1981: The first official documentation of the condition to be known as AIDS is published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The L.A. Times reports the first mention of AIDS in the mainstream American press. 1983: Torch Song Trilogy-Harvey Fierstein’s poignant, autobiographical four-hour comedy about … Read More
1610: The Virginia Colony passes the first anti-sodomy law of the American colonial period. 1919: Anders als die Andern (“Different from the Others“), the first pro gay film, premieres in Berlin. Magnus Hirschfeld is a producer and makes a cameo appearance. The movie stars Conrad Veidt. 1953: A Mattachine Foundation circular estimates total membership in the society at … Read More
1979: David Kloss of San Francisco wins the first annual Mr. International Leather title in Chicago. 1988: The first-ever Conference on Homophobia Education convenes in Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the Campaign to End Homophobia and cosponsored by a number of church groups and national gay rights organizations, the symposium is held to work out strategies … Read More
1981: In the midst of Lesbian/Gay Awareness Week, at the University of Florida, a fraternity-circulated petition asserting, “Homosexuals need bullets-not acceptance” draws the signatures of almost fifty people. “We don’t have anything else to do,” says one of the petition’s organizers. “We’re just out here having a good time. I don’t believe in queers.” 1988: … Read More
1976: By a vote of 6 to 3, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of Virginia’s sodomy laws. 1985: The Los Angeles Times comes out in favor of gay rights and urges the U.S. Supreme Court to take a stand on more gay-related issues. 1988: Georgetown University, the nation’s oldest Roman Catholic university, loses … Read More
1985: The Times of Harvey Milk wins the Oscar for Best Feature Length Documentary. Accepting the award, producer Richard Schmeichen thanks his male lover. 1988: Robert Joffrey, founder and artistic director of the Joffrey Ballet, dies in New York City at the age of fifty-seven, of what is reported to have been “liver, renal, and respiratory … Read More
1988: Israel legalizes homosexual acts between consenting adults.
1967: CBS airs “The Homosexuals”, an episode of CBS Reports. This first-ever national television broadcast on the subject of homosexuality has been described as “the single most destructive hour of antigay propaganda in our nation’s history.” 1972: East Lansing, Michigan becomes the first U.S. City to ban discrimination in city hiring on the basis of sexual … Read More
1984: In Sydney, Australia, Elton John marries recording tech Renate Blauel. Close friends claim he has found “a cover, not a lover.” 1988: Three lesbian guests on The Oprah Winfrey Show are introduced as “women who hate men.”
1980: French film La Cage aux Folles ends its nineteen month run at New York City’s 68th Street Playhouse. 1988: The film adaptation of Harvey Fierstein‘s Torch Song Trilogy opens in New York City.