Whatever happened to gay radicalism?

By Chris Bartlett




[these remarks were made at the Fenway-sponsored forum "Whatever Happened to Gay Radicalism" in Boston, May 31.]

Whatever happened to gay radicalism?This question is closely related to a discussion of what is happening to the word 'gay'---- how has almost 40 years of gay liberation led to a place where gay liberation issues are considered largely resolved by our left wing allies, even as our right wing enemies continue to organize against us.

The remarkable successes of our LGBT movement have in some ways removed the charge and excitement from queer politics—perhaps, as my friend Bill Dobbs says, "Gay rights killed the gay movement".

Gay Radicalism is also related to the meaning of the word radical, from the Latin radix, which refers to the root... So radical gay politics get at the root of the problem for gay men, as opposed to providing Band Aids, or short term solutions to symptoms of the root problem.I say this in a city (Boston) that has long been at the forefront of radical gay activism, from the FAG RAG of Charlie Shively (who, I once heard, burned his draft card, a dollar bill, and his Harvard diploma at a gay rally in the early 70s); to one of the first national gay periodicals-- Gay Community News (whose articles explored the connections between homophobia, sexism, racism and class- and, believe it or not, was widely read), to the early youth activism at BAGLY, and sex-positive activism and vision of Michael Bronski, Eric Rofes, Mitzel and other Bostonians who dared to celebrate a gay sexuality that is most creative precisely in the moment of its greatest perversity.

Boston has always been a hotbed. So I want to acknowledge that, though radical activism and thinking seem to be on the wane, there is a great tradition in this City on which to build.So what does it take to build upon the past successes of radical organizing? It's important, for a start, to remember the generational differences. The 1950s saw a preliminary type of gay activism that began to establish gay as an identity worthy of political organizing in America—the Mattachine Society and the Society for Individual Rights claimed a new space for homosexual men and women as citizens worthy of recognition by the law. This was extremely radical and world-changing for its day.

In the 1970s, non-gay movement organizing (including student organizing (SDS), Black activism (Black Panthers), and the movement to end the Vietnam War included gay and lesbian activists. These movements themselves were challenged to take on LGB activism as a serious concern. And post- Stonewall gay organizations like the Gay Liberation Front radically linked gay freedom to a host of other civil rights battles. 1970s and 80s radical activism was also focused on community building, and provided a place for LGB folks to meet, share stories, and organize to bring about change. Though we don't hear about "encounter groups" much anymore, these groups provided a radical forum for gay men to meet, talk, and organize.

AIDS and queer organizing (ACT UP and Queer Nation) became the predominant focus in the late eighties and the nineties, and fought powerfully to keep a right-wing backlash from erasing the gains of the 70s.. And now we find ourselves in the early 21st century with AIDS prevention and care seeming less pressing to many gay men (especially those with the resources to afford good health care and treatments)...

So we come to an interesting question for each of us to answer: What's radical gay activism look like for those of us in this room today? What does your personal history bring to the picture? Are you a seventies guy? An eighties guy? A nineties guy? Or a man of the new century?

Your placement generationally may have little to do with when you were born- it may in fact have more to do with your affiliations: who your friends are, what organizations and neighborhoods you enjoy, and what identities fit best with you.Your own experience and life in gay communities sets the stage for what will seem possible for you and your friends to change and impact.

As an example, though I was born in the sixties, I identify with seventies gay men, who were largely my inspirations. I danced, demonstrated, and flirted with a host of older men and women who had come of age in 70s gay lib radicalism, and they taught me how to think- big picture thinking that saw the gay struggle as part of a long history of struggles for human dignity. My radical activism was then deeply informed by these teachers, whether I was demonstrating for improved access to lifesaving HIV drugs in ACT UP , or defending an abortion clinic to protect a woman's right to make choices about her body, or fighting for immigrants' access to health care. These were all forms of radical gay activism for me because I was doing them alongside other radical gay people.

This leads to an important point. I believe radical gay activism needs to take place within a supportive community. ACT UP was a place of connection to other gay men for me: I learned about gay and radical history, I met some of the fathers and mothers of the queer political movement, I worked with so many hot guys (don't underestimate this as an incentive), and I could see that this community was making a huge difference.The lessons of ACT UP Philly were key to my understanding of radical politics.

It would be my wish for each of you in this room to find a similar community of intergenerational activists and friends: because I believe that it is ultimately a sense of strong community that drives successful organizing. So what were some key themes I learned in this organizing?

1. The importance of confronting internalized heterosexism: I learned to observe the blocks in me that kept me from fighting for the best worlds for LGBT people.

2. Access to quality health care: I learned that health care activism was at the heart of all activism, since a thriving community depends upon its health-- physical, mental, and spiritual.

3. The power of developing gay communities: I learned a view that community organizing itself was a key strategy for effective radical organizing, and that time spent providing a sense of community was fundamental to successful radical tactics.

4. Playfulness and seriousness about gender: In ACT UP, I learned to embrace the powerful fighting sissy within me. I also met people who demonstrated to me (as Suzanne Pharr has shown) that sexism was a weapon of homophobia. I saw that the most powerful organizers I met were feminists and allies to the trans movement.

Today, I apply those lessons to the work that is, for me, the current manifestation of an ongoing radical struggle for LGBTI power:

1. A gay men's and LGBTI health movement-- establishing a broad-based health vision that is focused on community assets and wellness, rejects the pathologization of LGBTI people, and broadens our health movement to look at the full range of health issues impacting our communities.

2. Supporting multiracial, crosscultural organizing to create and support spaces for non-white activists to pursue their agenda, sometimes in alliance with my work, and sometimes separate.

3. Trans organizing: Acting as an ally to the ever-growing trans political movement, which has powerful lessons for LGBT organizing as a whole. I believe that Trans political organizing is now at the heart of the radical next steps that are required for gay liberation.

4. A single-people's movement: as the LGBT marriage movement gathers steam, I want to fight for a movement for single people that insists that full citizens' benefits are available to all, regardless of relationship status.

5. Making sure the benefits of radical HIV activism are extended to everyone who need them: I want to keep in mind that the promises of the AIDS movement (including access to health care for all, and the promise of power to people living with HIV) is extended to all those, internationally, who have not received these benefits.

And here are my suggestions for how you can get involved:

1. Bring a queer voice to movements that currently have an exciting energy to them: immigration, anti-globalization, living wage,... Or to gay issues that grab you... I especially recommend getting involved in the bi and trans activist movements, where much of the cutting edge work around gender and relationships is being done. Seek to be a bridge to communities that could use gay male (and other) voices.

2. Imagine queer worlds that have yet to be created: a world where elders are duly respected, a world where love between gay men is an operating principle, a world where gay men of color are given resources to do powerful (and often separate organizing). Believe that you can create these yet-to-be-created worlds.
3. Organize your friends to discuss issues. Read books together and take ideas into radical combat. Create old-fashioned encounter groups.

4. Mentorship--- look for a radical advisor-- follow him or her around until it is clear that you don't intend to leave. Also, be a teacher to other gay men when you have things to teach. Fight the pervasive myth of gay male isolation, individuality, and selfishness.

5. Put energy into communities that excite you: Radical Faeries, leather communities, circuit parties, neighborhood civic groups, religious institutions, etc. Tear yourself away from a computer and dare to meet some non-virtual communities, but also organize the boys you meet on Manhunt. The secret is that no radical organizing, gay or otherwise, goes on without our people at the forefront. Show me a radical movement that isn't led and peopled by transpeople, dykes and fags... We are always there.

So the only question is how we, those of US in this room, can always be there, even at times, such as now, when a drab conservatism seems to have sucked the life out of the world. I am interested in those of you, radical or not, who are in it for the longterm, and who continue to imagine those imaginary worlds that must be made real.

Thank you.

Chris's bio
Chris Bartlett is a gay men's health community organizer from Philadelphia. After a thorough training in activism by ACT UP Philadelphia, he directed the SafeGuards Gay Men's Health Project for ten years, and is currently the lead consultant for the LGBT Community Assessment in Philadelphia, a project that gathers data about LGBT communities in order to make recommendations regarding community organizing, health, housing, and economic development. He co-facilitates the Gay Men's Health Leadership Academy, a national meeting of leaders in the field of gay men's health and wellness. He also acts as a consultant to the Information Services Unit of the Philadelphia Department of Health's AIDS Activities Coordinating Office. He is a regular participant in the Radical Faerie Circle of Philadelphia, and is a graduate of Brown University and New College, Oxford with degrees in Classics and Philosophy. In his spare time, he plays piano at Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market, and is learning to two-step.