Gerald Hannon
Gerald Hannon (July 10, 1944 – May 9, 2022) was a Canadian journalist, teacher and sex worker, whose work appeared in major Canadian magazines and newspapers.
Hannon gained fame as a result of references to minor-adult sex in his article "Men Loving Boys Loving Men" (1977), published in the now-defunct gay magazine The Body Politic. Hannon was acquitted of obscenity charges laid in connection with the article.
According to Koymasky:[1]
Hannon was born in small town New Brunswick and raised in small town Ontario, moving to Toronto for his university studies. At the end of 1971, he joined the editorial group that produced the fledgling gay liberation magazine "The Body Politic", and for most of its fifteen-year life, he was one of its most prolific and controversial writers.
In late 1977, [his article in the Body Politic entitled "Men Loving Boys Loving Men"] brought a police raid and obscenity charges against him and others of the magazine's editorial collective, and considerable criticism (as well as support) from the gay community itself. The legal battle (and accompanying political campaign) was waged for several years, eventually yielding acquittal.
After The Body Politic's demise in early 1987, Hannon continued writing freelance. His writing has won him two National Magazine awards and several other nominations. Success also helped secure part-time teaching in journalism at Toronto's Ryerson Polytechnical University, though media-inflamed publicity about his 'Men Loving Boys' article, and about his part-time job as a prostitute, led to an ill-thought-out suspension from the university, and eventually to an undisclosed settlement.
Condemned article
We have archived Hannon's famous article at Text of Men loving boys loving men. Others have saved this article.[2]
His Wikipedia page also describes how he was instrumental in exposing a major injustice carried out in the name of child pornography prevention.
Memoir
- Immoral, indecent & scurrilous: a memoir by Gerald Hannon. Cormorant Books, 2022. Available for purchase on Kindle, and for free at Anna's Archive.