On 23 May 1988, Paul Baker sat down with his family to eat cake on his 16th birthday while The Six O’Clock News played in the background – there was muffled shouting – ‘Stop Section 28!’ – and a scuffle. Something was not quite right.

The next day Section 28 passed into law, forbidding local authorities from teaching ‘the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship’. It sent shockwaves through British society, silencing gay pupils and teachers while galvanizing mass protests and the formation of the LGBTQ+ rights groups OutRage! and Stonewall.

Join Paul Baker as he tells the full story: the background to the Act, how the press fanned the flames, what politicians said during debates, how protestors fought back to bring about the repeal of the law in the 2000s, and its eventual legacy.

Based on detailed research, interviews with key figures – including Ian McKellen, Michael Cashman and Angela Mason – and personal recollection, this talk provides a moving account of the unthinkable prejudice enshrined within the Act, and of the power of community to overcome it.

Paul Baker is Professor of English Language at Lancaster University. His books include American and British English (2018) and Fabulosa! The Story of Polari, Britain’s Secret Gay Language.

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