I’m just going to go out on a limb here and say that summer must be the gayest time of the year. It’s when people gather in cities around the world to partake in some gay Pride Festivities. With the seasons events inevitably comes the “why do you have gay pride?” and “isn’t it just an excuse to have a party and flaunt sexuality?” questions. Ugh, these are right up there with the “so which one of you is the girl?” questions, and I would inevitably blow up. Once I realized that my knee-jerk reaction to such questions wasn’t helping anyone, I decided to take it upon myself to do some book learnin’, so that I could better form an explanation. Once I found what I was looking for, I realized that instead of being irritated, it was actually a great opportunity for me to pontificate a little about how awesome our community is. And let’s face it, I loves me some pontification. So, Bring It!
Picture it, Greenwich Village, New York, 1969 (if you can guess which 80’s TV character I’m referencing here, you are so geeky, and I approve!). A time and place where more laws existed to arrest gays than to protect them, dressing in drag was illegal, having even one known ‘homosexual’ in a bar made it disorderly, and routine raids of known gay bars was considered second nature both for the police and the patrons. One by one gays were rounded up, and hauled away in paddy wagons, given records, and often had their names and address printed in the papers. Oh, and of course, these little gems were floating around:
That’s right peep’s, “a sickness that was not visible like small pox, but not less dangerous and contagious, a sickness of the mind. You see Ralph was a homosexual. A person who demands intimate relationships with members of their own sex.” No words.
Let’s not forget that a ‘cure’ for homosexually was widely sought after, and included, but was not limited to:
sterilization,
castration,
attaching electrodes to the gentiles and then administering a heavy shock while showing the patient homosexual images, and
