Speaking about his early days in the music industry, Tom Jones says he was “thrown off” after meeting his first gay person.
In an interview with The Big Issue, he confesses that he once held prejudices against gay men — even when it came to Joe Meek, his first producer.
In fact, he claims to have strongly considered going back to Cardiff after meeting his first gay person: “I was ready for most aspects of the music industry but, when I met [Meek], that threw me off a bit, because he was homosexual. I thought: ‘Wait a minute, is the London scene – the people who run British show business – are there a lot of homosexuals involved here? Because, if so, I’m going back to Cardiff.”
Jones says he became “paranoid” about gay people in general, suspecting that most people in the industry were homosexuals.
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He once said to his manager Peter Sullivan: “You’re not one of those queer fellows, are you?”
Soon enough after moving to London, he says he discovered that “most people were normal.”
“I shouldn’t put it like that,” he says. “Homosexuals are normal. It’s not that they’re not normal. It’s just that they are what they are.”
Before you shred Tom in the comments, remember that this was a time when homosexuality was still a criminal activity in Great Britain and his attitudes reflect his upbringing in conservative Cardiff. We choose to believe that Tom’s opinion quickly evolved. He soon became somewhat synonymous with the Swinging ’60s. In fact, the singer just tweeted a response to criticism:
Context! The story is about knowledge/attitudes in the 50s & 60s. it’s called History!
— Tom Jones (@RealSirTomJones) October 22, 2015
Giancarlo85
He was a product of his time and far different attitudes. I won’t tear him down. And he does recognize he was wrong.
Brian
A large proportion of the men who are put off by male homosexuality usually have homosexual desires within themselves which they wish to keep hidden. Expressions of homophobia from these men are a form of repression, of keeping that which is despised or perceived to be counter-productive or shameful within oneself.
You’ve also got to remember that Tom’s image was based on appealing to women. It was in the marketing ploy. Women throwing undies at him was the gimmick that some in his marketing team, including media, were putting out there. His immense talent brought him attention but the idea that he was sexually appealing to women was the clincher in the swinging Sixties.
If Tom had said that he had same-sex feelings, it would have been curtains for his career because women don’t accept homosexual feelings combined with heterosexual feelings in men today let alone back in the 1960’s.
Unless there is social change, there won’t ever be this acceptance because women consider this mixed sexuality in men to be a threat to their power over men.
Kevin Wotipka
I don’t care at all whether or not someone was ONCE homophobic. Here and now is what matters.
Kevin Wotipka
@Brian: ”Unless there is social change, there won’t ever be this acceptance because women consider this mixed sexuality in men to be a threat to their power over men.” Did some woman tell you that?
Brian
@Kevin Wotipka: It’s female culture which says it. By “female culture”, I mean the net sum of the forces which determine how a woman thinks and behaves. There are always exceptions to the rule but the exceptions do not disprove the rule.
Bryguyf69
His defense (or “defence,” for you Brits) is reasonable. And forgivable, assuming he’s changed. I consider myself very progressive and gay-friendly, but have no doubt that I’d be a homophobe in the 50’s/60s, if measured by today’s standards. Granted, I’d be an “enlightened” and sympathetic homophobe, but a homophobe nevertheless. In fact, I bet most gays were homophobes, believing all the negative stereotypes. And that’s understandable, given that homosexuality was illegal. We naturally believe that the law is always right and have our best interest at heart. So like Jones, why would I have risked endangering myself by being around gays? Ugh.
So again, the real question is how he feels now.
Bryguyf69
@Brian wrote:
“A large proportion of the men who are put off by male homosexuality usually have homosexual desires within themselves which they wish to keep hidden.
===
Yep. In 1996, straight college aged men were put in 2 groups: homophobic and not homophobic. Both groups watched gay, lesbian and hetero porn. Penile size was monitored by plethysmography. Both groups reacted to lesbian and hetero porn, BUT ONLY HOMOPHOBES GOT ERECT TO THE GAY PORN. Conclusion: Latent homosexuality can cause strong homophobia.
Adams HE, Wright LW Jr, Lohr BA. Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal? J Abnorm Psychol. 1996 Aug;105(3):440-5
Brian
@Bryguyf69: I can see where you’re coming from and I partly agree with you. However, porn is not a good criterion for measuring or classifying sexuality. I know gay-identifying men who get hard only when they watch men having sex with women.
Bryguyf69
@Bryguyf69:
ADDENDUM …
I haven’t read the above homophobia study in years but I remember it being well-controlled for nervousness. That’s important because it can cause erections without arousal. And for those who don’t know, plethysmography measures volumetric changes. Early researchers simply tied a string around the penis. If the string broke, erection occurred. This was useful in sleep studies where the subject is unaware of arousal. Sometime the string was measured instead. Modern research usually employs a strain gauge cuff that can monitor penile volume and pressure continuously.
TRIVIA: Penile plethysmography was invented in the 50’s to identify gay and straight draftees for the Czechoslovakian military. Apparently, many straight men pretended to be gay to avoid enlistment. Those claiming homosexuality were exposed to porn for their reaction.
Kevin Wotipka
@Brian: ” I mean the net sum of the forces which determine how a woman thinks and behaves.”
And your criteria for measuring that sum?
Christopher Rouse Islas Hernández
Who the fu*k cares… This was in the past. People change, attitudes change…. We need to stop being prissy whinny queens about everything!
Sluggo2007
So, has he stopped stuffing his pants with socks?
barkomatic
I’m happy that people can evolve and turn around their attitudes. There are plenty of people who were homophobic in the 60’s who are still quite homophobic today–so we shouldn’t tear someone down about the past if they have changed.
broadshoulder
So much for the swinging sixties. Britain was a homophobic place prior to 1967. When Tom Jone admits this, you know the world has changed..
Transiteer
I was there in the ’50s and ’60s. It was a very homophobic and hostile time. I’m glad that it’s now “history”, as it should’ve been all along.
Mack
In all honesty, most places and a quite a few people were homophobic in the 50’s and 60’s. I know, I grew up then.
SeeingAll
Well….he IS from Wales.
Mack
Many people have changed their views over the years and we should accept that. Just because someone was homophobic 5, 10 20 years ago we shouldn’t hold it against them if they now accept gays. After all we’re all human.
alphacentauri
Neil Young was also extremely homophobic in the 80s.
JerseyMike
@Kevin Wotipka: Great comment bro!!
jjunke
@Giancarlo85: great post Giancarlo, the people criticizing him are more than likely born well after 1970. He’s still the greatest singer around! Go Tom!