SOC 633 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Wolfenden Report, Equal Protection Clause, Heterosexuality

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 633
• Professor: Ahluwalia

Document Summary

A policy document that stated that homosexuality is a large scale deviation that needs to be managed. The report made a distinction between public and private homosexual acts. This distinction made it possible to regulate, control and police homosexuality. It created two categories of homosexuals: the private and appropriate homosexuals and the public and inappropriate homosexuals. The report stated that it was okay to be homosexual in private but not okay in public. Parents and teachers had fears that homosexuals would recruit the young and turn them homosexual because they thought children were easily seduced and therefore readily recruited into sin and crime. This report led to the criminal law amendment act: this law removed the private same sex activity between consenting homosexual adults too. This was important to the rights of lesbians and gay men. Freedom of though, belief, opinion, and expression etc. section 15 1- ensures rights of equality before and under law.