'Cabaret' Anniversary: Joel Grey And Michael York Rell Movie's Gay, Genr-Bendg Content | HuffPost Voic

Contents:

• 'CABARET' ANNIVERSARY: JOEL GREY AND MICHAEL YORK RELL MOVIE'S GAY, GENR-BENDG CONTENT
• RENNTRE GRATUE GAY ALGéRIE
• BEG GAY ALGERIA
• INIC MIDWT GAY BAR CLOS ITS DOORS AFTER 36 YEARS
• BEST CLUB MOSWBARSDANCE CLUBSSNASCISE CLUBSSERVICCY GUIGAY MAPRSIA INXSHOW MOREBEST CLUB MOSW
• 'CABARET' ANNIVERSARY: JOEL GREY AND MICHAEL YORK RELL MOVIE'S GAY, GENR-BENDG CONTENT

'CABARET' ANNIVERSARY: JOEL GREY AND MICHAEL YORK RELL MOVIE'S GAY, GENR-BENDG CONTENT

Whisnant:As early as the turn of the century, Berl's gay scene was attractg such notoriety that equently was mentned tourist lerature, liftg up the cy's gay scene as proof of the evils of urban life and the dangers of morny; them, Berl beme the untry's Sodom and Gomorrah put together, a sure sign of the land's the stag of Berl, the Tiller Girls showed off their legs, dancg a Rockett-style performance that amazed and tillated spectators. For the general public, this world was bewilrg--and que possibly Germany's gay men and lbians, though, Berl reprented promise.

Its gay scen offered excg plac to hunt for love and happs. "Diverse, but DividMagn Hirschfeld, a Jewish German physician, sexologist and pneerg gay rights advote, was well acquated wh Berl's scene and mented on the diversy among the bars. Bis the Mother Cat, Nacke vised several other bars that were gatherg plac for gay men om the workg class and lower middle class.

"In many of the rtrants, effemate homosexuals felt relaxed enough to "give ee re to their feme nature. By far the most famo was the Eldorado a nightclub whose ftive atmosphere attracted not only homosexuals but also artists, thors, celebri, and tourists wantg to admire a piece of "nt" Berl or tch a glimpse of someone Lbian Club SceneLbians uld also be found some of the bars that were voted mostly to gay men [and were] often seen the larger clubs of the 1920s, such as the Topp and the Eldorado.

RENNTRE GRATUE GAY ALGéRIE

The Dorian Gray, one of the olst and bt-known gay clubs by the Weimar era, had a special night set asi for the turn of the century, there were also a handful of exclively lbian bars the cy. The atmosphere was generally refed; the lightg was soft and sentimental mic played the of the most famo was Chez Ma Belle Sor on Marburger Strasse, rated Greek-style and furnished wh private booths, where upl uld take refuge behd the gay bars, many of the lbian bars were segregated somewhat by class. "Gay and Lbian BallsBerl's var homosexual tablishments beme famo for the elaborate gay balls that they would throw on regular ocsns.

BEG GAY ALGERIA

One French observer of the cy around the turn of the century noted that gay balls were held often several tim a week different clubs durg the ftive season between October and Easter.

INIC MIDWT GAY BAR CLOS ITS DOORS AFTER 36 YEARS

Lbians sometim uld be found at the male gay balls, and lbian bars held their own balls. They would s down to eat at tabl led wh flowers; the director, drsed a "gay velvet jacket, " would greet the guts and give a short dner, the tabl would be put away, and the orchtra would beg playg waltz and other lively dancg mic while the upl would dance through the night.

" *Excerpt om the chapter "The Growth of Urban Gay Scen, Berl's Gay and Lbian Bars, " om Queer Inti and Polics Germany: A History, 1880-1945, by Clayton J. His first book was Male Homosexualy Wt Germany, 1945-1969: Between Persecutn and Freedom. At the time of s 1972 release, “Cabaret” shattered the sacchare reputatn of the movie mil wh s edgy take on anti-Semism, Nazism, abortn and even reprsed homosexualy.

BEST CLUB MOSWBARSDANCE CLUBSSNASCISE CLUBSSERVICCY GUIGAY MAPRSIA INXSHOW MOREBEST CLUB MOSW

'”Potg to the fact that both the stage and film versns of “Cabaret” ed gay thor Christopher Isherwood’s 1945 book Goodbye To Berl as their origal source material, York add, “The whole reason, of urse, that Isherwood was Berl was for the sex, which was pretty available … our job [as actors] is terpret life every aspect, so no, didn’t occur to me, ankly. “For years afterward, I had every script volvg a reprsed English homosexual teacher, ” he said wh a lgh. ’ The peculiar habs of sgers are part of the folklore of Algeria’s barets, rai mic venu wh a reputatn for alhol, prostutn and homosexualy that are tolerated as long as they rema on the margs of pole society.

Algerians know homosexualy exists, but tend to avoid the subject and feel gay people should keep to themselv. Homosexualy, when mentned at all, is prented as an illns that requir treatment by a psychiatrist, or the terventn of an imam.

Some acce the Wt of seekg to export a ‘gay inty’ that don’t exist Algeria; this may enurage homophobic behavur by the thori and nservative elements of society (1) Last July, some Arabic media plaed when the Brish embassy Algiers raised an LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual and trans) flag support of the Pri London para. Until the 1990s, Algerians rarely mentned homosexualy, pecially the prence of adolcents. Most gay men I terviewed said they had felt alone durg their teens.

'CABARET' ANNIVERSARY: JOEL GREY AND MICHAEL YORK RELL MOVIE'S GAY, GENR-BENDG CONTENT

Slimane scribed why he had felt alone durg his teens: ‘I didn’t know any other homosexuals, so I thought I was the only one, and that was sry.

‘The language is homophobic’. Acrdg to Mariem Guellouz, a doctor of lguistics, ‘every word for homosexualy Arabic has negative nnotatns, other words the language self is systemilly hurtful and discrimatory. The language is not jt a sign of homophobia; ’s homophobic self’ (2).

A homosexual may be given a girl’s name as a nickname, or sulted as ‘a man who giv’ (’attay). It’s very different for those born after the civil war (1992-2000); they are on new media all the time, and the offer a view of homosexualy that is not guilt-ducg, and posive role mols. Am, a universy stunt, joked, ‘The character Mar, Degrassi [a Canadian drama seri that als wh the teenage problems and issu a realistic way], changed my life: I realised that beg gay was a thg.