Gay collection

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Here is our collection of articles relating to gay men. Please be aware that the articles can be hurtful in their phrasings and tone. If you are triggered by something you read, please reach out for support to someone you can trust or to one of the organisations listed at the bottom of the page.

Sadly, in these articles, gay men are usually written about with scorn and shame, and often their stories only appear in the newspapers when they have been arrested and charged. 

Homosexuality was against the law in Victoria until 1981. Before then, men could be and were arrested and convicted for having sex with other men. 

Sometimes these men were charged with sodomy, other times they were charged with crimes such as "unnatural acts" or "gross indecency". The problem with these charges was that they were not well defined in law, and could cover a number of different acts, not just homosexuality. When looking at these cases, it is always good to do another search on the defendant's name and location to see if other articles give further details. 

In 2016, the then Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, issued an apology on behalf of the state for these laws and the lives that were ruined because of them. You can read that apology here: https://www.vic.gov.au/state-apology-laws-against-homosexual-acts

On this page, you can also find articles about people assigned male at birth who wore traditionally feminine attire. Dressing in feminine  

Image at the right: 

[Two men, one seated, in front of a weatherboard building]

Date [ca. 1890 - ca. 1910]

Identifier(s) H2000.190/10

http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/145972