Over the last couple of weeks we’ve posted SuchIsLife’s videos compiling vintage news footage chronicling the gay rights struggle in the 1970s and 1980s, and now come ones for the 1990s and 2000s.
It’s a fascinating journey and comparing how the new looked at gay people in the 1970s (where we were pretty much presented like aliens) to the increasing acceptance growing through the 1990s and 2000s is very illuminating. It’s also interesting how by the 90s and 00s gay people were getting better at telling their own stories, whereas in the previous decades we were viewed solely through the media eyes of straight people.
However it’s not all good news, with clips dealing with things such as outing celebrities against their will as well as the emergence of the highly unsatisfactory ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ policy in the US military. It’s also in the 90s where the real mainstream ‘culture wars’ over gay rights emerged, with numerous laws and court cases both advancing and preventing gay rights.
While there’s still certainly division in the 2000s, the clips suggest a forward momentum has been reached in a way that’s never been seen before.
It’s well worth watching all four videos as it’s a fascinating journey full of great footage. So take a look at the vids from the 1970s and 1980s, and then watch the 90s and 2000s below.
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