{"id":21503,"date":"2023-01-12T18:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T17:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=222817"},"modified":"2023-01-12T19:35:20","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T18:35:20","slug":"has-it-ever-been-a-crime-to-be-a-lesbian-in-england","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/has-it-ever-been-a-crime-to-be-a-lesbian-in-england\/","title":{"rendered":"Has it ever been a crime to be a lesbian in England?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Rachel Dinning\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 12 January 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

While the Middle Ages<\/strong><\/a> saw legislative changes that would prohibit sexual relations between men, it has never been a crime to be a lesbian in England.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn England, the Buggery Act 1533 made sodomy an offence punishable by hanging. Lesbian sex, on the other hand, was never restricted by law in the UK \u2013 although it is likely that they faced social stigma,\u201d Ella Braidwood explains in an article for HistoryExtra<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

There is, however, evidence of women being persecuted in unique circumstances \u2013 as was the case with Mary Hamilton (who may have identified as a cisgender lesbian or a transgender man today, but was considered a woman by her contemporaries in the 18th century).<\/p>\n

\u201cHamilton, using the name Charles, was convicted for duping a woman into marriage, in a case that made headlines at the time,\u201d explains Braidwood. \u201cAccording to one local newspaper report, \u2018there was a great Debate for some Time in Court about the Nature of her Crime, and what to call it, but at last it was agreed that she should be charged with fraud\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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