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The Seventeenth HoS Challenge.

The Seventeenth HoS List Challenge: The LGBTQ+ Community

  • Flowers in our Hair--Kaiser Julius

    Votes: 2 13.3%
  • The Heart of a Prime Minister--Time Enough

    Votes: 7 46.7%
  • The Measure of a Man Under Socialism--Mumby

    Votes: 9 60.0%

  • Total voters
    15
  • Poll closed .

Walpurgisnacht

The Mystery Pond
Location
Banned from the forum
Pronouns
He/Him
I'm not doing a funny introductionary bit this month. Exam season has really taken it out of me.

The rules are simple; I give a prompt, and you have until 4:00pm on the 26th to post a list related to the prompt. As for what constitutes a list? If you'd personally post it in Lists of Heads of Government and Heads of State rather than another thread, I think that's a good enough criterion. Writeups are preferred, please don't post a blank list, and I'd also appreciate it if you titled your list for polling purposes. Once the deadline hits, we will open up a multiple choice poll, and whoever receives the most votes after a week gets the entirely immaterial prize.

You may have noticed which month it happens to be, and what that means. That's right, the theme for this month's challenge is The LGBTQ+ Community! Obviously this can be interpreted in many ways, from their rights to having LGBTQ+ leaders to even political ideologies built around sex and gender. I can't wait to see how you guys interpret this!

Good luck!
 
Flowers in our Hair

1975-83: Jerry Brown (Democrat)

1974: Houston Flournoy (Republican)
1978: Evelle Younger (Republican), Ed Clark (Independent)

1983-91: Pete McClosky (Republican)
1982: Tom Bradley (Democrat), David Bergland (Libertarian)
1986: Willie Brown (Democrat)

1991- : Harvey Milk (Democrat)
1990: Pete Wilson (Republican)

"A Pro-Gay, Anti-Tax campaigner ran third party for Governor and got more than 1%. Mayor Moscone was killed by an irate councillor in attempt on his gay co-worker, who survived..."
Rick Perlstein, Carterland

"The exposing of the "homosexual ring" that controlled Ronald Reagan on the eve of the 1980 Republican National Convention...Behind those closed doors, McCloskey suggested strongly that the apparent nomination of Kemp as a running mate was proof that the “homosexual ring” around Reagan, long dismissed as rumor, might be something all too real...at every step of Reagan’s inexorable rise, McCloskey was there trying to stop him..."[1]

James Kirchick, Secret City: The History of Gay Washington

CARTER RE-ELECTED
San Francisco Examiner. November 5, 1980

"The term originates from Tom Bradley's 1982 campaign for Governor of California. He had been polling above his opponent, the controversial Pete McCloskey, who then went on to win the race leading to the theory that white voters were sceptical of voting for a black candidate but were afraid of admitting so until election day. Others contradict by saying that McCloskey still held sway among liberals from his anti-war challenge to President Nixon a decade prior even as he leaked civil rights minded voters David Bergland and the Libertarians."
The Bradley Effect, Politipedia

FENSTEIN VICTORIOUS, SUPERVISOR MILK ELECTED AS ACTING MAYOR
San Francisco Examiner. November 5, 1984

"...he’s referring to the libertarian version of the Trotsky/Lenin split, which opened up in the early 1980s and led to the strange coalitions that shape politics to this day...The (Mises) Institute became the intellectual centre of...the populist Old Right tradition and the foundation of the Populist Party and 1984 ticket of Paul/Livingston
while its old comrades formed alliances with the democrats such as the failed gubernatorial campaign of Willie Brown..." [2]
Mike Gravels Roots, The Nation


GOVERNOR MILK: "Death couldn't stop me. Do you think President Lehrman can?"
San Fransisco Examiner. January 10, 1991


[1] Excerpts from The Plot to Out Ronald Reagan - POLITICO
[2] Excerpts from Ron Paul's Roots | The Nation
 
The Political Career of Oliver Baldwin;
Born 1st March 1899
1924: Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Dudley
1924 (Cyril Lloyd, Conservative) def. Oliver Baldwin (Labour)
1929-1931: Labour MP for Dudley
1929 def. Cyril Lloyd (Conservative), Thomas Illingworth Clough (Liberal)
1931-1935: New Party MP for Dudley
1931 def. Dudley Joel (Conservative), John Wardlaw-Milne (Empire Free Trade)
1933 def. Cyril Lloyd (Conservative), Henry Hogbin (Constitutional), Wilfred Risdon (Independent)

1935-1946: Leader of the Democratic Labour Party
1935 def. John McGovern, Frank Wise, Cynthia Curzon
1946 Vote of Dissolution and Merger with Labour: 89% For, 11% Against

1935-1946: Democratic Labour MP for Dudley
1937 def. Cyril Lloyd (Conservative)
1941 Cancelled Due To Wartime Regulations

1941-1943: Secretary of State for War
1943-1946: Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Leading a Wartime Coalition of Labour, Conservative & Unionist, Liberal, Constitutional & Democratic Labour
1946-1960: Labour Lord, 2nd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
1950-1955: Governor of Jamaica
Died 5th of August 1960

The Heart of a Prime Minister (1984);

“There is a special place in a many a young gay lad from the eighties for ‘The Heart of a Prime Minister’, given how it showcases the life and times of the every fabulous Prime Minister Oliver Baldwin (Young; James Wilbey, Old; Gordon Kaye).

One half political drama, one half romantic period piece the show tried to humanise a man who to many was a symbol; of hope for the vast proportion of the population and of Socialistic Tyranny to certain other sections. Indeed, whilst discussions of Baldwin’s homosexuality did occur after the 1958 decriminalisation efforts spearheaded by Wolfdon-Attlee Report and he would have one interview conducted about it in his last couple of years of life, for many it was unknown about his relationship with John Boyle until the book the show was based on was written by journalist Richard Crossman was published in 1975.

The show would adapt the story onto the smaller screen, primarily due to the BBC hearing about discussions amongst those Merchant and Ivory boys about there own possible adaptation. Whilst the eventual ‘The Passionate Soul’ (1987) would be good if you like seeing steamy love making between a young Hugh Grant (with a dodgy tache) and Rupert Everett (yes, we know) it’s also three hours long and mainly consists of lots of longing stares and is kind of dull.

Also no middle age men love making, which the show has one scene of and it’s great and I’m getting sidetracked.

Anyway the show follows an older Baldwin Post War recounting his life experiences whilst as Governor of Jamaica alongside his ever loving partner John Boyle (Young; Paul McGann Old; Ian MacKellan) starting with depicting his time in the aftermath of his return from the traumatising Armenian and Turkish Prisons as he slowly realises his homosexuality and comes around to falling in love with Boyle and the beginnings of his political journey. The second half starts around 1934, as straining under Mosley’s increasingly autocratic leadership and still frustrated by the actions of Henderson Labour Government decides to start trying to form a new party, Democratic Labour. From there, Baldwin becomes an increasingly solitary voice against Fascism and for Socialism which slowly leads to him becoming Secretary of Defence, which in time with support from Anthony Eden (James Fox) and Stafford Cripps (Terrence Hardiman) leads to his eventual Premiership in Britain’s darkest hour.

The show showcases a lot of Baldwin’s ego, foibles and tenacity which whilst lending him well to being leader of a third party and Wartime Premiership does very little outside of that. Indeed much of the show is John Boyle and friend Michael Redgrave (Corin Redgrave) trying to keep Baldwin’s ballooning ego in check and keep him on the right path.

Whilst younger Baldwin is portrayed as an amusing mixture of a brash hothead and a shy awkward man struggling with his sexuality and his own generational trauma from war and his parents, the older Baldwin whilst much more comfortable in himself, depicts him as a figure who Britain needed but not someone that Britain would have needed in peacetime. Indeed the scene in which Baldwin ponders his legacy as he prepares to leave No10 wandering past the portraits of those who came beforehand including his farther showed off the incredible acting range of Gordon Kaye better than many would have expected.

A mention has to go to the portrayal of the relationship between Baldwin and Boyle, which at the end of the day is the emotional anchor of the story. The show being released after just over twenty five years since homosexuality would be decriminalised in England and Wales is surprisingly tender and sweet, depicting the hardships and high points of the couples relationship. With the Young sections, you have the hot and firey passion of Baldwin and Boyle as they first meet, depicting scenes of lovemaking that would eventually have it pushed past the watershed (didn’t matter, would end up being one of Britain’s highest viewed miniseries of that year). Meanwhile the older sections are about a couple in a comfortable routine but still finding ways to produce little pieces of passion and love for each other, indeed a scene where Boyle and Baldwin dance in the near dark illuminated by a flickering candle holds up as a immense scene of love and all that.

Indeed this is a show that has managed to hold itself up over the decades since it’s been made. A portrait of a fascinating and unpredictable Prime Minister who would dynamically change Britain in it’s hour of need...”

-A Revisitation of Heart of a Prime Minister, Independent, Mark Gatiss, 2014
 
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Obviously very much not the point of the list, but the casting choices in here are great--Kaye makes a lot of sense as a middle-aged comic actor trying out some serious material for once.
Oh part of the writing process was actually trying to find actors that would work for the people they were playing, Gordon Kaye was a random realisation when I was trying to find a Middle Aged Gay actor in the 80s who’s fairly prominent, it helps matters that Kaye could grow a moustache and had a similar build to Baldwin. Same with Ian MacKellan who from scant pictures of Boyle, works for similar reasons.

Corin Redgrave I can see being imposed due to the fact that Michael Redgrave would still be alive at this point and could easily say no, Corin gives it legitimacy but also Corin seems like he would probably jump at playing his dad warts and all.

Hugh Grant is a reference to his infamously dodgy facial hair from Maurice, starring James Wilbey, who also has bad facial hair in that film. It be a awash with crappy Victorian Facial hair.
 
The Measure Of A Man Under Socialism

Seemingly overnight, Wilde had become a political martyr albeit a living one. From the bully pulpit of a courtroom, Wilde defended himself from accusations of homosexual conduct, and while he was found guilty his speech found plaudits from across Europe, particularly in Germany where he was particularly held aloft by Eduard Bernstein. When Wilde fled the country ahead of a prison sentence, it was into the arms of the Germans he went. From exile, Wilde continued to write and deliberately had his works published in Britain under sardonic monikers and in the 'papers of the criminal class' with which he now identified. At the same time, he became immersed in the circles of German socialism, where he honed the utopian principles he had espoused in The Soul Of Man Under Socialism. Accompanying his literary works he often published essays on socialism.

Wilde remained in exile until 1906, when the Liberal landslide gave a sudden opportunity. Winston Churchill, a Liberal MP, and newly minted Under Secretary of State for the Colonial Office, interceded upon Wilde's behalf. A begrudging pardon was handed down - some thirteen years in exile was deemed equivalent to two years hard labour. Wilde returned to British shores and hurriedly threw himself into politics, finding himself repudiated from the social waters he once slid through.

Wilde was unique, in many regards, as an open uranian in British society. Few accepted him for who he was, even fewer embraced him. Nevertheless, in the years prior to the 1914 Crisis, uranianism became more accepted in British societies. Uranic pubs, societies, coffee houses and tea shops opened up in London and Wilde once more enjoyed a social life outside the cliques of socialist intellectuals who were overwhelmingly dionian in behaviour and outlook.

The Crisis of 1914 saw the German Social Democrats prevent the threat of a general war in Europe, by aligning with French trade unionists to bring both major powers to an economic deadlock and forcing the Great Powers of Europe the negotiating table. In the months afterwards, there was an attempted suppression of socialist and trade union activity, even as new borders were drawn across the Balkans to acclaim the new peace. However the success in bringing an end to the possibility of an outright war served to rally and remoralise the ranks of socialists across the continent.

1915 onwards saw a wave of strikes and militant socialist activity across Europe in reaction to attempts at state repression. In Britain it was felt most keenly as many in the country felt that the Crisis had been a German victory, as the German economy outstripped Britain's, even with their mighty empire. This culminated in the General Strike of 1921. At the same time over the preceding years, the government had become increasingly socially authoritarian, using wide powers to clamp down on uranian literature and organisation. Thus, when the strike began, the uranian movement came out strongly in support. The quixotic combination of uranian urban intellectuals marching alongside coal miners and railwaymen was a powerful image.

At this time, Churchill had ascended from a lowly Under Secretary of State to Prime Minister. His attempts to bloodily crack down on the Strike drew recriminations from his own party and necessitated the formation of a 'Constitutional Coalition' that itself further fractured the party system. The snap elections intended to shore up his position instead delivered scores of Socialist deputies to Parliament. The parliamentary arithmetic was shaky already before the young King intervened.

The Quiet Revolution of 1922 saw the formation of a broad coalition of Socialists, Irish Nationalists and various anti-Churchill hangers on. Sweeping reforms ensued, from Home Rule All Round to Land Reform to the nationalisation of numerous utilities and industries, to the rolling back of Victorian social authoritarianism. And the now grand old man at the centre of Britain's first Socialist government was Oscar Wilde.

Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801-1924) / Chief Ministers of the United Kingdom of the Britons and Irish (1924-0000)

1892-1894: William Gladstone (Liberal)
1892 (Minority, w. Irish Nationalist c&s) def. Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative & Liberal Unionist), Justin McCarthy / John Redmond (Irish Nationalist)
1894-1895: Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (Liberal minority, with Irish Nationalist confidence and supply)
1895-1902: Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative & Liberal Unionist)
1895 (Majority) def. Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (Liberal), John Dillon / John Redmond (Irish Nationalist)
1900 (Majority) def. Henry Campbell-Bannerman (Liberal), John Redmond (Irish Nationalist)

1902-1905: Arthur Balfour (Conservative & Liberal Unionist majority)
1905-1907: Henry Campbell-Bannerman, 1st Earl of Belmont (Liberal)
1906 (Majority) def. Arthur Balfour (Conservative & Liberal Unionist), John Redmond (Irish Nationalist), Keir Hardie (Socialist)
1907-1915: H.H. Asquith (Liberal)
1909 (Majority) def. Arthur Balfour (Unionist), John Redmond / William O'Brien (Irish Nationalist), Arthur Henderson (Socialist)
1914 (Minority, w. Socialist & Irish Nationalist c&s) def. Bonar Law (Unionist), Ramsay MacDonald (Socialist), John Redmond / William O'Brien (Irish Nationalist)
1914 Formation of National Government with Unionists; ejection of Socialists and 'Liberal-Socialists' from government

1915-1916: Edward Grey (Liberal-Unionist National Government, with Irish Nationalist confidence and supply)
1916-1922: Winston Churchill (Liberal)
1916 (Minority) def. Bonar Law (Unionist), John Redmond / William O'Brien (Irish Nationalist), Ramsay MacDonald / Christopher Addison / Jim Larkin (Socialist), Horatio Bottomley (John Bull)
1917 (Majority) def. Austen Chamberlain (Unionist), George Lansbury / Cecil L'Estrange Malone / Jim Larkin (Socialist), John Redmond (Irish Nationalist), Horatio Bottomley (John Bull)
1918 Women's Suffrage referendum; 71% YES
1921 (Constitutional Coalition with John Bull-Unionists) def. George Lansbury / Jim Larkin (Socialist), Austen Chamberlain (Reform-Unionist), Joe Devlin (Irish Nationalist), David Lloyd George (Radical-Liberal)

1922-1924: Oscar Wilde (Socialist)
1922 (National Coalition w. Reform-Unionists, Irish Nationalists, and Radical-Liberals) def. Winston Churchill / Hilaire Belloc (Constitutional Coalition)
1924-0000: Jim Larkin / Tom Mann / Sylvia Pankhurst (Socialist)
1924 (Minority) def. Austen Chamberlain (Reform), W.T. Cosgrave (Irish Nationalist), Oswald Mosley (Constitution), David Lloyd George (Liberal)

Kings of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801-1924) / Kings of the United Kingdom of the Britons and Irish (1924-0000)

1837-1901: Victoria (Hanover)
1901-1910: Edward VII (Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)
1910-1916: George V (Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)
1916-0000: Edward VIII (Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)
 
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