Their London and their times - Gays and sex in 70s and 80s London
Casual sex
You try and make out that all that sleeping around with strangers makes you into some sort of sexual Che Guevara.
For many gay men in the ‘70s, casual sex was seen as a radical political and social act – as well as fun.
The Gay Liberation Front rejected heteronormative monogamy and supported the celebration of sexual freedom and cruising as community-building and resistance to traditional oppression.
“After many years of repressing our desires and thanks to Gay Liberation ideology, we luxuriated during that time in being able to express our desire openly, helping us to push back the shame that had been eating away at us in the closet. Equally intoxicating was the thrill of being desired by other men, something we hadn’t experienced before coming out. All this joy led us to enter into what we’d sometimes jokingly call our “slut phase” – which could last from several months to several decades.”
“I love the London Underground. The journey on the Piccadilly line… to the centre of London with its distinctive smells (body odour, bad breath, stale booze and cheap cologne) and sounds (“mind the gap”, “please excuse me”, “is that your bag?”) has always had the same effect on me that the little madeleine had on Marcel Proust…
Earls Court was the centre of the gay universe for me in those days. I sometimes met a kindred spirit on the tube heading to or from Earls Court. Eyes would meet, a smile might follow and, next thing you know, you are having breakfast with him in his flat the next morning, trying to remember his name.”