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Sex in the 80s: Madam Cyn's Home Movies
Did Cynthia Payne's suburban sexual revolution really change Britain for the better?
Cynthia Payne began the 80s in jail as a notorious brothel keeper. By 1987 a London court acquitted her of the same crime and the public gallery cheered. The exposure of Payne's infamous sex parties, held behind the net curtains of her home in Streatham, South London, made her almost a national treasure.
With access to Payne's home movies for the first time and featuring interviews with Payne and some of her former clients and employees, the programme Madam Cyn's Home Movies looked at the woman who straddled the sexual sea change of the 1980s with a smile, a cup of tea and a fistful of luncheon vouchers.
The issues:
Cynthia's trial was one of the highest profile media and legal events of the 80s. Following an undercover police operation, she was arrested for running a brothel and controlling prostitutes for gain. And, with strong evidence, several previous convictions and creditable, reliable witnessess, the odds were stacked against her. Cynthia faced at least two years in prison.
The three week trial became a major media event. The court was packed to the rafters and the press had a field day as the trial of Madam Cyn descended into the entertainment event of the year. Every shred of evidence and testimony was eagerly and comically reported.
But the police had underestimated the changing times and the public warmth for Cynthia – she was acquitted of all charges. More than that, she was now a major celebrity as the nation cheered her freedom.
The trial proved to be a triumph for tolerance but it still sent shockwaves throughout society. The police were villified by the press, criticised by politicians and laughed at by the public.
Moreover, the trial crystallised the changing attitudes towards sex: the public was becoming more tolerant towards people's sexual tastes than ever before.
What do you think?
Sex in Britain before the 80s was a taboo subject for any kind of conversation. It was never mentioned: sex outside marriage was associated with dirt and sin.
But, following the revelations about the parties in Streatham by the self-styed Ambassdor for Sex, and Cynthia's growing celebrity-status, her willingness to talk about sex and the infamous trial, attitudes to sex in Britain changed forever.
Cynthia Payne and many other commentators believed that that sexual sea change was good for Britain...
You've read the issues so here's your chance to say what you think about the impact of Cynthia Payne's trial.
