather glorious for that same reason. These selections are a testament to the spirit of the time; to the diversity of ideas which often conflicted with one another, but which were all put forward in an earnest search for utopia.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting read, with articles from the UK and the gay experience there in the years after Stonewall