GREY MATTERS: In Praise of Gay Newspapers
Image: Source: New York Public Library
Is it a stretch to say gay newspapers were a mini forerunner to today’s internet? Check these similarities…
News
Old editions are time capsules with headlines telling big stories – legislations, protest marches, AIDS vigils, deaths at beats, the first same-sex marriages, and Mardi Gras parades. The articles informed us of new AIDS medicines, safe shops displaying rainbow flag stickers, political friends and foes, travel spots, affinity groups, dangerous beats, pop culture, gay writers, and advocacy groups – subjects unsympathetically reported in the mainstream press, if at all.
Dating
How many of us remember sending off stamped self-addressed envelopes to a Star Observer or Brother Sister mailbox hoping a nice man would reply offering to meet for drinks, and possibly for sex?
Crowdfunding
Gay businesses and governments were the lifeline of gay newspapers. Without them, there would have been little income and few papers. Those businesses knew their advertisements worked; beer busts, drag events and charity auctions all brought in the crowds. The Government’s full-page health ads hit their diverse target audience at economic dollar rates in a win/win situation.
Blogging
Gay newspaper editors were fearless publishers. For 20+ years, I promoted Melbourne Wankers with display ads that left little to the imagination… Never once was I asked to “tone down” the subject matter. Above all, our gay publishers always understood the importance of disseminating gay-related information – both good and bad – to the widest possible community.
Social Media and Celebrity
Then there’s the minutiae of gay life. The classifieds told us what we needed to know about food, drink, dance and sex venues, as well as gay-friendly home services and shops. In the years before phone cameras, Scene Photos gave local celebrity status to whoever was photographed.
Gay newspapers helped galvanize us as a viable, visible community force for change. Without the comprehensive, universal knowledge the gay press shared, little would have been achieved in making gay-positive changes possible. They provided that vital information for us, for free!
