In the 1930s deciding whether to ban the book The Single Woman And Her Emotional Problems (click here and scroll down to #43 to get a look at it) or not was a big decision for the pre-World War II UK government (they say government, they mean men), as they feared the ban would put lesbianism in the spotlight and women would be drawn to a lesbian lifestyle.

Well Of Loneliness (link below), published in the 1920s and banned, became very popular due to media coverage and that was not the reaction government wanted to see from banning The Single Woman And Her Emotional Problems.

The pre-World War II government feared a heavy handed approach to censorship would push women into becoming lesbians, according to newly released documents.

The government’s team of censors in 1930s were so confused about the production of a book entitled The Single Woman And Her Emotional Problems, they did not know whether to push ahead and ban the book or turn a blind eye to it.

According to National Archive documents, the censors feared that the book, which looked into the health problems associated with a lack of men during wartime, would raise the profile of lesbianism if a high profile ban took place.

Civil servants were also fearful that the media of the time would pick up on the ban and raise curiosity in the book, replicating the response to the 1920s book Well Of Loneliness, the iconic piece of lesbian literature that was banned but became a mainstay in lesbian homes.

The Single Woman sparked a flurry of activity after a member of the public called for it to be banned because of its “pernicious” attitude towards sexuality.

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The Well of Loneliness : A 1920s Classic of Lesbian Fiction