Five Facts: Gay Life in Georgian Britain

It’s Pride month, and I wanted to do a detailed post about gay life in Georgian Britain. As usual, I’ve left it until the last minute, so this one will have to be short and sweet.

Here are five facts about gay life in Georgian Britain:

1. Henry VIII outlawed male homosexuality in 1533, but the law was never consistently applied. Homosexuality came under closer scrutiny in the early eighteenth century.

2. Okay, this fact is not related to Britain, but I’ve included it for comparison. In France, sodomy was decriminalised in 1791. Paris became a hotspot for homosexuals, and gay life in Paris was far freer than anywhere else in the world. However, there were still no laws to protect people from homophobia.

3. In London, the gay community centred around taverns, coffee houses and other businesses that provided a refuge where men could meet and socialize with other men. Gay taverns or pubs were known as molly houses. The word molly is eighteenth-century slang for an effeminate man.

gay life in georgian britian — *The London Clubs by Edward Ward, published 1709.*

4. Molly houses weren’t just places to meet up for sex. They also provided entertainment, such as stage performances (often in drag), and the opportunity to hang out with like-minded company to enjoy a drink and a bit of gossip.

5. Molly houses were often raided, so its clientele put themselves at significant risk when they attended. Most arrests led to convictions, commonly being placed in the pillory for attempted sodomy, or if they were caught in the act, they faced the death penalty.

Anyone could walk into a molly house and informers from groups such as The Society for the Suppression of Vice would visit the establishment with a police officer disguised as their “husband” to gather evidence. When raids increased, it forced molly houses and the gay community deeper underground to protect themselves, and establishments became harder to find.

Sources

https://riskyregencies.com/2017/06/28/queer-in-the-regency-a-slice-of-once-hidden-lgbt-history/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7986565/Georgian-attitudes-homosexuality-tolerant-previously-thought-diary-reveals.html

https://rictornorton.co.uk/eighteen/diction.htm

https://rictornorton.co.uk/eighteen/molly2.htm