The Homosexual(ity) of Law (PDF)

This important and original contribution on the legal regulation of identity and sexuality provides a theoretical underpinning for the study of the treatment of homosexuals by the law. The Homosexual(ity) of Law demands that we think again about the legal regulation of sexual relations. 'Homosexual' in law is neither a term used to name a specific category of act nor is it a term that is merely used to name an identity. It is a term that signifies both of these things but is also capable of expressing many other meanings. This study shows how the law makes both sense and nonsense of same sex relations. It explores how the introduction of the idea of homosexuality both promotes the continued and increased punishment of same sex relations and makes possible reforms in the law that promote respect for these relations.
The Homosexual(ity) of Law looks at the struggles that surrounded the review of the law on 'homosexuality' undertaken by the Wolfenden Committee in the 1950s. It examines the peculiarities of the enactment of the term 'homosexual' into the law of England in 1967, analyzing the values that are given a voice through this new term in law. 'Homosexual' in law can pinpoint a range of interrogation, surveillance and documentation of gestures, speech and deportment through which the male genital body is treated by the law. Through an analysis of various police practices, the day to day decisions of the judiciary, high profile test cases and recent Parliamentary debates relating to age of consent law reform, this study explores the way this 'homosexual(ity)' is put to use in current legal practice.