A TV clip from 1980 showing people of Sunderland sharing their views on homosexuality reveals that public opinion was more divided than one might think. The footage was filmed a year before the first case of AIDS in the UK, and seven years before the introduction of Thatcher’s anti-gay Section 28 legislation in schools.
This era was notorious for demonising LGBT+ people, but the TV clip suggests public opinion at the beginning of the decade may have been more nuanced. Locals from the town in north-east England were asked: “What does homosexuality mean to you?”
Sunderland people give their opinions on being gay in 1980.
“You get some hard puffs like, proper wildies” Image may be NSFW.
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“My best friend is gay …… not with me like!” Image may be NSFW.
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— Tim Ward (@timmyward) September 8, 2019
