Y, Kurt Coba was a gnge in. He was also a gay rights hero. - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• Y, KURT COBA WAS A GNGE IN. HE WAS ALSO A GAY RIGHTS HERO.
• KURT COBA'S 1993 ADVOTE COVER STORY: 'I'M GAY SPIR'
• PAT SMEAR NET WORTH: B, AGE, WIFE, GAY, NIRVANA, GUARS AND FOO FIGHTERS
• KURT COBA ON INTY“I EVEN THOUGHT THAT I WAS GAY. I THOUGHT THAT MIGHT BE THE SOLUTN TO MY PROBLEM.”MORE EPISOSALED HCHCK ON DEAD BODI
• ABOUT NIRVANA REGALD GAYLE

Y, KURT COBA WAS A GNGE IN. HE WAS ALSO A GAY RIGHTS HERO.

Coba is the Gen X in who popularized alternative mic and culture, but on the 25th anniversary of his ath this week, I cherish another aspect of his legacy much more: his nsistent and vol support of gay rights. Coba’s “oh well, whatever, never md” attu about sexual inty, exprsed lyrics and terviews, changed the urse of my Coba might not be the first name you thk of when to gay rights, his band was never shy about s polics, pecially where LGBTQ issu were ncerned. In 1992, Nirvana played a “No on #9” benef ncert and issued a public statement opposg Measure 9, a statewi anti-gay cizen ballot iative Oregon that would have required “all ernments” the state to treat homosexualy as “abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse.

” And the ler not of their album “Inctici, ” released that December, they warned: “If any of you any way hate homosexuals, people of different lor, or women, please do this one favor for — leave the f--- alone! ” The ler not to their next album, “In Utero, ” echoed that admonn: “If you’re a sexist, racist, homophobe or basilly an a--hole, don’t buy this CD. ” Coba himself repeatedly and publicly affirmed his pro-gay stance.

In a 1993 terview wh the Advote, which I remember readg breathlsly a Borrs bookstore wh the ver fold over so no one uld tell what I was holdg, Coba lled himself “gay spir” and revealed that as a teenager, he often qutned his sexualy and sprayed “God is gay” graffi the small town of Aberen, Wash., where he grew up. (The le “God is gay” later popped up the Nirvana song “Stay Away. All this played out the early ’90s, when AIDS jok and the word “fag” were mon, ias about allowg gays to openly serve the ary were nsired radil, and policians were wagg culture wars over “fay valu.

KURT COBA'S 1993 ADVOTE COVER STORY: 'I'M GAY SPIR'

’s Michael Stipe, but Nirvana’s pro-gay gtur and s inoclastic sound were remarkable for any popular mic act. The ia that you uld make mic that was aggrsive, hard and loud and be an ally to the gay muny seemed revolutnary, pecially for me, a closeted prep school graduate om Detro’s suburbs. The publitn had characterized gay people as sad and pathetic, but I still volunteered at a bake sale to raise money for .

PAT SMEAR NET WORTH: B, AGE, WIFE, GAY, NIRVANA, GUARS AND FOO FIGHTERS

In 1992, the state of Oregon voted on an famo ballot amendment known as Measure 9, which attempted to forbid the state ernment om fundg the promotn, enuragement or facilatn of “homosexualy, pedophilia, sadism or masochism, ” addg that all levels of ernment should set a standard to teach kids that “the behavrs are abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse and they are to be disuraged and avoid. 5%, but ls known is the fact that legendary gnge band Nirvana played a “No on 9” benef ncert 1992 to help feat the homophobic, kk-shamg law.

This “Nirvana gay rights ncert” of sorts was held on Sept. Here’s some backstage footage om the 1992 Nirvana gay benef ncert:.

Did you know that I’m gay?

KURT COBA ON INTY“I EVEN THOUGHT THAT I WAS GAY. I THOUGHT THAT MIGHT BE THE SOLUTN TO MY PROBLEM.”MORE EPISOSALED HCHCK ON DEAD BODI

Then I got married to a hermaphrode, but they’re tryg to take away my gay rights. As for that homophobic Oregon ballot measure, the nservative group that tried to pass , the Oregon Cizens Alliance, failed, as did s siar bills troduced later years.

Though the anti-gay alliance was able to pass siar measur on lol ballots areas of the state that supported Measure 9, the state ernment eventually overled the measur. The activists who rose up to feat Measure 9 1992 formed a re that would eventually jumpstart the state’s LGBTQ rights movement, and this Nirvana gay rights ncert was part of that.

Watch night-m footage of a few songs om the Nirvana gay benef ncert here:. Had you heard of this 1992 Nirvana gay rights-celebratg ncert? The men were proudly sexist and homophobic (Skid Row's Sebastian Bach famoly wore a T-shirt that read, "AIDS Kills Fags Dead"), on the other hand, was sensive and effemate -- someone who regularly spoke out for mori and lled out racism, misogyny, and homophobia.

ABOUT NIRVANA REGALD GAYLE

While many remember Coba and his Nirvana bandmat wearg drs and kissg vios and live performanc, virtually fotten is the fact that Nirvana performed at a gay rights benef Oregon promotg Nirvana's late-1992 pilatn album Inctici -- which clud the followg statement s ler not, "If any of you any way hate homosexuals, people of different lor, or women, please do this one favor for : leave the fuck alone!

In the Advote article, Coba displayed fort speakg wh an LGBTQ publitn and a faiary wh gay culture, often g terms like "homophobia" and "misogyny, " appreciatg the scriptn of Love as a "fag hag, " and rellg the time he saw the Village People are some of the choict quot om the terview wh journalist Kev Advote: I read the ler not you wrote on Inctici. I've never seen somebody on a major label say, "If you're a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, we don't want you to buy our rerds. I n talk about those issu terviews -- I thk 's pretty obv that we're agast the homophob and the sexists and the racists, but when "Teen Spir" first me out, mastream dienc were unr the assumptn that we were jt like Guns N' were his words: "You shut your bch up, or I'm takg you down to the pavement.

Those people are total sexist jerks, and the reason we're playg this show is to fight homophobia a real small way. The guy is a fuckg sexist and a racist and a homophobe, and you n't be on his si and be on our si. " [Lghs]You know, you were probably takg money om people who were votg y on 9 [an antigay ballot measure] -- but they really wanted to see Nirvana.