Washgton, D.C.'s hidn gay history is unvered 'Secret Cy'

Contents:

• HIDN PLA SIGHT: HOW GAY ARTISTS EXPRSED FORBIDN SIRE
• IS MY HBAND GAY? SIGNS OF A GAY HBAND
• WASHGTON, D.C.'S HIDN GAY HISTORY IS UNVERED 'SECRET CY'
• THE FOTTEN SECRET LANGUAGE OF GAY MEN

HIDN PLA SIGHT: HOW GAY ARTISTS EXPRSED FORBIDN SIRE

Known gay men like Osr Wil (who was later imprisoned bee of his sexualy) married women for social pretense, and psychiatrists offered dangero nversn therapi to those sperate to alter their orientatn. Gay artists (as well as artists believed to be gay) often explored homosexualy amic guis, such as through Greek mythology.

1869) for example, hted at the sexual relatns between olr mentors and young men Ancient Greece, wh the sexual subtext of an terracial gay uple. Props like peack feathers and dyed green rnatns were worn on jacket lapels, athetic signifiers that allowed gay men to intify themselv – and each other – whout beg ught.

IS MY HBAND GAY? SIGNS OF A GAY HBAND

As a gay man himself, Warhol was offerg a space for queer dienc wh the homophobic language of mastream Ameri. His work manipulat spac tradnally associated wh heterosexualy, like locker rooms, wh a queer athetic, ntug Warhol’s tradn of transformg the everyday to artistic s of gay male sire. As gay people mt ci on a daily basis whether to reveal and to whom they will reveal, g out is a procs that never the jargon of ntemporary homosexual culture, those who hi their sexual inti are referred to as eher closeted or said to be the closet.

Homosexual IntiIn the velopmental histori of gay men and women, perds of difficulty acknowledgg their homosexualy, eher to themselv or to others, are often reported. On the ntrary, begng childhood--and distguishg them om racial and ethnic mori--gay people are often subjected to the antihomosexual attus of their own fai and muni (Drcher et al., 2004).

WASHGTON, D.C.'S HIDN GAY HISTORY IS UNVERED 'SECRET CY'

Antihomosexual attus clu homophobia (Weberg, 1972), heterosexism (Herek, 1984), moral nmnatns of homosexualy (Drcher, 1998) and antigay vlence (Herek and Berrill, 1992).

Hidg activi learned childhood often persist to young adulthood, middle age and even sencence, leadg many gay people to nceal important aspects of themselv. Closeted dividuals equently nnot acknowledge to themselv, let alone to others, their homoerotic feelgs, attractns and fantasi.

Their homosexualy is so unacceptable that mt be kept out of nsc awarens and nnot be tegrated to their public persona. Consequently, the feelgs mt be dissociated om the self and hidn om and when same-sex feelgs and attractns n no longer be kept out of nscns, the dividual be homosexually self-aware.

THE FOTTEN SECRET LANGUAGE OF GAY MEN

While homosexually self-aware people might nsir acceptg and tegratg the feelgs to their public persona, acceptance is not a pre-termed oute.

For example, a relig, homosexually self-aware man may choose a celibate life to avoid what, for him, would be the problematic tegratn of his relig and sexual inti. Individuals who are eher nscly prepared to act on their homoerotic feelgs or to reveal a homosexual inty to others ually fe themselv as gay or lbian. Others may e out to people they have met the gay muny while keepg their gay inty separate om the rt of their liv.

The people have experienced homosexual self-awarens, may have acted on their feelgs, and may have even once intified as gay or lbian. While regnizg their homosexual feelgs, the dividuals reject the feelgs and, spe the low odds of succs, may even seek to change their sexual orientatn (Shidlo et al., 2001) above classifitn of homosexual inti privileg the role of self-fn. Consequently, when dividuals bee homosexually self-aware, there is a wi range of psychosocially nstcted attus and rpons they may velop toward their own homosexualy.