Immoral, Indecent, and Scurrilous: The Making of an Unrepentant Sex Radical

by Gerald Hannon

When 18-year-old Gerald Hannon left the small pulp mill community of Marathon, Ontario to attend the University of Toronto, he never would have predicted he’d become part of LGBTQ2S+ history. Almost sixty years later, he reflects on the major moments in his career as a journalist and LGBTQ2S+ activist. From the charges of transmitting immoral, indecent, and scurrilous literature laid against him and his colleagues at The Body Politic to his dismissal from his teaching post at Ryerson University for being a sex worker, this memoir candidly chronicles Hannon’s life as an unrepentant sex radical.

325 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 16, 2022

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learnt a lot about the evolution of queer life and history in Toronto. I loved that Gerald named the exact locations and addresses of his past, including many locations of former queer spaces that have now been turned into something else. Like Gerald, I too am from a small town similar to Marathon. Like Gerald, I too moved to Toronto and didn’t really look back much. Like Gerald, I live(d) on Charles Street (what were the chances). Like Gerald, I’m gay. Like Gerald, I struggle with a lot of the shame that he speaks to. But like Gerald, I live with so much peace. And like Gerald, I consider myself happy, determined, and proud. I was saddened to hear of his recent passing as I would’ve loved to have reached out to meet him 🏳️‍🌈 I absolutely adored this book and believe that every Queer Canadian should give it a read at some point or another (no matter where they are in their respective queer journey).