Kurt Coba's 1993 Advote Cover Story: 'I'm Gay Spir'

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'
• KURT COBA ON INTY“I EVEN THOUGHT THAT I WAS GAY. I THOUGHT THAT MIGHT BE THE SOLUTN TO MY PROBLEM.”MORE EPISOSRAY BRADBURY ON MADMEN
• THE REASON KURT COBA PRETEND TO BE GAY FOR YEARS
• KURT COBA: «JE PENSAIS QUE J’éTAIS GAY»

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.

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

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.

KURT COBA ON INTY“I EVEN THOUGHT THAT I WAS GAY. I THOUGHT THAT MIGHT BE THE SOLUTN TO MY PROBLEM.”MORE EPISOSRAY BRADBURY ON MADMEN

” 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.

THE REASON KURT COBA PRETEND TO BE GAY FOR YEARS

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. ’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.

KURT COBA: «JE PENSAIS QUE J’éTAIS GAY»

The publitn had characterized gay people as sad and pathetic, but I still volunteered at a bake sale to raise money for . 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.

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.