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‘Boisterous and uncompromising … An important argument’ The Times

Only a few years ago, it seemed that the fight for gay rights was won in the UK: legal equality was achieved, prejudice rapidly dying out. Mission accomplished, right?

Wrong, argues Gareth Roberts. Homophobia is making a major comeback under the guise of the ideology of ‘gender identity’. The enforcers of this new creed insist that attraction to people of the same sex is ‘hateful’. They argue that effeminate men and butch women can’t just be gay, but must ‘really’ be trans. Worse, this ideology has colonised the gay rights movement, capturing institutions like Stonewall and the gay press completely. Anyone who disagrees risks professional suicide.

So what happened to the funny, grown-up culture, truth-telling and knowing irony of many gay men? How and why was the older gay rights activism, which gifted such progress to homosexual people, hijacked?

In this passionate, witty polemic, Gareth Roberts answers these questions and argues that we need a new gay liberation movement.

Publisher Review

‘Gay Shame is a boisterous and uncompromising polemic … Roberts should be commended for his chutzpah, his bold style and his non-concessive commitment to truth-telling. Gay Shame makes an important argument’ – John Maier, The Times ‘Arresting .. pacey and witty’ – Matthew Parris, The Times ‘A revindication of the savagely witty, freethinking gay man in a world of glitter-strewn cliches: erudite, historically literate, genuinely thought-provoking, and scattered with biting asides that make you gasp with laughter’ – Kathleen Stock ‘A few writers are so good that they make you feel envious, but a very few writers are so good that envy is beside the point, and you just want to give them a ticker-tape parade – Gareth Roberts is one of them. This is an extremely funny book about a deadly serious subject – how the Warring Twenties became a backdrop for Western civilisation’s apparent desire to destroy itself by any means possible, especially on the battleground of sex. Witty, wicked and wise’ – Julie Burchill ‘Gareth hasn’t let his exasperation blunt his wit or his concern for what is happening to gay rights and culture in the name of an ideology that is progressive in name only. In a time of madness, his is one of the few voices you can trust’ – Graham Linehan ‘Thoughtfully and powerfully argued. It’s also richly entertaining – done with fantastic lightness of touch’ – Simon Edge