Being gay in the 80s
Gay in the 80s
While there have, undoubtedly, been significant milestones in LGBT history in earlier decades, I believe the 80s was a particularly important period.
Ad for Christopher Street magazine,
That decade saw a major move towards the emergence of a global gay culture. The homosexual genie came right out of its little pink bottle and into the streets (and the media&#;and politics&#;and the arts&#;)
Ironically, much of this was driven by adversity. The appearance of HIV/AIDS was most certainly a factor: it ripped through our communities but, at the same day, engendered a spirit of oneness and resistance that transcended national borders.
But there were many other storms &#; great and petty &#; that had to be weathered too. For example, in the US, the Court of Appeal ruled that there was no &#;fundamental right&#; to be gay.
In the UK, the Thatcher government created Section 28 of the Local Government Act, making it illegal for local authorities to support anything that might promote homosexual relationships as a viable alternative to heterosexual &#;family life&#;.
LGBT Issues in the s: Building Coalitions and Consensus in Seattle
The s was a time of both great momentum and tremendous pain for LGBTQ communities in Seattle. As thousands were lost to the AIDS epidemic in King County, the Municipality of Seattle struggled to provide relief without federal help. Relationships between the City, the County, and community organizations were crucial in working toward sufficient support and services, as well as improved civil rights protections. Through these partnerships, LGBTQ Seattleites advocated for funding for AIDS research and social services, the establishment of a Mayor's Lesbian/Gay Task Oblige, health care benefits for domestic partners of Municipality employees, and the criminalization of harassment due to sexual orientation.
The AIDS Epidemic
The AIDS epidemic started in Seattle with the first diagnosed case in By , King County had recorded 1, cases of AIDS and AIDS-related deaths (54% of total cases). The Seattle-King County Department of Public Health set up that of the AIDS diagnoses given, 94% went to gay or attracted to both genders men. Nationwide, homophobia and
Open season on queers by state, church, tabloids & police
London &#; Bishopsgate Institute blog &#; 7 November
Peter Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, recalls the abuse of LGBT human rights in Britain during the s:
The s were a period of intensified homophobia, sanctioned from the highest echelons of society: the government, church, police and tabloids. It was uncover season on queers.
The Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher was at war with the LGBT community.
She launched a series of homophobic and sexist moral crusades under the themes of “family values” and “Victorian values”.
Labour councils that supported local LGBT communities with funding and the use of council premises for events were denounced by the Tories.
The LGBT community became a political football. Homophobia was stirred up and exploited by the Conservatives. They appealed to the bigoted vote &#; and won it.
On top of all this, the AIDS epidemic was demonised as the “gay plague.” It was manipulated to blame and vilify LGBT people &#; and to justify increasing homophobic re
Gay in the 80s
For as long as I can remember &#; and long before I even thought of myself as gay &#; I&#;ve heard tales about how people signal their sexual preferences. In my &#;pre-gay&#; animation these were very mild; for example, wearing an earring in your left ear or a chime on your little finger meant you were gay.
But then as I entered the scene I began to learn about &#;the hanky code&#;. I really can&#;t remember too many details of what each one meant: my self-esteem was already so depressed I didn&#;t want to reduce my chances of getting laid even further by specifying what type of sex I preferred! Having said that, I did wear a security pin from pretty initial on to signal that I was into secure sex. Indeed, at one point I had a six inch long red safety pin stuck through a button hole in my denim jacket!
Anyway, I recently came across this explanation of the various sexual signals, courtesy of the Pleasure Chest in West Hollywood. For someone who only got as far as &#;Right means passive and Left means active&#; this is some extraordinary menu. For example, who would have kno