Fred Dyson
In the industrial north of England, sexual contact between men was in some contexts treated as part of everyday male culture well into the 1960s. In workplaces, families and communities, it could be tolerated even though it remained illegal. Mines and other industrial workplaces were also settings of physical closeness, rough humour and sexual teasing.
When Fred Dyson was convicted of “cottaging” in the early 1960s and the case appeared in the local newspaper, he feared for his job at Goldthorpe Colliery. Instead of rejection, he encountered solidarity: union colleagues and workmates stood by him. His sexuality did not lead to social exclusion, nor did it cost him his job.
When Fred Dyson was convicted of “cottaging” in the early 1960s and the case appeared in the local newspaper, he feared for his job at Goldthorpe Colliery. Instead of rejection, he encountered solidarity: union colleagues and workmates stood by him. His sexuality did not lead to social exclusion, nor did it cost him his job.