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Distributed for University of Wales Press

A Little Gay History of Wales

This pioneering book traces Welsh LGBT life and politics from the Middle Ages to the present. Drawing on a rich array of archival sources from across Britain together with oral testimony and material culture, this original study is the first to examine the experiences of ordinary LGBT men and women and how they embarked on coming out, building community, and changing the world. This is the story of poets who wrote about same-sex love and translators who worked to create a language to describe it; activists who campaigned for equality and politicians who shaped the resultant legislation; teenagers ringing advice lines for guidance and revellers in the underground bars and clubs on Friday and Saturday nights. In this rich social history, Darryl Leeworthy presents a study of prejudice and of intolerance, of emigration and isolation, of HIV/AIDS and counter-movements that conveys the complex reality of LGBT life and same-sex desire. Engaging and accessible, this book is an important advance in our understanding of Welsh history.

160 pages | 5 x 7 1/2 | © 2020

History: British and Irish History

Medieval Studies


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Reviews

"A Little Gay History is a feat of rediscovery. Daryl Leeworthy has mined an astonishing diversity of sources to bring into the light the underground stories and political struggles of gay men and women in a changing Wales."

Peter Wakelin, writer and curator

"Daryl Leeworthy has undertaken an important task of historical recovery. His book, which is at once deeply personal and profoundly universal, restores a hitherto lost dimension to the Welsh historical narrative. It is essential reading for all who wish to understand modern Wales in its fullest sense."

Dr Martin Wright, Cardiff University

"Despite its title, this is a big book – big on ideas, analysis, and empathy, and big on tracing the lived experience of gay people in Wales. An excellent read, it is a major achievement that deserves to be widely circulated and absorbed."

Jeffrey Weeks, London South Bank University, author of What is Sexual History?

Table of Contents

Abbreviations Preamble PART I: COMING OUT Chapter One: Hidden From View? Chapter Two: Legal Limitations PART II: COMING TOGETHER Chapter Three: Seeking Love, Finding It Chapter Four: Dancing the Night Away PART III: CHANGING THE WORLD Chapter Five: Law Re

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