NEW ZEALAND’S MILITARY AND THE DISCIPLINING OF SEX BETWEEN MEN, 1940-1960

Authors

  • Chris Brickell Department of Sociology, Gender & Social WorkUniversity of Otago

Abstract

Some New Zealand military men had sex with male partners on New Zealand’s home front between 1940 and 1960. This article examines courts martial, criminal court and prison files in order to examine the regulation of male homosexuality by military and civilian authorities. Sex between military men, and between servicemen and civilians, highlighted the sexual opportunities embraced by those who were subsequently punished and reflected complex interactions between regulation, consent and social status. Observable patterns of policing in New Zealand during these decades reflected and refract international patterns. ‘Good fellow status’ is important, to use Emma Vickers’ concept from the British context, but so too are the relative social position of servicemen and their civilian counterparts as well as the broader politics of masculinity.

Author Biography

  • Chris Brickell, Department of Sociology, Gender & Social WorkUniversity of Otago

    Chris Brickell is an associate professor in gender studies at the University of Otago. His first book, Mates & Lovers: A History of Gay New Zealand (2008) won the NZSA E. H. McCormick Best First Book Award for Non-Fiction in the 2009 Montana Book Awards. His other books are Manly Affections: The Photographs of Robert Gant, 1885–1915 (2012), Two-by-Two: Men in Pairs (2013) and Southern Men: Gay Lives in Pictures (2014). He has published on the history and sociology of sexuality, masculinity and adolescence in many international journals, including Journal of the History of Sexuality, The Sociological Review, Rethinking History, Visual Anthropology, Gender, Place & Culture and Journal of Social History. His particular areas of interst include: the connections between sexuality, gender and identity, drawing on sociological and historical approaches. Other interests include consumer culture, cultural politics, citizenship, and the history of adolescence.

Published

2024-05-15

Issue

Vol. 33 No. 2 (2024): May

Section

Studies