The spicy-straight line of progress

Three quotes that epitomise the journey gay rights has taken in the UK

1960
Kenneth Robinson MP, Wolfenden Report debate, UK House Of Commons

It is widely held [...] that all homosexuals are effeminate, depraved and exhibitionist. This may be true of a very small minority, those of a homopsychopathic character, but, after all, much the same could be said mutatis mutandis of a small minority of heterosexual people. The majority of homosexuals are useful citizens who go about quite unrecognised and unsuspected by most of us. Homosexuality has existed in all societies from the primitive to the sophisticated and at all periods of history regardless of laws and of the rules of society. It has been condemned, condoned and even encouraged at different times and in different cultures.

I have no wish to suggest that I regard homosexuality as a desirable way of life. It is in my view undesirable, for reasons which I will tell the House. It is undesirable because it leads so often to unhappiness, to loneliness and to frustration, because it entails in many cases heavy burdens of guilt and shame on those affected by it and because it seldom provides a basis for a stable emotional relationship. It may also possibly be undesirable on moral grounds because it is a sin, but these are matters on which I am not competent to pass judgment. Surely all this suggests that these unfortunate people deserve our compassion rather than our contempt, yet we choose to brand them indiscriminately as criminals and to isolate them from the rest of the community.

1987
Margaret Thatcher, speech to Conservative Party Conference

Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay.

2023
Nick Levine, "How Mr Blobby became an LGBTQ+ legend", The Face magazine

Performance artist Fatt Butcher, who describes Blobby as their ​“kindred spirit”, says the character has a ​“lurid monstrosity” that ​“really speaks to the queer sensibility”. [...] However, Butcher also points out that Blobby’s LGBTQ+ following is not predicated on the character ​“necessarily being gay”. […] "But," Butcher continues: "Blobby is absolutely queer in a ​‘fuck the boundaries, destroy the system, embrace anarchy, live authentically on your own terms’ way.” And because Blobby cannot and will not adhere to social niceties, he is constantly rubbing up against the stuffier elements of heteronormative culture.

TeTe Bang, a DJ and performer who, like Butcher, was drawn to Blobby at a young age, suggests the character’s queer appeal could also be rooted in a kind of radical ambiguity. ​“The fact Blobby is naked apart from a bow tie means he is free of a lot of the social signifiers people [use] to characterise a person’s gender and place them into a box,” she says. ​“Yes, Blobby has a wife and family, but he is also without reproductive organs which means the possibilities of Blobby’s gender identity and sexual orientation are endless.” However you view Blobby, he/​they look set to continue inspiring the UK’s LGBTQ+ performance community.