A Little Gay History of Wales

by Daryl Leeworthy

This pioneering book traces Welsh LGBT life and politics from the Middle Ages to the present. Drawing on a rich array of archival sources from across Britain together with oral testimony and material culture, this original study is the first to examine the experiences of ordinary LGBT men and women and how they embarked on coming out, building community, and changing the world. This is the story of poets who wrote about same-sex love and translators who worked to create a language to describe it; activists who campaigned for equality and politicians who shaped the resultant legislation; teenagers ringing advice lines for guidance and revellers in the underground bars and clubs on Friday and Saturday nights. In this rich social history, Darryl Leeworthy presents a study of prejudice and of intolerance, of emigration and isolation, of HIV/AIDS and counter-movements that conveys the complex reality of LGBT life and same-sex desire. Engaging and accessible, this book is an important advance in our understanding of Welsh history.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, LGBT, Queer

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 22, 2020

Reviews

[Rainbow Goth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little book which does exactly what it says on the tin.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book, beautifully written and easy to read, giving insights not only on the political and social atmosphere but also personal accounts. Unfortunately, for people less acquainted with Welsh history, timelines are hard to follow and jump around often. Nonetheless a perfectly entertaining and more importantly educating read!

[Russ · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book offers less insight into early (Victorian) gay and lesbian life in Wales than I had hoped, or than is perhaps possible to glean from the historic record, it does appear to provide a thorough overview of the LGBT movement in Wales, especially during the post-WWII period. I didn't give it five stars because I didn't come away feeling like all the information provided had been as well summarized and interpreted as it could have been.

[Caitlin Regola · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5! ugh to see how wonderful the labour government were with lgbtq+ rights and to see it all go backward now is such a heartbreak.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Free survey reward | Very interesting and excellent scholarship, but a narrowed audience | There's a lot of good research, well presented, but it only makes sense in the context of existing familiarity with Wales and its history. Any reader or researcher from outside of the country, looking to expand their understanding of the LGBTQ experience in places they are less familiar, will be lost by much of this. That's totally fine, since the author's target audience appears to be within Cymru, but it does leave an unfortunate gap in the literature that would bring the history of gay Wales into the international conversation. That really is my sole complaint, that I couldn't possibly share the book with friends without being prepared to also give them a crash course on things unrelated to the main topic. Aside from that, a lot is packed into a relatively short book.

[C. B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book speaks to the most recent debates in queer history, while always being readable and relevant (no mean feat!). I particularly enjoyed the reminiscences of the Valleys drag queens and the sense of the diverse and complex experiences of 'acceptance' throughout Wales in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This book would make a nice pair with Helen Smith's Masculinity, Class and Same-Sex Desire in Industrial England, 1895-1957 in this regard — it's full of these sorts of incredible (and often surprising) stories.

[Georgia Swadling · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a good one to be (probably) my final book finished of the year! a christmas present from my partner that i tore straight into and became completely absorbed in by the introduction. a really fantastic read for anyone interested in welsh history, queer history or both. excruciatingly well referenced and remarkably accessible and concise with an emotive human element that the reading experience of non fiction always benefits from. history is human, history is people just like us; history can be improved upon if we remember that.

[Leoniepeonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute corker of a book. So full of information and so beautifully written at points - particularly in sections about working class cultures and the tolerance of the 60s and 70s in some more rural parts of the country. The whole of Part Two in particular was just exquisite, and made me want to do several different research projects off the back of Leeworthy's work. I felt that the book would have benefited from a bit more 'interwriting', weaving together a narrative from the (at times) dense information towards the end, and I wish there'd been a proper conclusion to get behind! But this doesn't take anything way from how important and wonderful this book is.

[Sophie (RedheadReading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mainly focused on the 1800s onwards, has more of a focus on gay experience (hence the title) and perhaps requires a little pre-existing knowledge of Cymru's history - nonetheless, this is a great addition to any queer non-fic shelf!

[Lars Meijer · Rating 4 out of 5]

miners 🤝 gays.

[Kaden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am of the belief that it is important to be somewhat educated on one's country's relationship with LGBTQ+ identities throughout history because, whether one likes it or not, Queerness has always existed and every culture has had its own response to and relationship with it. To understand a country's history and culture regarding LGBTQ+ identities allows one a further understanding of the inner workings of that country.
Though this book heavily focuses on the experiences of homosexual men over other identities such as lesbians, bisexual people, trans people, or other identities it is still a strong introduction to understanding the relationship Queerness has with Welshness. The focus on gay men is mostly due to the fact that gay men were, for many years, the main focus of anti gay laws and ideologies, other identities often being overlooked.
This book is a fantastic gateway, it's very important that resources regarding queer history are easily accessible and engaging, which is exactly what this book is. It's easy to digest and provides the reader with just enough information about various ideologies, laws, and agencies without risking losing the more casual reader with too much complicated information. As a Welsh person who is also LGBTQ+ it is fascinating to learn about the relationship my country has had with queerness, and the common ideologies that Welshness and queerness could never overlap and were two entirely separate identities. And though it is true that being Welsh and being Queer are not things that are connected within themselves, Queer Welsh people exist and we should not be forced to feel that we can only be one or the other, as Leeworthy states within the text.
Wales, as most cultures have, has had a complicated relationship with LGBTQ+ identities and, even today, is rather cautious about discussing them. Transgender individuals in Wales are still faced with many obstacles that were once faced by Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual people. All members of the community still face obstacles all over the world, not just Wales, but I am of the belief that education is the first step to understanding and to changing things. Books like this will not change how Wales communicates with Queer culture but it is a fantastic starting point in educating people about the relationship Wales has with the LGBTQ+ community.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief but compelling - and well researched - foray into the history of the lgbt (mostly G) lives in Wales. The tale ostensibly spans from Medieval times to now but a large chunk of it is spent in the 20th century, chiefly due to lgbt life being half-silenced, hinted at through innuendo.

The lives of gay people are told through activism, legislation, court cases and newspaper articles, as well as personal anecdotes and quotes by gay people of the times.

I will not bore anyone with analysis of Welsh gay history but safe to say this book is a recommended read, and should be the basis of even more reading in an emergent historiography - that of queer history.

Disclaimer - I am not part of the queer community (knowingly or overtly) and I do not have much personal knowledge of queerness in Wales despite living here all my life, as I was born in 1992 and by my adulthood queerness was pretty normalised.

[Chidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before this book, my only knowledge of Queer Welsh history was the Pride (2014) film and a talk with LGSM activists in 2015. This is a great read and a necessary read for anyone interested in British Queer history. The author’s ability to search and find these glimpses of working class queer Welsh community from medieval times to now is true my amazing. My only note is that the text could have been written more concisely as there are a lot of run on sentences where short clear sentences could have been used. That said, I do not think this book inaccesible and really do recommend it to others! Reading this book has made me interested in finding books (if there are any yet) about trans history in Wales. Maybe the author will write a sequel!

[Mordred Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy to read, despite being academic, text which gives a broad look at the history of queer history (albeit focused mainly on cis male homosexuals, for reasons explained at the start of the book) Wales. It also focuses on working class experiences, which is a rare angle when it comes to queer histories.

My only criticism is that, in an attempt to give a broad history, the book sometimes doesn't deliver as much depth on certain events as one might desire.
It's still a great read though and I would recommend it.

Trigger warnings: Mentions of sexual assault (in the context of crime reports)

[Jimmy Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a very densely packed book that read more akin to a dissertation, focused on the pre/post-war era (similar to other comments, I also hoped it would go further back - but maybe that’s best suited to a different book!)

Also, a book that made my queer heart happier knowing that my (less than positive) experience of towns in the South had more of a gay connection than I ever witnessed during some of my more formative years.

There’s still so far to go, especially with the rise of blatant transphobia in the UK, but it is a comfort to remember that this is a fight that continues and progresses even when it feels slow in the moment.

[genevieve · Rating 5 out of 5]

not originally being from swansea, a little gay history of wales made me feel more grounded within my adopted home; jersey marine beach (near what is now swansea university's bay campus) was "adopted as a gay beach [for cruising]" (50) in the 70s/80s. leeworthy also writes of a cleaner's strike at the taliesin (on singleton campus) at the height of public confusion over hiv/aids over a performance from the gay sweatshop theatre group (116).

[Christian Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great contribution to the historiography of Welsh LGBT history. Dr Leeworthy's concise research on the lives of LGBT people is accessible, entertaining and informative. I would be interested to see further publications of this kind, reflecting on Wales' queer community.

[Rhiannon Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly twentieth century history with some useful comment on the lack of written sources from earlier periods (probably few prosecutions because people didn't bother much about enforcing the law, for example).

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little book detailing some of the lgbt+ history of Wales, mainly over the last 150 years. The text is engaging and easy to read, and even funny at times, something that many historical texts fail to achieve.

[Thomas Brassington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible, interesting, learnt a couple of things. Wish its historical range had been a little broader. Also think it's kind of hilarious that Wales' gay tolerance and homophobia both seem to have apathy in common

[Ryan Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, well-researched book that kept my attention throughout even though I very rarely pick up a non-fiction book. Brings light and humanity to what is often a very over-looked sub-section of LGBT+ history.

[Katherine Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important history of lgbtiqa+ people in Wales. I would have liked the book to include more information about the history of lgbtiqa+ wom*n and trans welsh people.

[Stan · Rating 4 out of 5]

read for diss reading, I have a lot of catching up to do oops

[Joe Brewer-Lennon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly researched and so, so important.

[Andrew Brassington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does what it says on the tin. She's gay, she's Welsh, she's little!

[T.A. Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and interesting.

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Section 28 set rights back in this country. It returned a hush-hush culture, and made it that much more difficult to learn LGBT+ history when we really should have been taught LGBT+ history in the wake of the last few decades. As stupid as it sounds, most of our education on those topics came from pop culture, meaning it was all filtered through an American lens. We were cut off from our own past not just if you were LGBT+, but if you were Welsh, considering the solidarity shown by the miners and LGSM groups who gave much needed support to the communities affected by these strikes.

Daryl Leeworthy touches on Section 28 towards the end of his book, and acknowledges the impact it has had on his own experience. But A Little Gay History of Wales gives us a detailed view of the way homosexuality was treated throughout the 20th Century. There is a small amount of information from pre-1900s, but I do think, to a point, the blurb itself is a little misleading – “This pioneering book traces Welsh LGBT life and politics from the Middle Ages to the present.” – it kind of does, but there’s a lot less from earlier periods than more recent ones, which is fine and makes total sense, as there is a lot to unpack from the last century alone, but you’re not going to get much from this book that bridges any significant gap in time.

Still, there is a lot of information here regarding the kind of society LGBT+ folks were moving in throughout Wales since 1900. The biggest drawback is that it is a “little” book at less than 200 pages, but Leeworthy does what he can with limited information, to give us as full a picture as possible. Some things, because of the sources, aren’t overly clear, but there’s a lot to give us an idea of what life was like for anyone queer, though there is a heavy focus on gay men – again, largely because that is who we have sources about.

Some of this is about those who were able to live their lives as who they were, true to themselves and if not embraced by their communities, at least allowed to have a “live and let live” existence, but this book also reminds us that our past is not so distant, and how recent a lot of changes in regards to LGBT+ rights were.

The things that stick out in this book are the way laws were imposed, and the way the restrictions of the laws often fed into preconceived prejudices – often, the men punished for “unlawful acts” were the sailors and other ship-workers arriving in the docks, caught with a white, Welsh man. It’s not hard to guess at who was actually punished for this (which neither should have been!) and the narrative surrounding it being twisted into foreigners ‘corrupting’ locals.

There is some positive stuff in here – again, the LGSM, the solidarity, the rise of movements and networks to help, but it all seems to come with a negative attached. Even the ‘heart-warming’ story shown in Pride can’t erase the difficulties faced by those with HIV/AIDs at the time or the way Labour have, in recent years, treated LGBT+ and especially trans folks. For every instance of solidarity there seems to be others where the gap between gay men and lesbians was widened, with much of the focus during the later half of the 20th century on gay men.

These books are important. The work Leeworthy and others are currently doing to painstakingly go through documents and sources, reading between lines and trying to get to the heart of the stories, is so incredibly important for LGBT+ history which has largely been ignored. Leeworthy’s focus on the working class, everyday queer folk is crucial for us to see the way attitudes have shifted over the years, and where they have gone backwards.

Leeworthy starts his book discussing the events depicted in the movie Pride, and ends it on Section 28. At a time of increasing union strikes in the UK, issues over cost of living, rising prices, and the backwards views of the currently in power Tory party, it’s really hard to not see the parallels. But it is important to acknowledge the advances, too – many of those discussed in the book had to hide their true selves, or move away to live as they wished. Things have changed, and more of us have an understanding of who we are without having to live without discovering or acknowledging it. But we have to be aware of our past, too, and the history of the movements, the fights for civil rights, and how recent many of that truly is. A Little Gay History of Wales is a great start, and well worth digging into.

[Billy Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daryl Leeworthy's A Little Gay History of Wales is an indispensable text. Drawing upon a fruitful variety of sources, including individual testimony, newspaper reports and oral histories, Leeworthy has produced a fascinating and often startling account of queer experience in Wales with a focus on the 19th and 20th centuries.

[Kieran Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful, despite its brevity, look into being gay and Welsh and how that was perceived by society in general, as well as how LGBT people fought to be seen and heard in society.