view
For Activists, Gay Gets Complicated By Steve Bolerjack
You found the conviction (and some testosterone or estrogen, as the case may be) to come out, already. (Again, I stress the good fortune involved here: if you did all this and somehow avoided estrangement, banishment, substance abuse, exploitation, depression or suicidal contemplation, you were indeed lucky or maybe just stronger than you thought.)
For those of us in a certain age bracket, it used to be fairly straightforward (if you were lucky): you survived the silent anxiety of your confused adolescent sexuality, fumbled around experimenting here and there, worried, maybe found some kindred spirits at college or anyplace away from home, worried some more, furtively educated yourself, learned about Stonewall, finally had a meaningful same-sex experience and gained a little confidence. You realized that gay people are indeed part of society and deserve the same rights as everyone else. There’s nothing wrong with you after all!
36 theStandardps.com
If you were especially assertive, passionate or really liked to talk, activism probably appealed to you. From there it was a clear path. Gay liberation movements and pride parades were active on both coasts in the 1970s and it was immensely satisfying to march and dance and shout with newfound colleagues, even if it tended toward stuff like “we’re here, we’re queer” and “hey, hey, ho, ho, homophobia’s got to go.” Early gay rights efforts could certainly have used some better writers but the message was simple: “it’s perfectly alright to be gay, we’re just as good as you so stop persecuting us about it.” Well, there is obviously still a need for even that plain message to be constantly reiterated. But it’s now only one of many. “Gay liberation” has evolved from simple, heart-felt and probably