LGBT+ History Month - Grindr 1920 Style
The title which started life as
Cupid s Messenger in 1915 became
The Link in 1917.
In 1920 the publication had come to the attention of the Metropolitan Police, and the surviving police file can be found in the collections of The National Archives.
Seemingly, against the original intentions a certain type of personal advertisement was increasing to be found, loaded with coded and suggestive language; these featured men looking for other men and women looking for other women.
The majority of these type of adverts were written between men, which was extremely risky in 1920s Britain when homosexual acts between men were criminalised. To express your intentions in a written form was an even greater danger; as it could be used as evidence against you, hence the use of coded language.
This month marks LGBT+ History Month, an annual celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and non-binary history, including the history of LGBT+ rights and related civil rights movements.