15 Black Gay & Queer Men From History You Should Know

Contents:

• THE 13 GAYT MIC VIOS OF THE '80S
• WILL WE SURVIVE THE 1980S? A SNAPSHOT OF A GAY CULTURAL MILI
• 16 MT-SEE CLASSIC GAY MOVI FROM BEFORE YOU WERE BORN
• AS A GAY MAN, THE '80S CRIPPLED MY INTY

THE 13 GAYT MIC VIOS OF THE '80S

For example, the UK’s ernment add Sectn 28 to their Lol Government Act that ma illegal for lol thori to support anythg that promoted homosexual relatnships as an alternative to a heterosexual “fay life”. Bee no one really knew anythg about AIDS when spread like wildfire the 80s, many referred to as the “gay plague” and many wanted this to lead to a ban on homosexualy. Reverenced Jerry Falwell once argued that “AIDS is not jt God’s punishment for homosexuals; is God’s punishment for the society that tolerat homosexuals”.

WILL WE SURVIVE THE 1980S? A SNAPSHOT OF A GAY CULTURAL MILI

In 1967, the Sexual Offenc Bill was passed, crimilisg homosexual acts between two long as they were over 21, both nsentg, and nductg any sexual acts wh the privacy of their own hom. The Gay Black Group (formed 1981 by a number of Black and Asian gay and lbian people who found that most LGBTQ+ groups had a lack of mory members, makg hard for them to fd empathy and people to talk to who would unrstand) approached the Greater London Council 1982 to requt fundg. As the knowledge behd grew and people began to realise that was a vis that uld fect people through blood and sex, 1983, gay men were asked not to donate blood.

Sectn 28 banned lol thori om ‘promotg homosexualy’ or ‘pretend fay relatnships’, and prohibed uncils om fundg tnal materials and projects perceived to ‘promote homosexualy’. In the same year, rponse to the Sectn 28 legislatn, actor and gay rights activist Sir Ian McKellen was speakg on BBC Rad 3 about the issu raised by the Act and publicly me out. It was named after the 1969 Stonewall rts New York Cy’s Greenwich Village, and om the outset looked to prevent such attacks as Sectn 28 on lbians, gay and bi people om ever occurrg aga.

In 2003, Stonewall was granted charable stat and has sce gone on to help achieve the equalisatn of the age of nsent, lift the ban on LGB people servg the ary, secure legislatn which allowed same-sex upl to adopt, helped secure civil partnerships and then same-sex marriage and ensured that the recent Equaly Act protected lbian, gay and bi people terms of goods and servic. In 2015, Stonewall extend s rem to mpaign for trans equaly alongsi lbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) equaly, followg an extensive nsultatn wh over 700 trans people. Ins like Whney and Madonna turned out plenty of hs durg the ‘80s that are today nsired gay anthems, but the classic vios—eher by LGBTQ+ artists or featurg queer subject matter—are gay a more leral sense.

16 MT-SEE CLASSIC GAY MOVI FROM BEFORE YOU WERE BORN

BRONSKI BEAT - “SMALLTOWN BOY” (1984)This ‘80s dance h and s explicly queer vio about a smalltown gay boy the big cy broke new ground for LGBTQ+ visibily—and reached the top of the charts the procs. MARC ALMOND - “RUBY RED” (1987)Few ‘80s pop stars were more -your-face about their sexualy than Soft Cell ontman Marc Almond, and this kky Kenh Anger-spired visual is as gay as gets.

THE B-52s - “LOVE SHACK” (1989)As if The B-52’s John Waters-spired athetic and out-and-proud ontman Fred Schneir weren’t gay enough for you, this mpy vid for their late-’80s h featur a pre-fame meo by the one and only RuPl. - “CLUB TROPICANA” (1983)It would be another 15 years before he formally me out, but if Gee Michael a whe speedo vampg to this breezy 1983 bop don’t set off your gaydar…nothg will.

AS A GAY MAN, THE '80S CRIPPLED MY INTY

ERASURE - “CHAINS OF LOVE” (1988)If seeg Andy Bell spend om chas jt BASKING his gayns don’t make you feel like you’re an episo of Queer as Folk, you’ve got some homework to do. It's difficult today's culture of creased awarens, improved treatment and advanc preventn to properly nvey the vastatg impact of the epimic on the gay muny to those who hadn't lived through themselv. After sentially creatg queer media studi wh his book The Celluloid Closet 1981, Vo Rso was one of the founrs of GLAAD, then an acronym for Gay and Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn.

“I thk that’s the bety of , that ’s jt up to the dience’s terpretatn, if ’s Will kd of jt refg to grow up and growg up slower than his iends, or if he is really gay. LGBT+ people really want to be workg towards a world where no one needs to e out — but we’re not there yet, ” Noyce others have shared their siar mdset on social media, wh one person retweetg Noah’s ments about the “bety” of Will’s sexualy beg how open to terpretatn is and addg: “Only straight ppl would thk 's betiful to never acknowledge gayns. #StrangerThgs401:19 PM - 01 Jul 2022But others have leaped to the show’s fense, potg out that is set ral Indiana the 1980s — when g out as gay uld be credibly dangero.

“In the 80s beg gay was not like is now - the AIDS epimic was a huge al, there were very few gay characters or role mols to look up to, and many more people were closeted. ’ His iends have no ncept of what gay is or what means, and -world most everyone is so preoccupied by survivg the Upsi Down they (and Will himself) have no chance to procs Wills own sexualy. ”“Even if this wasn’t the 80s ’s ok for a 14 or 15 year old boy to not pletely unrstand his sexualy, ” one more Will’s sexualy has not been directly addrsed on the show, Maya Hawke’s character, Rob, me out as a lbian Season 3, while unr the effects of tth the poignant scene, Rob told Steve that she is not terted him romantilly bee she’s actually attracted to their female was shown to stantly accept Rob, but she has not e out to any of the other characters on the on this“Stranger Thgs” Star Noah Schnapp Confirmed That His Character Will Byers “Is Gay And He Do Love Mike” Jt Weeks After Praisg The “Bety” Of His Sexualy Not Beg AddrsedLeyla Mohammed · July 15, 2022“Stranger Thgs” Star Noah Schnapp Jt Used Doja Cat’s Song In A TikTok And Insisted There Are “No Hard Feelgs” After He “Apologized” For Leakg Her DMsStephanie Soteru · July 14, 2022Metalli Had The Perfect Rponse After Someone Dragged “Fake” Fans For Only Listeng To Their Mic After It Featured On “Stranger Thgs” And It’s Sparked A Conversatn About GatekeepgStephanie Soteru · July 13, 2022“Stranger Thgs” Star Joseph Qun Broke Down In Tears When Someone Thanked Him For Sharg His Time After He Was “Yelled At” By Comic Con Staff For Takg Too Long Wh FansStephanie Soteru · July 12, 2022.