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Young & Gay...
Today
What's it like to be young and gay in
1985? When Boy George and "The Times
of Harvey Milk" receive nationally
televised awards and the president of our
country allies himself with fundamen
talist religious groups that call us evil and
vile. When the "in" look is "GQ" and
Tom Selleck rather than Carmen Miran
da or Marilyn Monroe. When we wear
colorful t-shirts that openly trumpet Our
sexual acrobatics and wonder if our next
trick will be the one that gives us AIDS.
I spoke to twelve young lesbians and
gay men about these subjects and more.
They were, as a group, polite, articulate,
attractive, easy to find, and willing to talk
about how they think and feel. They are
busy developing careers in design, nur
sing, cosmetology, music, languages,
psychology and that ubiquitous gay
institution—waiting tables. They are all
pursuing something better—whether
through work or school—but that pur
suit, like their lives isn't always easy.
Allah is lonely; he doesn't feel it's safe to
be out at school and he is too young to go
to bars to make gay friends. Spencer is in
high school and out; he'd love to be able
to ask the captain of the football team to
dance with him at a school function, but
he can't. Mike left lots of friends when he
moved; now he is having trouble finding
other people like him. I heard "other gay
people my age just aren't like me" from
everyone.
How do they feel about being gay;
what does it mean? Most agree it means
that they love and want to be with so
meone of the same sex. But, there's
more: Mike wants people to know, "That
being gay doesn't mean I hate women., .1
just like men more." .
Monroe says 'It shouldn't be such a big
deal, but it turns out that it is." Johnny
thinks "Being gay means that you're uni
que in a crowd." To Susan it represents,
. a traumatic upheaval of accepted ways
of being and thinking," a very positive
aspect of her life. John muses, "It's only
see themselves getting the support that
they need in that way.
Speaking of bars, what about drug and
alcohol-usage? Spencer, who gets high
on just one drink, says, "Drugs are ter
minal stupidity...only worse." John gets
stoned every day. Gregg is "on the verge
of alcoholism" and uses "dope whenever
possible." Everyone says they use alcohol
or drugs less now than they did a week,
a month, or six months ago. Their will-
What's it like to be young and gay in 1985...when we wear col
orful t-shirts that trumpet our sexual acrobatics and wonder
if our next trick will be the one that gives us AIDS?
important if the relationship is sexual."
More than half are aware of a sense of
community and camraderie from being
gay that their straight friends just don't
have. They aren't necessarily pleased
with that community, but they still sense
its presence. Three men seemed actively
headed towards making their communi
ty around the bars. The rest, even
though they may go to bars, just don't
ingness to acknowledge these problems
was heartening, but the space between
acknowledgement and action in a pro
blem that affects one-third of the gay
population in this country can be a big
one. Those with the worst alcohol and
drug problems—surprise, surprise—
those whose parents had these
problems.
May 9,1985 Vol. 1, No. 32
FLASH!
The Atlanta Gay Center
has found a. new home after
a three month search.
The Center 1 s new address.
is 63 12th St. NE, which is
located between Crescent, and
Columbia on 12t.h..
The move will, be finish^.-
ed by April: 29 and. the
clinic will be at the new
location beginning April 30.
The new mailing- address
is Atlanta Gay Center,
63 12th St. NE, Atlanta,
GA 30309.
■ The phone numbers, for
the Center and the Helpline
should- stay, the same..
HELPLINE
(404)892-0661
6 p.m. -11 p.m.
7 Days a Week
The Issue is
Being Young & Gay
Is youth really wasted on the young?
What would it be like to be 18 again and
"know everything we know now"? Mary
gay people have painful memories of
their high school and college years, yet
many of us look with envy on people
now in those years of their lives. In this
. issue and the next issue we will look at
how some young gay people are feeling,
how they are portrayed in literature, one
of the ways they meet, gay college
groups and role models.
Also in this issue is some new infor
mation or at least some ways of thinking,
about AIDS—a subject that certainly
makes none of us feel young. Franklin
Abbott's comment in one Of these articles
that, especially now, we need to do
things we need to be involved in ac
tivities that bring us together rather than
seperate us seems especially timely.
THE NEWS has been around for six
months now. We're proud of what we
have done and excited about what the
future holds for THE NEWS and the gay
community in Atlanta. We're planning a
party to celebrate the publication of issue
#13 dn Thursday, May 23rd; look for the
ad in this issue for more details. Please
come to our party so that we can meet;
we want to know what you are thinking
and where you want us to be going. En
joy THE NEWS.
Preserving Civil Rights
The disintegration of gay rights under ex
treme political and economic conser
vatism (Nazism) has been described in
detail in a related previous article. Like
the Jews, we must examine both the past
and its correspondence with the present
to challenge our own worst enemy — gay
complacency, — and to see and correct
gay rights violations and; abuses before
any irreversible damage is done.
Between 1897 and 1929, German gays
experienced a period of liberation like
that of this country between 1969 and
1977. Gay organizations flourished,
sodomy repeal legislation was sought,
and some open homosexuals achieved
political power (Ernst Rohm and many of
his storm-troopers). Others found pro
tection in their cultural contributions to
the new Reich. Gay men especially were
lulled into an apolitical, ghettoized, and
false security. Homophobic backlash was
inevitable.-
The Nazis denounced homosexuality
in 1928 and sodomy law repeals were
shelved after 1929. U.S. backlash has
been symbolized by Anita Bryant's
crusades (1977) and by Harvey Milk's
assassination (1978). Despite Democratic
Party assurances and commitments to
gays in 1980 and 1984, Republican vic
tories have assured fundamentalist, anti
gay values (represented by Jerry Ealwell)
a powerful sway. In Germany the
political right (Nazis) closed gay move
ment organizations and publicly burned
gay publications (1933). Here in Atlanta,
gay bookshop proprietor Gene Coring
An Historical Perspective
was arrested on putative pornography
charges, and the courts upheld Southern
Bell's refusal to advertise the store's
materials for gays (1984). While books
may not have been burned, their access
has been seriously curtailed, and our
"conspiracy of silence" during this ordeal
is as tragic as that of Germany's
neighbors in the 1930's.
German gay liberation ended when
homosexuality was effectively linked to a
political threat. ERnst Rohm and com
patriots were shot (1934) and unrepealed
sodomy laws were strengthened and en
forced (1935). Arrests jumped 400 per
cent. The outbreak of AIDS has made
American gay not just a moral threat to
the religious right, but a health threat to
those who cannot be dissuaded of their
homophobia. A conservative national
administration has hindered adequate
AIDS research funding; while conser
vative local powers have begun using
unrepealed sodomy laws to curtail gay
freedoms, right here in Atlanta.
Rather than examining health and con
stitutional issues, city representatives
(the vice squad) have arrested a dozen
men for acts of sodomy in the baths,
felony charges carrying a maximum
penalty of twenty years imprisonment.
Others have been arrested outside gay
bars for "solicitation for sodomy" by in
viting someone home for sex. Finally,
two male lovers were arrested in the
privacy of their bedroom, again on
sodomy charges. While these latter
