Locating a queer regional imaginary through media framing of male same-sex criminalisation in Newcastle, Australia, post WWII to 1989

Abstract

Media framing of the political, professional, and personal dynamics of criminal law in regional areas can illuminate the reach of arbitrary moral arguments used to criminalise marginalised populations. Drawing on analysis of media articles from post-Second World War up to 1989, this case study contextualises criminalisation processes of male same-sex offences in the regional New South Wales city of Newcastle. The cases and issues documented provide insight into the legal and social symbiosis between the regions and the metropole, and the role of place in defining regional identity. At the same time, they show a diversity of male same-sex sexual and gender expression often considered incongruous in an industrial centre that has signified the ‘raw masculinity’ of the Australian male. The case study emphasises the risks of cross-sectional analyses that can sever processes of criminalisation from stigma that persists beyond decriminalisation, and the integral role of social movements in achieving law reform.