John Jakeman

The summary captures a recorded interview with John Jakeman, preserved in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, documenting Jakeman’s personal experiences. Jakeman reflects on growing up in Wellington during the post-World War II era, specifically in the Newtown district, where Jakeman's family had deep ties. The interview delves into familial dynamics, including Jakeman's discovery of their father's involvement in World War II, contributing to a homefront legacy that was not without challenges and scrutiny, such as the receipt of white feathers, a historical symbol of cowardice.

Jakeman candidly discusses the experience of attending a school with diverse peers, including Greek refugee children, and recounts the long-lasting effects of a childhood incident involving their father’s conveyance that met with a tragic accident, leading to permanent injury. This would indelibly link to the family's experience of social shunning during the war. Additionally, the interview sheds light on the significant name change their father underwent from Jake to Cameron, motivated by political advice to avoid a potential scandal—an event that had ripple effects on the entire family's identity.

The discussion progresses into Jakeman’s personal journey, including changes in their own name and life experiences such as marriage to a "lovely lady." The interview delves into internal struggles with self-acceptance and shifts in sexual identity and orientation, with Jakeman identifying as a "sissy" since a young age and harboring desires aligned with what was then considered nonconformist behavior — from eavesdropping on adult conversations to embracing the joy of dressing up.

Throughout the interview, Jakeman revisits the harsh realities faced by LGBTQ+ individuals during the era, including negative societal attitudes, policing, and the stark choice between suppressing true identity or risk being criminalized. Jakeman illuminates the everyday reality and psychological impacts of living under laws that deemed homosexual acts illegal and the fear that came with being treated as a criminal for one's natural inclinations.

The conversation broaches issues of visibility and representation, highlighting Jakeman’s work in a tavern known for its diverse clientele, including individuals from the LGBTQ+ community. Narratives around workplace interactions and policing are recounted, including personal anecdotes of police intimidation and the broader implications of a societal shift following the Homosexual Law Reform in New Zealand.

This summary is created using Generative AI. Although it is based on the recording's transcription, it may contain errors or omissions. Click here to learn more about how this summary was created.

John Jakeman

1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, acceptance, activism, alfred kinsey, alice cooper, amphetamines, anti springbok tour protest (1981), aotearoa new zealand, arnold nordmeyer, arts, auckland, australian and new zealand army corps (anzac), aversion therapy, babysitting, bar queens, barber, barcelona, barman, bars, beating, beats, berhampore, birth name, bisexual, bistro bar, boer war, bog queens, boxing, brothels, california, carl jung, carmen rupe, carmen's international coffee lounge, cats bar, charles allan aberhart, cheese, children, christchurch, christianity, church, cinema, closeted, clothing, club bar (royal oak hotel), colin moyle, constable street, conversion / reparative therapy, crime, cross dressing, cruise ship, cruising, cuba street, dana de milo, dance, david bowie, demon (undercover police), depression, disabled servicemen's re-establishment league, discrimination, dominion hotel, dorian society, dress up, dressed up, dresses, drugs, dunedin, effeminate, electroconvulsive therapy (ect), elocution lesson, engagement, entrapment, erich fromm, faggot, family, farming, fear, feminism, flamboyant, flapper, forester's arms hotel, fran wilde, france, francisco franco, freedom, gay, gay liberation movement, germany, gloves, god, gonorrhea, grand hotel, granny / aunty, hagley park, hair, hairdressing, hand movements, hat, heroin, heteronormativity, hit, holding hands, homeguard, homophobic violence, homosexual, homosexual law reform, homosexual law reform act (1986), horse, hunting, hunting lesbian, idealism, institutionalised homosexuality, internal stigma, internalised homophobia, internet, james smith's, janis joplin, jeweler, jewellery, john jakeman, jon english, journalism, judgement, karori, karori reservoir, kinsey reports, kissing, korean war, language, lavender trousers, law, lesbian, letsbian club (sp? wellington), limp-wristed, march, marilyn waring, marriage, member of parliament, mental illness, mexicali bar (wellington), military, mincing, miscarriage, mon mari, monogamy, murder, museum of new zealand te papa tongarewa, my hat, māori, nairn street (wellington), name change, new zealand army, new zealand defence force (nzdf), new zealand labour party, newspapers, newtown, newtown school, oppression, pansy, parliament buildings, persecution, pervert, pig hunting, pocket money, police, poof, poofter, porirua mental hospital, powder puff (referred to as the powder poof, wellington), property rights, psychiatric hospital, psychiatric treatment, public affection, public display of affection (pda), public toilet, public transport, queen's city (wellington), queer, queer bashing, raids, railway tavern, raumati, refugee, regent tavern, relationships, religion, rnzaf base shelly bay, royal oak hotel, rural, sailor, self-evident, sex work, sexual revolution, sexuality, ships, shoes, sigmund freud, single beds, sissy, slow dance, smuggle, spain, special friends, springbok rugby tour (1981), sprung, stables, sti, stonewall riots (1969), stuart cameron, tavern bar (royal oak hotel), tea party, the balcony / le balcon, the joy of sex (book), the other side, theatre, theatrical, thomas cameron, toasted sandwich, toledo bar (royal oak hotel), tram, transexual, transgender, transvestism, transvestite, trentham military camp, undercover police, united kingdom, united states of america, vietnam war, violence, voice, wainuiomata, wairarapa, wallaceville house (upper hutt), watchmaker, wedding, wellington, wellington city library, wellington free kindergarten association, wellington railway station, wellington regional hospital, wharves, white feather, wig, wine, women's liberation movement, world war 1, world war 2

abuse, academics, activities, airport, alcohol, army, asian, asylum, australia, bear, belief, bird, board, books, broken, building, bus, button, cakes, camp, cars, change, china, class, classical music, closet, clubs, coffee, coffee bar, coming out, coming up, community, conference, conversation, cuba, culture, data, disappear, disco, dog, dominant, drag, drag queen, drama, eating, embarrassment, emotional, energy, entertainment, environment, equality, europe, exhibition, experiment, face, fantasy, flying, forgiveness, friends, fruit, fun, funeral, future, gaming, grief, growing up, happiness, hate, hell, heterosexual, hiding, high heels, history, homosexual law reform, hope, hospital, hotel, hypocrisy, imagination, james smith, job, journey, kicked out, korea, ladies, laughter, laundry, lawyer, legal rights, liberation, library, listening, london, loss, love, lsd, mannerisms, mary, mentor, music, myth, nature, navy, nepal, normal, other, parents, parties, passing, people, persona, perversion, plan, podcast, policy, posters, power, prayer, profile, queen, radio, rage, reading, records, representation, retreats, revolution, rhetoric, routine, scene, school, sexual liberation, shame, shopping, sightseeing, singing, sleep, smiling, smoking, social, sociology, soliciting, solidarity, sport, stitching, straight, study, stuff, suit, support, surveillance, the edge, ties, time, tom cameron, top, touch, training, travel, trust, truth, uniform, university, unnatural, upper class, venues, verbal abuse, victoria street, vietnam, vivian street, walking, wind, women, work, writing, zoo