Why a postwar legal debate over the impact of private sex still matters today

Abstract

As the UK marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, it’s crucial not to forget that views on sexual identity and orientation are diverse and often directly contradictory – and that this applies in lawmaking too. There’s been plenty of research on the ways public and private behaviour and sexual activity are regulated, but there’s surprisingly little analysis of the ideological and cultural forces that shape those regulations as they’re formulated.This short blog engages with those issues.