Reluctant gay

The Reluctant Gay Activist is a compelling read, a gay Bildungsroman where the hero triumphs over the allied forces of bigotry and prejudice to win the heart of both his husband and the nation – and I do mean hero, for it would take a very jaundiced eye to view Sanderson in any other light. For better or worse, BON, most people — cishet or queer — meet their new sex partners and/or life partners online.

So, take some accurate pics, download some apps and put yourself out there. It seemed like someone programmed his brain to shout insults, racial slurs, and gay slurs every other sentence. During one practice, my boyfriend was alone on the lower practice field kicking field goals from the 30 yard line. For victims who are gay, there are complexities associated with homophobia.

A gay victim is reluctant to speak out and be labeled a traitor. Here is how we can help facilitate a victim’s. In this funny, warm and touching book, Terry Sanderson reveals how he – the most unwilling and unlikely activist – honed his skills as a campaigner in the early days of the struggle for gay rights in Britain and then went on later to use them as of The National Secular Society.

I never spoke to Terry, but I remember him from NSS events as a very distinguished man, always well turned out in a smart, well-fitting suit; slim, with a sensible haircut and a neat, greying beard. The NSS campaign for the removal of religious privilege from society; the separation of church and state — for freedom from religion as well as, somewhat magnanimously, freedom of religion.

The NSS was the driving force behind the repeal of that blight on freedom of expression, and protection of religion from reasonable criticism — the blasphemy law. While campaigning for gay rights, Terry says he increasingly came to realise that the most significant opposition to reform was coming from the church, and that if LGBT campaigners were to have any hope of achieving acceptance and equality, the control that religion exerted on society would need to be reined in.

The book is well written Terry was an experienced journalist and author but could have done with some proof reading — there are quite a few typos and errors. At the time his journey into adulthood was starting, homosexuality was still criminalised.

You might imagine that a Northern mining community might not be the easiest environment in which a young gay person could find themselves coming of age. Terry does a good job of conveying the growing sense of isolation and loneliness that he felt at that time. This is highly relevant to today, when increasing numbers of kids are finding themselves in religious schools that refuse to teach them about sex and relationships in an open, honest and realistic way.

Terry spent the second half of his life in London, where he continued campaigning. The GLC provided copious funding and support to LGBT groups, for which they were denigrated on a daily basis by a steady stream of hateful articles in the right-wing press. Living on the outskirts of London, I remember it as a time of tolerance, understanding, freedom and hope.

In the last section of his memoir, Terry Sanderson tells us about his diagnosis of cancer, and the on-going treatment for it. The book paints a portrait of a man who, despite the seriousness of the campaigns he championed, was fun-loving and good natured. For most of his career Terry worked as an occupational therapist he somehow managed to fit all of that campaigning into his spare time!

Terry was an extraordinary man, who led an extraordinary, and very interesting life. Sadly, he passed away in June this year, aged A lovely piece. Thank you! Email Address:. Skip to content. Home About Books Contact Downloads. Like Loading About literarylad Graham Wright is a freelance writer and author who has written numerous short stories and three novels, the most recent of which, 'Shooting at Strangers', is a dramatic and moving story dealing with the fallout from a terrorist incident in Manchester.

In this funny, warm

His first novel, Single Point Perspective, is also set in and around the city of Manchester, where he lived and worked for more than fifteen years. His second, Moojara, is set in and around the world, but mostly centres on Perth, Western Australia. All are works of dramatic literary fiction - imaginative, serious and thoughtful, but with a sense of humour. As well as fiction, Graham also writes music, and plays four instruments.

He tends to move around a bit, but is currently living in Shropshire. Bookmark the permalink. November 12, at am. Leave a comment Cancel reply.