Vintage Thursday

The following article was published in Key (v.2#4), a Denver progressive magazine of the late 60's and 70's.
November1972

GAY LIBERATION:

just a kiss away

Jack Manno



Driving back from Denver last month -- we had gone there to talk to a class about Gay Liberation -- the three of us suddenly realized that the experience we had just been through had been one of the most liberating of our lives. By talking to a predominantly straight* class we had not only cleared up a few myths about gay men and women, we had also drawn closer to each other in a sense of gay community -- one of the main goals of Gay Liberation. Essentially gay community means that gay men and women unite as brothers and sisters to give each other "shelter" in a society which regards them as pathetically sick neurotics or as unapprehended felons. Gay lib organizations help to eradicate the painful and anxiety-producing split in a gay individual's life, providing an alternative to the straight-oriented community which finds our life-style repulsive. For example, Gay Lib encourages us to re-evaluate our friendships ("Will they still be my friends when they find out about me? "); examine the oppressive gender roles which our culture instills in us (Men don't cry or kiss each other/Women are never aggressive"), and helps to develop a sense of pride in our gayness.



Much has been said and written about both gay power and gay pride and it seems appropriate here to discuss the growth of gay pride and its result for the gay community -- gay power. Gay pride is the result of a long process which begins with "coming out." Often the most agonizing stage of all, coming out involves the admission to oneself that he or she is a homosexual. Fear of ostracism from one's peer group, alienation from straight society, and antiquated religious beliefs often prove to be tremendous hurdles for gay men and women. Before Gay Lib, homosexuals would run to the twentieth-century witch doctor -- the psychiatrist. Treatment would aim at the "reform" of the homosexual, with a view' to making him a fit member of straight society. Some shrinks resorted to the quaint technique of electro-shock therapy on gays to induce socially acceptable sexual responses in them. Now, however, Gay Lib groups everywhere are provid-ing positive reinforcement to the new gay sister or brother by emphasizing the individual worth of the homosexual and his potential as a valuable member of the community. Boulder G.L.F. provides a counselling and counselling referral service for anyone who wants it. Since there is now a homosexual community for gays to identify with, there is no longer any need for the feeling of alienation and loneliness which was previously the burden of all gay women and men.



Having "come out" and abandoned the absurd gender roles of straight society, gay people begin to not only take pride in their love but also begin to feel anger at the system which oppresses them in several ways. The obvious forms of oppression are the discriminatory statutes which not only deny our civil rights in the fields of housing and employment but also prohibit sexual contact between member of the same sex -- in fact, in some southern states the penalty for such contact is life imprisonment or indeterminate sentences to state mental facilities. The far more insidious methods of oppression are things like the contemptuous attitudes of straights, often -expressed in such heartless ways as unprovoked harassment, brutal assaults on gay women and men and the jokes and limp wrist caricatures aimed at gay men. Recently the Boulder chapter of Phi Delta Theta fraternity demanded as a pledge assignment from an anxious young man to obtain the signatures of the executive committee members of G.L.F. on his jock strap. Surprisingly enough the pledge had the audacity and ignorance to attempt to fulfill the assignment. Gays are just beginning to realize the pervasiveness of myths and stereotypes which represent some basic fears and anxieties on the part of the straight community. One of the goals of the Gay Lib movement is the eradication of the following myths:



1) "Homosexuals are sick or unnatural." It might be said, from a reproductive point of view, all sexual acts (including fellatio, masturbation, and anal intercourse) except vaginal penetration by the male are "unnatural." It should be fairly obvious that many straights engage in these activities -- and with good reason. Human beings seem to be the only creatures who use sex for non-reproductive purposes, such as mutual pleasure and sharing of tenderness. Gay men and women use sex for the same reasons and therefore can be considered no sicker than their straight counterparts. Evelyn Hooker administered a battery of psychological tests to both homosexual and heterosexual men. She discovered that her colleagues were unable to identity any of the subjects as either gay or straight, based on the test responses.

2) "Homosexuals molest small children or commit violent sex crimes and are therefore unfit to be teachers or counselors." This is perhaps the most vicious and unwarranted attack on gays, as well as the more tiresome myth of all. By far the overwhelming majority of violent sex crimes are committed by straight men on women and young girls. In fact, a group studying violent sex crimes found it unnecessary to even create a category for homosexuals; that is, the incidence of violent sex crimes committed by gays is statistically insignificant. It has been found that even violent sexual assaults in prisons are perpetrated by sexually frustrated straight men who simply substitute younger and weaker convicts for the women whom they had brutalized when they were outside of prison. Further, no one has yet adequately explained why gay teachers should be seen as posing more of a sexual threat to their students than straight teachers do. Contrary to popular belief, most gay men do not lust after young boys, and those that do are far outnumbered by the straight men who molest young girls with disturbing regularity.



3) "Gay men hate women and gay women hate men." People do not become gay because of negative feelings toward the opposite sex, but rather because of positive feelings toward members of the same sex. Being gay provides a precious opportunity for men and women to abandon the sexual roles dictated by society and to approach each other as sisters and brothers. Thus, all oppression of women (whether gay or straight) is an offense against the gay community be-cause it issues from the same sexist source which would destroy gays or render them helpless to determine their own sexual and emotional destiny. It is, therefore, not surprising to find that the greatest allies that the Gay Lib groups have are women's groups, since many women -- heterosexual and homosexual alike, are discovering that gay men do not see them as sexual objects but rather as equals united in the struggle to smash sexism.

Gay Pride then is simply the joy we feel in the knowledge that our form of sexuality is an expression of our tenderness for each other. Gay Power is our determination to convert our pride in each other into social and political action aimed at our liberation.

The Radicalesbians, a group of gay activists women, have made an important distinction between sexuality and sensuality which may help to explain the opportunity which gay men and women have to overthrow the traditional gender roles assigned by society to men and women. Sexuality is orgasm-oriented and is typical in the frightening need of straight men to prove their masculinity by "performing" in a sexual situation. It becomes a matter of great shame and anxiety when a straight man cannot achieve an erection or an orgasm. Thus, instead of passing a few hours pleasantly in a sexual encounter, straight men must become part of a tense encounter which has "shameful" potential if he or his partner does not achieve orgasm. The obsession of men with the female orgasm is typical of this pattern -- while such concern may be motivated by a sincere interest in his partner's pleasure, more often than not it is merely a sexual trophy. The sick fascination of straight men with gay women is another aspect of the sexist mentality. Straight men refuse to believe that gay women are happy with each other, and often think that a good sexual experience with a man will "cure" everything. The obvious implication here is that women are made to be sexual tools of men and gay women show that attitude for the consummate nonsense that it really is.

Sensuality on the other hand, is not primarily oriented towards orgasm but rather to the sharing of pleasure in each other's bodies. Two gay women or two gay men have the option to ignore the master/slave behavior pattern which is imposed on straights by cultural conditioning. Essentially what I am saying is that oppressive gender roles make it difficult for a man and a woman to approach each other as sexual equals committed to mutual warmth and tenderness, without the false masculinitv concept suffering as a result of such affection and regard.



Gay Liberation helps gay women and men to provide themselves with new models to replace the sexual game structures which they have rejected. Awareness of each other's emotional and sexual needs is the foundation for the sense of gay community from which we draw the strength to fight for the liberation of all gays.