1973: Twenty year old French actress and star of the The Last Tango in Paris, Maria Schneider, admits to the New York Times that she is bisexual, stating “I’ve had quite a few lovers for my age. More men than women . . . women I love more for beauty than for sex. Men I … Read More
1978: Tom of Finland has his first U.S. exhibit at Robert Opel’s Fey Way Gallery in San Francisco. 1979: A gang of teenage boys stands outside Tennessee Williams’s home in Key West, Florida, and begins throwing beer cans and firecrackers at the house while chanting “Come on out, faggot!” The incident is just the latest … Read More
1975: The American Association for the Advancement of Science passes a resolution deploring discrimination “in any form” against gay men and lesbians. 1977: Washington, D.C.’s Human Rights Commission fines the Grand Central, a local gay bar, over $6,000 for discrimination against women and African-Americans.
1977: Thelma Houston’s Don’t Leave Me This Way begins its 17-week top 40 run. It goes on to become a perennial gay anthem. 1991: Minnesota governor Arne Carlson issues an executive order banning sexual orientation discrimination in the public sector.
1985: People Magazine begins picking its annual “Sexiest Man Alive”
1972: The NYC Council vetoes a proposed gay rights ordinance that would have prohibited discrimination against gay men and lesbians in employment, housing and public accommodations.
1971: Look magazine includes a gay couple from Minnesota – Jack Baker and Mike McConnell as part of that week’s cover article on “The American Family”. Baker and McConnell are also noteworthy as they are the first same-sex couple in the U.S. to be granted a marriage license.
2005: Alameda County, California’s Board of Supervisors votes 4–0 to prohibit discrimination in public-sector employment, services and facilities based on gender identity.
1975: Norman Lear’s TV adaptation of Lanford Wilson’s “Hot l Baltimore” premieres on ABC. Though it features a diverse cast of characters, including two gay men and a latent lesbian, it lasts only five months. 1983: Noted gay director George Cukor dies at age 83 in Los Angeles.
1978: NYC Mayor Ed Koch issues Executive Order 50 which forbid discrimination against gay men and lesbians in municipal government.