Gay Bars, Genr Discrimatn, and Boytts—1980s Style - Ambh Magaze

Contents:

• HOW GAY BARS HAVE BEEN A BUILDG BLOCK OF THE LGBTQ COMMUNY
• SAN DIEGO’S GAY BAR HISTORY: REFLECTNS ON COMMUNY HISTORY AND THE DOCUMENTARY FILM PROCS
• THE GAY WAY: HISTORY OF LBIAN BARS SOUTHEAST WASHGTON, D.C.
• GAY BARS, GENR DISCRIMATN, AND BOYTTS—1980S STYLE

HOW GAY BARS HAVE BEEN A BUILDG BLOCK OF THE LGBTQ COMMUNY

Insi The Monster, a gay bar around the rner om Stonewall, where the event played out on vio screens, was difficult to hear for a different reason. Jt one of a strg of gay bars the immediate neighborhood, The Monster was the midst of a normal Monday. But the muny and mararie ma the bar’s buzz of activy special, and (thankfully) ordary: Space to socialize and celebrate at a gay bar 2016 isn’t hard to fd.

SAN DIEGO’S GAY BAR HISTORY: REFLECTNS ON COMMUNY HISTORY AND THE DOCUMENTARY FILM PROCS

Dpe the massive stris the lbian, gay, transgenr, bisexual, and queer muni have ma the last few s, the shockg horror of the weekend’s shootgs ma clear the ntued relevance and importance of the bars and nightclubs. While the protts and march at The Stonewall Inn turned the bar to a symbolic headquarters for the Gay Pri movement, gay nightlife has always served as val space for muny buildg and pg societal persecutn. The people behd the plac have sparked polil activism (Joe Scialo, the late former owner of The Monster, supported employe the ‘80s fightg AIDS and even traveled to Mexi to brg back life-savg dgs) and have fostered mic and creative exprsn for s (gay clubs such as the Warehoe Chigo and Paradise Garage New York gave birth to hoe and var stras of electronic mic).

The worldwi ralli honorg the Orlando victims, often at plac siar to where their liv were cut short, unrsr the importance of gay nightlife over the last half century. Jt a ltle more than 60 years ago, famo police raids Miami attempted to shut down the cy’s gay nightlife, rultg newspaper headl such as "Perverts Seized Bar Raids, " "Crackdown on Deviant Nts Urged, " and "Great Civilizatns Plagued by Deviat. The notor "Purple Pamphlets" dissemated by state Senator Charley Johns, who had led wch hunts agast gays state ernment and led vtigative mte that fired hundreds of gay schoolteachers, portrayed the culture as viant and dangero.

THE GAY WAY: HISTORY OF LBIAN BARS SOUTHEAST WASHGTON, D.C.

A man holdg an Amerin flag stands outsi Ramrod, a gay leather bar on Christopher and Wt 10th Streets the Wt Village New York, Dec. Like the gay muny, gay nightlife has always been around, "sce time immemorial, " as poet Allen Gsberg would say, one form or another.

But wasn’t until the seismic shift of World War II changed gay culture the Uned Stat that the bars and nightlife of today began to tly take shape. Beg gay was nsired a psychologil malady by mastream society and the medil profsn, and was often treated as such.

While on s own the war didn't create any lastg legal chang the shameful way the untry treated homosexuals, did set motn other lastg social shifts.

GAY BARS, GENR DISCRIMATN, AND BOYTTS—1980S STYLE

The sgle-sex arrangement of ary life, as well as creasg pennce (and enomic advanc) of women workg on the homeont, offered many gay Amerins the abily to ngregate greater numbers for the first time.

The release of the Ksey Reports (1948’s Sexual Behavr the Human Male and 1953’s Sexual Behavr the Human Female) rerced the then-new notn that beg gay was perfectly normal. While this risg awarens helped create new gay rights anizatns, such as the Mattache Society and the Dghters of Bilis, was quickly untered wh a nservative backlash of nformy and Communist paranoia, exemplified by Senator Joseph McCarthy. His vtigatns, part of an anti-gay wch hunt the feral ernment lled the Lavenr Sre, would persecute leftists for years, and along wh sual bigotry and wispread amement over terms such as ‘pixie, ’ would help falsely lk beg gay wh viance and anti-Amerin behavr the popular imagatn.

"Not until the ‘50s and ‘60s did the ernment brg s power to bear on reprsg homosexuals, " wrote Steven Seidman his book Beyond the Closet.