Mark Langabeer (Hastings and Rye Labour Member) reviews Tom Daley’s documentary “Illegal to be me” on homophobia in the Commonwealth (see here).
The diver and Olympic gold medallist, Tom Daley, is one of Britain’s most successful athletes in recent times and also an advocate for equal rights for LGBT people. He recalled some of the prejudice that he faced when he ‘came out’ in his late teens. However, he considered himself privileged because he is successful, openly living with a husband and a young son. In 35 of the 56 nations that compete in the Commonwealth Games, homosexuality is illegal. In three states, it could result in the death sentence.
His original main demand was that the Games should only be hosted by nations that have legalised homosexuality. However, he modified this after meeting athletes in countries where gay people are criminalised. They would only meet Daley in safe houses and their identities were hidden.
When Daley suggested the idea of only hosting the Games in nations where homosexuality was legal, they felt that the gay community would get the blame. Instead, the idea of a flag at the ceremony, celebrating acceptance of diversity, would be a better idea. Daley met with the head of the Games Federation and was able to secure the carrying of LGBT flags at the end of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony as he carried the torch into the stadium. Six past and present athletics from countries that punish homosexuality carried flags in support of gay rights. In Daley’s words – “a small win.”
British rule
The Commonwealth Games was originally called the Empire Games. Laws banning homosexuality were introduced under British rule. Daley interviewed a Nigerian LGBT campaigner, who stated that a law was introduced in 1923, which banned homosexuality and the punishment was flogging.
He also met a historian in Jamaica, where homosexuality is still regarded as a criminal act. She said that slave owners banned homosexuality because they wanted heterosexual activity so as to get new slave children for ‘free’. One of the forms of punishment for male slaves, however, was sexual assault and rape. The conservative attitudes in many of the Commonwealth States have their roots in the former Empire. This led Daley to question whether he’s really ‘proud to be British’.
Delay points out that even mere legal equality was only achieved in all parts of the UK in 1982. The 1967 Act that decriminalised male homosexuality only applied to England and Wales; a deal was done with Scottish Labour MPs to exempt Scotland as a condition for their support for the Bill. The law was not extended to Scotland until 1980! Northern Ireland only followed suit in 1982.
80s reaction
Even then, the 80s was a period of reaction. The Tories passed the infamous clause 28, which banned local authorities from promoting gay rights. There was the vilification of Peter Tatchell, the Labour candidate in a bye-election in 1983. He became Britain’s most prominent campaigner for equal rights for the LGBT community.
At that time, the Tories and their friends in Fleet Street were only too happy to promote anti-gay sentiment. It was only after the election of Labour in 1997, that equal rights were gradually established. The initial attitude towards the AIDS virus was another example of hostility towards gay people during the 80s.
Admittedly, it was Cameron who introduced the right of equal marriage in England and Wales many years later, in 2014. He wanted to jettison the image that the Tories were the nasty party, but he needed Labour votes to carry this because half of his own MPs voted against. Scotland followed a few months later and Northern Ireland not until 2020. Even now, there have been cases where discriminatory behaviour has been allowed when religious beliefs have been invoked.
Daley wishes to promote diversity in other sports. He points out that the Football World Cup will be held in Qatar and Formula One in Saudi Arabia, where the death sentence by stoning is currently the law of the land. In my view, he should be supported in this endeavour.
Anti-gay sentiment was part of the divide and rule tactic employed by our rulers, the bosses and their political wing, the Tories. Today, it appears to be ‘culture wars’ that attempt to divide workers. When the bosses’ profits are threatened, all kinds of prejudices will be promoted in an attempt to prevent socialism in Britain and Internationally.
