Immoral, Indecent, and Scurrilous: The Making of an Unrepentant Sex Radical

“Gerald Hannon is a gifted writer who tells his story with penetrating insight, gentle humour, and eye-widening honesty. I didn’t always agree with his sex-radical stances, but always admired his tireless challenge to conventional norms. His writing career included unflinching profiles of notable Canadian personalities, invariably exploring paths no one else would dare. Now, he has done the same with his own remarkable life, extending from altar boy to gay liberation activist, and then much-honoured journalist. Every part of this memoir carries critically important lessons about the meanings of free speech, journalistic integrity, and sexual desire — lessons as important now as ever.”

David Rayside, Professor Emeritus of Political Science; founding Director of the Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, University of Toronto

“Hannon’s memoir is a queer history page-turner. His account of losing his job as journalism teacher when his private life as sex worker exploded into a media sensation should be a case study in journalism programs everywhere. Recalling The Body Politic trials, the bathhouse raids, and dying friends, he turns a welcome spotlight on Toronto’s tumultuous queer activism of the 1970s and 1980s.”

Jonathan Ned Katz, author of The Daring Life and Dangerous Times of Eve Adams

“Poignant, passionate, and irreverent, Immoral, Indecent, and Scurrilous tells the story of one of Canada’s original gay liberationists. It follows Gerald Hannon from a not-so-auspicious childhood in a small town on the shores of Lake Superior to a coming out and of age in Toronto to the forefront of gay activism. Always challenging conventional (hetero)sexual norms, never afraid of arrest, scandal or hot water, the memoir spans a time of cultural, social, and sexual upheaval. It is a story of remarkable courage, occasional political naivety, and an abiding commitment to sexual liberation and living life on his own terms.”

Brenda Cossman, Professor of Law and Goodman-Schipper Chair, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto; author of The New Sex Wars: Sexual Harm in the #MeToo Era

“Historians will find this a rich resource as time passes, offering an unflinchingly honest first-hand account of both the pain and joy surrounding the birth of gay liberation in Toronto. But for any reader, now or in the future, this is simply a delightful book, thought-provoking, and also laugh-out-loud funny.”

Mary Breen, author of Any Kind of Luck at All