Mary Whitehouse

__NOTOC__{{christianity}}{{hatnote|Not to be confused with the late English singer and songwriter {{wpl|Amy Winehouse||.}}}}
{{cquote|Arthur Negus has held [[Breast|Bristols]] ... And Mary Whitehouse has just taken Umbrage...|||Monty Python's Flying Circus (Election Night Special)<ref>[https://youtu.be/s6cCUBPoc5E?t=370 ''Monty Python'', Season 2, Episode 6–4], 6:10</ref>}}
{{cquote|And do you feel abused?<br />
You gotta stem the evil tide<br />
And keep it all on the inside<br />
Mary, you're nearly a treat<br />
Mary, you're nearly a treat, but you're really a cry|||Pink Floyd <ref> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZM1WQKwpl0</ref>}}
'''Mary Whitehouse''' {{lived|1910|2001}} was a crazy [[Christianity|Christian]] morality campaigner who advocated for [[censorship]] in the [[media]] and was against liberal reforms and the "permissive society". Among her many jaw-dropping achievements were the last prosecution for [[blasphemy]] in the [[UK]] in 1977, against ''Gay News'', for publishing a poem which featured a Roman centurion having sex with [[Jesus]] at the point of crucifixion.<ref>[https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2008/01/10/the-gay-poem-that-broke-blasphemy-laws/ The gay poem that broke blasphemy laws] (10 January 2008) - summary of the case by PinkNews. {{wpa|Whitehouse v Lemon}}</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/11/newsid_2499000/2499721.stm "
1977: Gay paper guilty of blasphemy"], BBC On This Day</ref> Her prosecuting counsel in this civil case was evangelical Christian {{wpl|John Smyth (barrister)|John Smyth}} QC who, decades later, was exposed as an abuser of boys and young men.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/02/the-go-to-barrister-for-morality-campaigner-mary-whitehouse "John Smyth: the go-to barrister for Mary Whitehouse"], ''The Guardian'', Sandra Laville, February 2, 2017</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cje0y3gqw1po "Church covered up 'abhorrent' abuse, report finds"], ''BBC News'', November 7, 2024</ref>

She was the subject of the third verse of Pink Floyd's ''{{wpl|Pigs (Three Different Ones)}}'' on their 1977 album, ''Animals''.<ref>"Hey you, Whitehouse, ha ha charade you are./You house proud town mouse, ha ha charade you are./You're trying to keep our feelings off the street,/you're nearly a real treat, all tight lips and cold feet,/and do you feel abused?""</ref> In 1992, on the Westwood One radio special ''Pink Floyd: The 25th Anniversary Special'', Roger Waters told Jim Ladd that the "Whitehouse" mentioned had nothing to do with the home of the U.S. President, the White House, after Ladd told Waters he interpreted the last verse as an attack on [[Gerald Ford]], who was US president at the time the song was recorded.<ref>{{wpa|Pigs (Three Different Ones)}}</ref>

She was also referred to in the homoerotic film ''Sebastiane''. In one scene, a group of Roman soldiers are holding a beetle-battle, forcing beetles to fight one another in a dirt ring, and naming them after famous women of the time, and implying they were embracing [[lesbian]]s. But one beetle not named after a woman of the time was called "Maria Domus Alba", which is a literal [[Latin]] translation for "Mary White House".<ref>Rowland Wymer (2005). ''Derek Jarman''. Manchester University Press. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BQi9C_bChgYC&pg=PA37 p. 37.] ISBN 978-0-7190-5691-8.</ref> So essentially, the director of the film called Mary Whitehouse a lesbian. In Latin. Zing.

She's mentioned in the song ''Better Decide Which Side You're On''' by the Tom Robinson Band on their 1978 album ''Power In The Darkness''.<ref>"Too late, trendy thinkers / Your time is running out / Ain't no time to wonder why / Ain't no time for doubt / Joseph, Reed and Whitehouse / Are out to get your guts ... (Watch [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br_oJ2-WVt4 on YouTube]).</ref> Not favorably.

In 1980, she launched a private prosecution against the director of a London play, ''The Romans In Britain'', for depicting homosexual rape, which you could say is fair enough. The case collapsed when a defending lawyer extracted an admission from the principal witness, who had attended the play for the sole purpose of being offended, that he'd been sitting so far back that he couldn't have seen what he said had offended him.<ref>Mark Lawson, [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/oct/28/theatre "Passion play",] ''The Guardian'', 28 October 2005</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Robertson|first=Geoffrey|title=The Justice Game|year=1999|publisher=Vintage|location=London|isbn=978-0-09-958191-8}}</ref>

==Violence==
One of her most frequent attacks was on violence in the media, including ''Doctor Who'',<ref>For more detail, see {{wpl|Mary Whitehouse#Doctor Who||.}}</ref> forgetting that violence on television isn't real.<ref group=note>If you watch Doctor Who at any length, you will know that one of its most frequent messages is that violence is bad.</ref> Much better to leave your children in the hands of television presenter/DJ {{wpl|Jimmy Savile|Jimmy Savile}} (now best remembered as a prolific pedophile) who won the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association award for wholesome family entertainment in 1977.<ref>Ben Thompson ''Ban this filth!'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20121112141447/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/093c3726-24e1-11e2-86fb-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2Bv5X3utv#axzz2Bv5X3utv Archived] 12 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine, ''Financial Times'', 9 November 2012. This article is a reprint of the introduction to Ben Thompson (ed.) ''Ban This Filth!: Letters From the Mary Whitehouse Archive'', London: Faber, 2012 ISBN 978-0571281497.</ref>

==Notes==
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==References==
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[[Category:Antifeminism]]
[[Category:Atheophobia]]
[[Category:Censorship]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Declinists]]
[[Category:Homophobes]]
[[Category:Right-wing activists]]

Categories: Antifeminism, Atheophobia, Censorship, Christians, Declinists, Homophobes, Right-wing activists