"An unexpected message from our past"Who decides that being different is a characteristic to be despised? At the end of the 19th century, it was the English Parliament that passed the Criminal Law Amendment Bill, which specifically outlawed all forms of male homosexual expression. This law, combined with the already negative attitude surrounding the gay community before and after World War I, implied that homosexuality was something to be ridiculed and despised. This trend unfortunately continues more than a century later. Pat Baker's Regeneration, which begins on page 54 and continues throughout the novel, repeatedly uses a non-fictional character, Siegfried Sassoon, to show the unnecessary pain that homosexuals have suffered throughout history, an angle that has often been overlooked when homosexuals were discussed a hundred years ago. . Regeneration shows the conflict that torments many homosexuals when they decide whether to live for themselves and their personal needs or whether to conform to blend in with society. By the end of the 19th century, the purity movement was well underway in England. The serious efforts made by those involved in the legislation were creating “a climate in which immorality could be seriously addressed” (Mort 114). With the passing of the Criminal Law Amendment Bill in 1885, the first steps were taken towards a “better moral climate in the country” (Mort 129). Although this new law included some positive improvements such as raising the age of sexual consent for women from 13 to 16, a surprising addition was made shortly before the final vote in Parliament. Henry Labouchere, a Liberal in the House of Commons, introduced a clause that "outlaws all forms of male homosexual contact" (Mort 129). The public welcomed the addition and “the general negative attitude toward homosexuality” continued to grow along with the law even on its biased side (Robb 57). Ten years later, circumstances for gay males continued to look bleak. On May 25, 1895, Oscar Wilde, a well-known playwright, was found guilty of homosexual activity and sentenced to the maximum sentence allowed: two years' imprisonment and hard labor. The judge, disgusted with Wilde, declared, "People who can do such things must be dead to any sense of shame," and found the sentence inadequate for such a vile criminal (Barger). In the years that followed, few changes were made to ease the growing tension. When Edward Carpenter published his book The Intermediate Sex in 1909, he encouraged acceptance and understanding of people with different sexual preferences and practices than those found in the majority.