Review: Closets are for Clothes

Closets are for Clothes

A history of queer Australia 

 

Author:                               Rachel Cook

Publisher:                           Black Dog Books

Type:                                    Soft Cover

Pages:                                   147

Genre:                                  non-fiction

Published:                            2010

ISBN:                                   9781742031040

 The book itself is well made. I did notice a few (only two) errors however these were seen in extracts from letters and diary, so they may have been included to retain authenticity. As mentioned the book has many accounts of the history of Australia from those who lived it, sadly there are only a few black and white photos within the book.

 Pages from book

 This book is an exploration of LGBT life in Australia from "colonization" onward. It is a pity that there is no information within about LGBT life before invasion. Though i have a feeling that this is because such information is difficult to access if it even still exists at all, and not necessarily a whim of the author. Lets take a quick look thorough with some commentary on what i thought were some of the highlights.

 The book begins with some praise by notables including The Honorable Michael Kirby and nice introduction
 Chapter One deals with the first non-native Australians, the convicts. We see lesbian marriages taking place way back in 1792, now that's traditional. We learn that sodomy (oral or anal sex) was punishable by death or transportation (to Australia), though it is noted that only gay men were prosecuted for sodomy. This must mean that a considerable number of early white Australians were indeed gay, indeed there is much evidence of homosexual couples living as married in the colony's. The homosexuality was so prevalent (and distasteful to snobbish British eyes) that it brought about the first calls for an end to transportation.

 Chapter Two we learn that gay men also came to Australia as free settlers seeking a better life away from the prying eyes of family and harsh judgement of the law. We take a look at some gay bushrangers, as well as early works on the fact homosexuality was a natural part of human sexuality.

 Chapter Three We hear a lot of the 1950's fear of the other, and it is sad how much these sentiments mimic the hate spewed forth by racists and homophobes today. You may be forgiven if you think the author was in error and accidentally published pages from the One Nation website in the wrong section, but no 1950's bigots and 2016 bigots are just playing to the same darker aspects of humanity.

 Chapter Four looks at life after World War Two.

 Chapter Five examines the sham that is aversion therapy as well as the treatment of homosexuality as an illness and its failure. Because even then they knew the problem wasn't homosexuality it was homophobia.

 Chapter Six shines a light on a dark era of Australian history with the targeted harassment, and entrapment of Gay men by government forces. It is also incredible to think that we were once so barbaric as to have made it illegal to have been born a 
homosexual male. It is amazing how humans thought they were above the laws of nature.

 Chapter Seven deals with the 60's and 70's with topics ranging from the white Australia policy, the Kinsey report, the burgeoning gay rights movement, and the forming of what would become the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

 Chapter Eight takes a look at feminism, and AIDS. It is interesting to note that despite the vilification and hate of the disgusting Fred Niles (and his ilk) the LGBT community helped Australia become a world leader in dealing with the AIDS crisis.

 Chapter Nine shows us some gay people becoming famous and some LGBT characters appearing on television. It looks at inclusiveness, transgender issues, adoption, IVF, and the fight for equal rights. As well as the horrible act of John Howard changing the marriage act, in order to nullify existing LGBT marriages and prevent more, he did this disgusting thing without a plebiscite mind you. We also see that about 70% of homophobic bullying experienced by young Australians happens at school, which shows again how important initiatives like the Safe Schools anti-bullying program really are and how immoral it would be to oppose them.


The book ends with an extensive glossary, timeline, index and ample references. 

I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Australian history, law, civil rights and LGBT issues. It is easy to read and should be in every school library history section. The book really needs an updated edition but is still a good reference from 2010 and back.

Also check out The Sex Lives of Australians for more on this topic.