How Pansy Divisn blazed a trail as one of rock's first openly gay bands: 'It seemed like there were a lot of people wag for somethg like to happen'

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Queerre was a movement of radil gay punks who sparked an explosn of mic, lerature, film, and art that changed the face of punk rock and gay activism alike.

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SMELLS LIKE QUEER SPIR: HOW '90S PUNKS PANSY DIVISN BLAZED A TRAIL AS ONE OF ROCK'S FIRST OPENLY GAY BANDS

"We loved rock mic before we even realized we were gay," says ontman Jon Goli. "It seemed like there were a lot of people wag for somethg like to happen." * gay punk show *

But the scen stggled wh homophobic, sexist and racist elements. Queerre and rt grrrl risted opprsive homonormative tennci found mastream LGBT anizg. Pansy Divisn, "Fem a Black Leather Jacket" Fun-lovg Bay Area gay rock mastays Pansy Divisn brought homopunk to the mass when the group toured wh Green Day the 1990s.

But while “punk” and “queerns” seem like ntradictns, punk was (and is) very much queer: Whether ’s Tom Robson Band proudly clarg they’re “Glad To Be Gay,” The Buzzcks’ bisexual sger Pete Shelley askg if you have “Ever Fallen In Love (Wh Someone You Shouldn’t’ve?)” or trans pneer Jayne County askg if her dience is “Man Enough To Be A Woman,” punk mic has long engaged wh sexualy and genr as a means of rejectg reprsive social norms.Punk Lt: Raw Provotn, 1971-1985, an exhibn now showg at New York Cy’s Mm of Sex, troduc the and other overlooked LGBTQ+ punk ins to a new generatn. The exhibn explor everythg om punk’s tersectn wh the sex dtry, gay leather culture’s fluence on punk fashn, the ep impact of queer culture on punk’s roots, and more. There’s more of an tersectn wh gay leather culture than you would normally assume.Sniff’ Glue, No.

JAGUARS ACH KEV MAXEN RECEIV OVERWHELMG SUPPORT AFTER G OUT AS GAY

It seemed to evolve to somethg that was more specifilly geared toward queer offshoots of punk, like homore or Derek Jarman’s films. And not to religate old wounds, but BBC also reportedly banned Shelley’s solo sgle “Homosapien" 1981 for s blatant referenc to gay sex. Along wh Big Boys, The Dicks were one of At’s flagship punk bands the 1980s and one of the few ntenrs the genre wh an openly gay volist.

The band members, all openly gay, specifilly sought to unteract stereotyp, but that didn’t stop their sexual orientatn om beg a hot-button issue the mic muny. The band also did a ver of Pete Shelley’s “Homosapien.

One of the very first openly gay rock bands, they formed 1991 right the middle of the AIDS crisis, and almost lerally lghed the face of tragedy wh their sophomoric but ultimately unifyg and healg humor. Their NSFW songs — image, say, a gay Blk-182 —over the years have clud “Bill & Ted's Homosexual Adventure, ” “Touch My Joe Camel, ” “The C***sucker Club, ” “That’s So Gay” “Dick of Death, ” “Blame the Bible, ” and a rto ver of Prce’s “Jack U Off” and Weird Al-style Nirvana spoof brilliantly tled “Smells Like Queer Spir. ”And while Pansy Divisn didn’t exactly w over the mass, the unpromisg pop-punk band quickly veloped a cult followg among queer rockers seekg an alternative to the Hi-NRG dance mic pumpg through SF’s gay clubs.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY PUNK SHOW

How Pansy Divisn blazed a trail as one of rock's first openly gay bands: 'It seemed like there were a lot of people wag for somethg like to happen' .

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