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

Contents:

• AS A GAY MAN, THE '80S CRIPPLED MY INTY
• A BRIEF HISTORY OF LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

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

The gay genie me right out of s ltle pk bottle and to the streets (and the media…and polics…and the arts…). For example, the US, the Court of Appeal led that there was no ‘fundamental right’ to be gay.

In the UK, the Thatcher ernment created Sectn 28 of the Lol Government Act, makg illegal for lol thori to support anythg that might promote homosexual relatnships as a viable alternative to heterosexual ‘fay life’. In 1986 Pope John Pl II labelled “evil” and orred the Church to whdraw all support om gay Catholic anisatns. And even the US Army, who had clared homosexualy to be “patible wh ary service” 1982, were forced to adm 1989 that gay recs were “jt as good or better” than heterosexuals.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

There was no discsn of homosexualy school… not even our year long “Health and Sexualy” class, even though we were the middle of the AIDS crisis. There was no acknowledgement that Alexanr the Great, Leonardo da Vci, and Michelangelo, were among the many posive gay historil role mols. On TV each night, there were no gay characters except for the ocsnal flamboyant game show regular on Hollywood Squar.

TV ss were even worse, wh the “we’re straight guys playg gay” characters sashayg across the screen. It was okay to make fun and lgh at their yet, the 80’s no one talked about actually beg gay. One was picked on relentlsly for his “gay-soundg” voice, lack of sports abili, and unwillgns to stand up to his bulli.

Another was a Greek God of virily that ed his powers of bety and mcle to enchant both the guys and the girls… safely leveragg the nvenient tth that most of his peers wouldn’t be able to associate masculy wh homosexualy.