1986. Politics: Local authorities and LGBT rights
The fact that heterosexism is an institutionalised part of the structure of our society seems to be difficult for some heterosexual socialists to accept. Even among those who pride themselves on their personal tolerance, there is a reluctance to see heterosexism as more than just a middle class issue or one that is only of interest to ‘Southern softies’. It was, historically, the case that only upper and middle class gay men (and to a lesser extent) lesbians could afford to break from their families and attempt to establish open lifestyles. Nowadays, however, sexuality plays an increasingly greater part in defining people’s identities and people from all classes and communities are asserting their own lesbianism or gayness. The middle class parties, far from espousing lesbian and gay rights, use it as a new weapon with which to attack Labour councils. The more middle class sections of the Labour movement, such as the Fabians, have been notable on this issue only for their rabid silence.
Labour’s so called heartlands have, on the other hand, been less than active in support of lesbian and gay rights. Councils with permanent Labour majorities in places such as Dundee, Tyneside, Sheffield, Barking and South Wales have adopted no such policies. Some such as Glasgow and Nottinghamshire County Council have gone even further and resolved to exclude lesbians and gay men from their Equal Opportunities policies. The Labour movement in these areas has had a particular relationship with the notion of the family wage. The kind of heavy industry which used to exist in these areas meant that men were regarded as the principal, if not sole, breadwinners in the family and apprenticeships were almost hereditary. The security of the nuclear family had an integral part in the assumptions of the Labour movement in these places.
Three years ago, everyone would have agreed that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) fitted into this category. Its whole approach to lesbian and gay politics was changed, however, by its involvement with Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM). By organising in their own communities in solidarity with the NUM, LGSM successfully challenged the stereotype that lesbians and gay men existed only in some twilight world outside ordinary social concerns.
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