Section 11 of the
Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885
The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 ( 48 & 49 Vict. c.69), or "An Act to make further provision for the Protection of Women and Girls, the suppression of brothels, and other purposes," was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the lat ...
, commonly known as the Labouchere Amendment, made "
gross indecency" a
crime in the United Kingdom
Crime in the United Kingdom describes acts of violent crime and non-violent crime that take place within the United Kingdom. Courts and police systems are separated into three sections, based on the different judicial systems of England and Wale ...
. In practice, the law was used broadly to prosecute male
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
s where actual
sodomy
Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...
(meaning, in this context,
anal intercourse
Anal sex or anal intercourse is generally the insertion and thrusting of the erect penis into a person's anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex information, anpage 118for information about the clitoris. Ot ...
) could not be proven. The penalty of
life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
for sodomy (until 1861 it had been death) was also so harsh that successful prosecutions were rare. The new law was much more enforceable. It was also meant to raise the age of consent for heterosexual intercourse. Section 11 was
repealed and re-enacted by section 13 of the
Sexual Offences Act 1956
The Sexual Offences Act 1956 (4 & 5 Eliz.2 c.69) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated the English criminal law relating to sexual offences between 1957 and 2004. It was mostly repealed (from 1 May 2004) by the Sex ...
, which in turn was repealed by the
Sexual Offences Act 1967
The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom (citation 1967 c. 60). It legalised homosexual acts in England and Wales, on the condition that they were consensual, in private and between two men who had attained t ...
, which partially decriminalised male homosexual behaviour.
Most famously,
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
was convicted under section 11 and sentenced to two years'
hard labour, and
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...
was convicted under it and sentenced to
oestrogen
Estrogen or oestrogen is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three major endogenous estrogens that have estrogenic hormonal activ ...
injections (
chemical castration
Chemical castration is castration via anaphrodisiac drugs, whether to reduce libido and sexual activity, to treat cancer, or otherwise. Unlike surgical castration, where the gonads are removed through an incision in the body,[ ...]
) as an alternative to prison.
Background
The
Buggery Act 1533
The Buggery Act 1533, formally An Acte for the punishment of the vice of Buggerie (25 Hen. 8 c. 6), was an Act of the Parliament of England that was passed during the reign of Henry VIII.
It was the country's first civil sodomy law, such offe ...
, during the time of
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
, codified sodomy into secular law as "the detestable and abominable vice of
buggery". The
Offences against the Person Act 1861 specifically lowered the capital punishment for sodomy to life imprisonment, which continued until 1967. However,
fellatio
Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act involving a person stimulating the penis of another person by using the mouth, throat, or both. Oral stimulation of the scrotum may ...
,
masturbation
Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...
, and other acts of non-penetration remained lawful. Private homosexual activity, though stigmatised and demonised, was somewhat safer during this time; the prosecution had to prove penetration had actually occurred.
In April 1870,
transvestite
Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western c ...
s
Boulton and Park
Thomas Ernest Boulton and Frederick William Park were two Victorian cross-dressers. In 1870, while in drag, they were arrested after leaving a London theatre. They were charged with conspiracy to commit sodomy, a crime that carried a maximum pri ...
were arrested for wearing
drag outside the
Strand Theatre. They were charged with conspiracy to commit sodomy with
Lord Arthur Pelham-Clinton
Lord Arthur Pelham-Clinton (23 June 1840 – 18 June 1870), known as Lord Arthur Clinton, was an English aristocrat and Liberal Party politician. A member of parliament (MP) for three years, he was notorious for involvement in the homosexual sca ...
, who died (probably of suicide) later that year and who was the third son of the
Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle
Henry Pelham Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, (22 May 181118 October 1864), styled Earl of Lincoln before 1851, was a British politician.
Background
Newcastle was the son of Henry Pelham-Clinton, 4th Duke of Newcast ...
. However, since there was no actual witness of any such act nor evidence of semen on their posterior regions, the charges were dropped.
Henry Labouchere
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
*Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
,
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
MP for
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
, had been a diplomat; he now was the founding editor of ''
Truth
Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs ...
'' magazine, which had its selling point in exposing corruption and
degeneration. In 1882, Labouchere met Wilde in America; Wilde praised him as the "best writer in Europe", though Labouchere criticised Wilde as an "effeminate phrase maker". Sir
Howard Vincent
Colonel Sir Charles Edward Howard Vincent (31 May 1849 – 7 April 1908), known as Howard Vincent or C. E. Howard Vincent, was a British soldier, barrister, police official and Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1 ...
, Director of Criminal Investigations at
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...
from 1878 to 1884, called homosexual acts a modern "scourge". The ''Yokel's Preceptor'', a contemporary magazine, said this:
The increase of these monsters in the shape of men, commonly designated margeries, poofs etc., of late years, in the great Metropolis, renders it necessary for the safety of the public that they should be made known… Will the reader credit it, but such is nevertheless the fact, that these monsters actually walk the street the same as the whores, looking out for a chance? Yes, the Quadrant, Fleet Street, Holborn, the Strand etc., are actually thronged with them! Nay, it is not long since, in the neighborhood of Charing Cross, they posted bills in the windows of several public houses, cautioning the public to "Beware of Sods!"
Hysteria over homosexuals was at a peak during the time, though the contemporary morality was already beginning to question the ethics of homosexual activity.
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (28 August 1825 – 14 July 1895) was a German lawyer, jurist, journalist, and writer who is regarded today as a pioneer of sexology and the modern gay rights movement. Ulrichs has been described as the "first gay man in ...
, a German lawyer, in the 1860s produced literature in favour of love between men. Calling it
Uranian
Uranian may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Sexuality
*Uranian (sexology), a historical term for homosexual men
* Uranians, a group of male homosexual poets
Astronomy
*Uranian, of or pertaining to the planet Uranus
* Uranian system, refers to the 27 moons ...
love, he even considered it to be a higher form of love than common heterosexual love. Similarly,
John Addington Symonds
John Addington Symonds, Jr. (; 5 October 1840 – 19 April 1893) was an English poet and literary critic. A cultural historian, he was known for his work on the Renaissance, as well as numerous biographies of writers and artists. Although m ...
, an English poet, published ''A problem in Greek Ethics'' in 1883. It was subtitled "An Inquiry into the Phenomenon of Sexual Inversion addressed especially to medical psychologists and jurists". He argued for the Grecian
pederasty
Pederasty or paederasty ( or ) is a sexual relationship between an adult man and a pubescent or adolescent boy. The term ''pederasty'' is primarily used to refer to historical practices of certain cultures, particularly ancient Greece and anc ...
, and said that the modern era could rethink its values.
Criminal Law Amendment Bill
In 1881, 1884, and 1885,
John Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie introduced Criminal Law Amendment bills "for the Protection of Women and Girls
ndsuppression of brothels" (as their
long title
In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title.
The ...
stated). The bills passed in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
but the first two were rejected in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
by
the Gladstone ministry. It was held that the proposed increase in the
age of consent
The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim ...
would leave men open to blackmail. The 1885 bill passed the Lords on 1 May 1885, and its future progress was uncertain. In July, ''
Pall Mall Gazette
''The Pall Mall Gazette'' was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, '' The Globe'' merged into ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', which itself was absorbed int ...
'' editor
W. T. Stead was imprisoned for writing and publishing ''
The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon
"The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon" was a series of newspaper articles on child prostitution that appeared in ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' in July 1885. Written by the paper's crusading editor W. T. Stead, the series was a ''tour de force'' of ...
'', a series of articles which caused a
moral panic
A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often an irrational one, that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usua ...
by showing the ease with which young girls could be "bought" on the street. The caretaker
Salisbury ministry accepted Dalhousie's bill, which completed its
second reading
A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature.
In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...
in the Commons on 9 July 1885. The government made amendments to the bill at
committee stage
In the United Kingdom an act of Parliament is primary legislation passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
An act of Parliament can be enforced in all four of the UK constituent countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Irelan ...
. Stead wrote to Labouchere, telling of the rise in
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
in London and other large cities.
Labouchere proposed his amendment at the last minute, on
report stage
In the United Kingdom an act of Parliament is primary legislation passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
An act of Parliament can be enforced in all four of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom, UK constituent countries (E ...
("consideration").
Frank Harris
Frank Harris (14 February 1855 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day.
Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...
, a contemporary, wrote that Labouchere proposed it as a
wrecking amendment
In legislative debate, a wrecking amendment (also called a poison pill amendment or killer amendment) is an amendment made by a legislator who disagrees with the principles of a bill and who seeks to make it useless (by moving amendments to either ...
to make the law seem "ridiculous" and thus discredit it in its entirety; some historians agree, citing Labouchere's habitual obstructionism and other attempts to sink this bill by the same means, while others write that his role in calling for more investigation into the
Cleveland Street scandal">ale brothelscandal places into context a sincere attempt to change the law permanently, stipulating more robust controls against male homosexuality. The amendment was rushed through and passed in the early hours of 7 August 1885,
becoming section 11 of the Act. When
Charles Warton
Charles Nicholas Warton (1832 – 31 July 1900) was a barrister and politician who sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as a Conservative from 1880 to 1885. In 1886, he was appointed Attorney-General of Western Australia.
Biograph ...
questioned whether Labouchere's amendment had anything to do with the original intent of the bill (as expressed in its long title), the
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
,
Arthur Peel, responded that under procedural rules any amendment was permitted by
leave of the House.
(In 1888 standing orders were changed to restrict the type of amendment which could be made at a bill's report stage.)
Labouchere, inspired to action by the modern question over sexual norms, pushed in the four-minute debate for strong action against "deviants".
He originally wanted a seven-year minimum sentence of hard labour, but the Home Secretary and Attorney General persuaded him to a reduction of the sentence to any term not exceeding one year with or without hard labour.
The former
Attorney-General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
,
Sir Henry James, while supporting the amendment, objected to the leniency of the sentence, and wanted to increase the sentence to any term not exceeding two years with or without hard labour.
Labouchere agreed, and the amendment was passed.
Law
Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or is a party to the commission of, or procures, or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with an other male person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and being convicted thereof, shall be liable at the discretion of the Court to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour.
No definition of "gross indecency" was provided.
John Addington Symonds
John Addington Symonds, Jr. (; 5 October 1840 – 19 April 1893) was an English poet and literary critic. A cultural historian, he was known for his work on the Renaissance, as well as numerous biographies of writers and artists. Although m ...
was disgusted by Section 11, arguing, amongst other things, that it would only facilitate blackmail against homosexuals. He noted that reference to being "party to the commission of" gross indecency served essentially as a
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
charge, allowing for a broader pool of convictions. This amendment ignored
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
activity.
Prominent prosecutions
As a result of the vagueness of the term "gross indecency", this law allowed juries, judges, and lawyers to prosecute virtually any male
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
behaviour where it could not be proven that the defendant had specifically engaged in homosexual ''anal'' intercourse, also known as sodomy or "buggery". The sentence was relatively light compared to the penalty for that act, which remained a separate crime. Lawyers dubbed section 11 the "blackmailer's charter".
The law led to many convictions against male homosexuals and alleged homosexuals. A number committed suicide.
Oscar Wilde
Wilde had (against the advice of friends like
Frank Harris
Frank Harris (14 February 1855 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day.
Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...
and
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
) unsuccessfully privately prosecuted in libel the
Marquess of Queensberry
Marquess of Queensberry is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title has been held since its creation in 1682 by a member of the Douglas family. The Marquesses also held the title of Duke of Queensberry from 1684 to 1810, when it was inh ...
for writing on a calling card left at Wilde's club that he, Wilde, was "posing as a somdomite" (sodomite). The action was urged by Queensberry's son
Lord Alfred Douglas
Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas (22 October 1870 – 20 March 1945), also known as Bosie Douglas, was an English poet and journalist, and a lover of Oscar Wilde. At Oxford he edited an undergraduate journal, ''The Spirit Lamp'', that carried a homoer ...
, who reluctantly fled to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
at the time to avoid possible arrest. Section 11 was quickly invoked to prosecute and convict Oscar Wilde in 1895. He was given the most severe sentence possible under the Act, which the judge described as "totally inadequate for a case such as this".
Wilde was found guilty of gross indecency with "at least" 12 young men between 1892 and 1894 and he was sentenced to two years' hard labour.
[ Ellmann, Richard. (1988). ''Oscar Wilde''. First Vintage Books Edition p. 443-444.] After prison, Wilde would condemn the Criminal Law Amendment Act, predicting that the battle against it would be a "road… long and red with monstrous martyrdoms." He asserted that so-called "Uranian" love was "noble—more noble than other forms".
[ Holland, Merlin. (2004). ''The Real Trial of Oscar Wilde''. Harper Collins Publishers Inc. p. xxxvi.]
Alan Turing
Mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
,
logician
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...
,
cryptanalyst
Cryptanalysis (from the Greek ''kryptós'', "hidden", and ''analýein'', "to analyze") refers to the process of analyzing information systems in order to understand hidden aspects of the systems. Cryptanalysis is used to breach cryptographic sec ...
and an early
computer scientist
A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science.
Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...
,
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...
was investigated for alleged violations of the provision when the police discovered a male lover at his house after Turing reported a petty theft. Instead of prison, he opted for oestrogen injection hormone "therapy" for a year, slightly feminising the body and losing sexual urges. Psychologists attribute this as a cause of his suicide. He was pardoned posthumously by Queen Elizabeth II in 2013 at the request of justice minister
Chris Grayling
Christopher Stephen Grayling (born 1 April 1962) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician and author who served as Secretary of State for Transport from 2016 to 2019. He has served as Member of Parliament (United King ...
, following a petition campaign.
Repeal
In
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
, the section was
repealed and re-enacted as section 13 of the
Sexual Offences Act 1956
The Sexual Offences Act 1956 (4 & 5 Eliz.2 c.69) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated the English criminal law relating to sexual offences between 1957 and 2004. It was mostly repealed (from 1 May 2004) by the Sex ...
, then amended by the
Sexual Offences Act 1967
The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom (citation 1967 c. 60). It legalised homosexual acts in England and Wales, on the condition that they were consensual, in private and between two men who had attained t ...
, which decriminalised consensual homosexual acts in private by men over 21. After other amendments, the section was repealed by the
Sexual Offences Act 2003
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c. 42) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
It partly replaced the Sexual Offences Act 1956 with more specific and explicit wording. It also created several new offences such as non-consensual voyeur ...
.
In
Scottish law
Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland ...
, the section was repealed and re-enacted as section 7 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 1976, then amended by section 80 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980, which decriminalised consensual homosexual acts in private by men over 21. After other amendments, the section was repealed by the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997.
In
Northern Ireland law
The law of Northern Ireland is the legal system of statute and common law operating in Northern Ireland since the partition of Ireland established Northern Ireland as a distinct jurisdiction in 1921. Prior to 1921, Northern Ireland was part of ...
, the section was amended by The Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982, which decriminalised consensual homosexual acts in private by men over 21. After other amendments, it was repealed by the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
In
Republic of Ireland law
The law of Ireland consists of constitutional, statute, and common law. The highest law in the State is the Constitution of Ireland, from which all other law derives its authority. The Republic has a common-law legal system with a written const ...
, the section was repealed by the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993, which decriminalised consensual homosexual acts by males over 17 and as to those younger replaced by section 4 of the new Act. Section 4 was repealed by the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006. In 2019, the
Supreme Court of Ireland
, image = Coat of arms of Ireland.svg
, imagesize = 120px
, alt =
, caption = Coat of Arms of Ireland
, image2 = Four Courts, Dublin 2014-09-13.jpg
, imagesize2 =
, alt2 ...
determined that prosecutions under the 1885 Act could proceed where an incident occurred before the 1993 Act came into force.
See also
*
LGBT rights in the United Kingdom
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have varied over time.
Prior to the formal introduction of Christianity in Britain in 597 AD, when Augustine of Ca ...
*
Sodomy law
References
Further reading
* Adut, Ari. "A theory of scandal: Victorians, homosexuality, and the fall of Oscar Wilde." ''American Journal of Sociology'' 111.1 (2005): 213–24
online* Brady, Sean. ''Masculinity and Male Homosexuality in Britain, 1861–1913'' (2005).
* Cook, Matt. ''London and the Culture of Homosexuality, 1885–1914'' (2009).
* Foldy, Michael S. ''The Trials of Oscar Wilde: Deviance, Morality and Late Victorian Society'' (Yale UP, 1997).
*
* Smith, F. Barry. "Labouchere's amendment to the Criminal Law Amendment bill." ''Australian Historical Studies'' 17.67 (1976): 165–173.
{{authority control
1885 in British law
1885 in the United Kingdom
LGBT law in the United Kingdom
LGBT history in the United Kingdom
Legal history of England
19th century in LGBT history
Gay history
Homophobia