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Being Gay in Thatcher’s Britain
February 26 @ 4:00 pm
2025 marks the fortieth anniversary of AIDS becoming a household name in the UK.From the death of well-loved actor Rock Hudson to the introduction of the first HTLV-III antibody test, society was waking up to the reality of a serious epidemic.
Whilst the LGBTQ+ community had valiantly rallied together to fight the disease, ignorance and misinformation, it was clear that more needed to be done, to counter the panic in the mass media which labelled the disease the ‘gay plague.’
The Government responded with the ‘Don’t Die of Ignorance’ public health campaign in the mid-1980s.
However, this campaign ‘ including its motivations, messaging, craft, and response ‘ must be viewed in the context of the stigmatisation and moral panic surrounding people living with AIDS in Thatcher’s Britain.
This talk will introduce new research about how the government responded to the moral panic of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, and how politics and public policy emphasised the marginalisation of Britain’s LGBTQ+ community.
Set amongst the backdrop of the struggle for equality, the AIDS epidemic would eradicate the little gains this community had so carefully fought for, once again setting ‘gayness’ alongside ‘disease’ in the minds of the British public.
Contact: events@yorksj.ac.uk for the link to Eventbrite