Radical Chains, 1999

Stonewall Was A Riot

"The rallying point of the gay liberation movement ... the bar riot that ushered in the gay rights movement" ... "Stonewall is the emblematic event in lesbian and gay history ... Stonewall has become synonymous over the years with gay resistance to oppression." This article, by Janine Booth , was included in the Workers' Liberty pamphlet Radical Chains: Sexuality and Class Politics , published in 1999. The Stonewall Inn was a gay bar on Christopher Street, Greenwich Village, New York. It stood at the heart of a three-block area which you might describe as a homosexual community, or you might...

The story of Section 28

This abridged version of an article published in Workers' Liberty, December 1997, was included in the Workers' Liberty pamphlet Radical Chains: Sexuality and Class Politics , published in 1999. By Janine Booth In 1987, the anti-gay law Section 28 made its first appearance in Parliament. It was to mark a turning point in the lesbian, gay and bisexual movement. The delicious irony of Section 28 is that a law which sought to ban the promotion of homosexuality actually prompted the biggest promotion of homosexuality that Britain had ever seen. As a consequence of the mass mobilisation against the...

People Before Profit

By Janine Booth , from the Workers' Liberty pamphlet Radical Chains: Sexuality and Class Politics , published in 1999. A good place to start is with what we need. It's better than starting with what politicians are prepared to give, or what employers say they can afford. Coming out as lesbian, gay or bisexual can be tough. There is an alarmingly high rate of teenage suicide attempts related to isolation, fear, confusion and bullying about sexuality. Many young people live in an unsupportive or even hostile environment, fearing rejection by family and friends, lacking support and acceptance...

Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual Liberation: why the working class?

"a class with radical chains ... which can only redeem itself by a total redemption of humanity" "The emancipation of the working class is also the emancipation of all human beings without distinction of race or sex." ... or sexuality, as Marx might have said if the nineteenth century had been more aware of the issue. By Janine Booth , from the Workers' Liberty pamphlet Radical Chains: Sexuality and Class Politics , published in 1999. Why the working class? Not because we have some romanticised view of workers, or a fetish about reducing everything to class politics for the sake of it. History...

Rooting Out Homophobia

By Janine Booth , from the Workers' Liberty pamphlet Radical Chains: Sexuality and Class Politics , published in 1999. What causes homophobia? Why are lesbian, gay and bisexual people oppressed? Attempt to find answers to these questions, and many gay rights campaigners will chide you for venturing into territory that is 'too political'. For them, homophobia is simply a fact, probably arising from heterosexuals' ignorance or inherent prejudice, and any deeper analysis is unnecessary headbanging. But we are ill-equipped to fight oppression if we don't try to understand why it exists. And we are...

Formal Equality and Beyond

By Janine Booth , from the Workers' Liberty pamphlet Radical Chains: Sexuality and Class Politics , published in 1999. British laws against homophobia have strengthened in the five years since this was written, but the main argument still stands. In Britain today, there is a set of laws which treats same-sex desire as less than acceptable and those who feel it as less than equal. Young men may not legally have sex with each other until two years after they may have sex with women. When they attain the legal age of consent, then in order to keep their activities legal, they must be in private...

Nazis and Nailbombers: Fighting the Fascists

By Janine Booth , from the Workers' Liberty pamphlet Radical Chains: Sexuality and Class Politics , published in 1999. On 30 April 1999, a nail-bomb killed three people and injured dozens more. It exploded in the Admiral Duncan pub in Old Compton Street, the heart of gay Soho. The work of one maniac, now safely behind bars? Even if David Copeland (as we go to press, the man charged with the bombings) is the bomber, and even if he acted alone, an outbreak of racist and anti-gay terrorism has deeper roots, and wider implications, than one man's twisted psychology. After all, various extreme...

Lifestyles for Liberation?

By Janine Booth , from the Workers' Liberty pamphlet, Radical Chains: Sexuality and Class Politics , published in 1999. From the Stonewall Inn to the Admiral Duncan, the state and the far right have attacked gay venues. Defending our rights has meant defending our right to a social life in public, free from intimidation. To a great extent, the existence of a lesbian and gay 'scene' is a measure of how far we have come since the days of secret meeting places with opaque windows. And potentially, a visible, lively and confident scene can spring into action, mobilising for equality. However, it...

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