As A Gay Man, The '80s Crippled My Inty | HuffPost Voic

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”. 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

- “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. 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.