Michael Doonan - Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name
Michael Doonan - Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name
1965 was the year I came "out" to myself. Before Stonewall before Gay Pride, the world was a very different place.
Love that Dare Not Speak Its Name. Your parents along with your friends, classmates, town, church, state would disown you. It was very scary and ugly for any person especially a young person.
Young People today have NO CLUE what it was like. Let me fill you in.
If your parents found out they could have you committed (to a mental asylum) where you could undergo shock treatments - ElectroShockTherepy to the point of having a Lobotomy. Being Homosexual was on the books as a Mental Illness.
I was not out but people would bully me on a daily basis. (It was) not that I was feminine but a shy withdrawn quiet non-aggressive type - an easy target.
I found solace in the gay community on the streets of Boston where I was accepted for me. But still not by the rest of the world. We were outcast.
When I was old enough to pass or get a phony ID to get into bars, (I loved) being able to dance with my friends and let our hair down having a great time. Then the house lights would come on and we all knew what that meant - grab the nearest female as your dance partner because you could be arrested for dancing with someone of the same sex.
(We would) hope that we would not get arrested for then our names would be in the papers and our families would be called. It would become ugly beyond belief.
Living in shame and in the shadows was no way for anyone to live but we had no choice .
I lived In NYC that Summer and Stonewall was one of the many places I would go to. I was not there that night 50 years ago. I was back in Boston. But that night changed our lives forever.
1965 was the year I came "out" to myself. Before Stonewall before Gay Pride, the world was a very different place.
Love that Dare Not Speak Its Name. Your parents along with your friends, classmates, town, church, state would disown you. It was very scary and ugly for any person especially a young person.
Young People today have NO CLUE what it was like. Let me fill you in.
If your parents found out they could have you committed (to a mental asylum) where you could undergo shock treatments - ElectroShockTherepy to the point of having a Lobotomy. Being Homosexual was on the books as a Mental Illness.
I was not out but people would bully me on a daily basis. (It was) not that I was feminine but a shy withdrawn quiet non-aggressive type - an easy target.
I found solace in the gay community on the streets of Boston where I was accepted for me. But still not by the rest of the world. We were outcast.
When I was old enough to pass or get a phony ID to get into bars, (I loved) being able to dance with my friends and let our hair down having a great time. Then the house lights would come on and we all knew what that meant - grab the nearest female as your dance partner because you could be arrested for dancing with someone of the same sex.
(We would) hope that we would not get arrested for then our names would be in the papers and our families would be called. It would become ugly beyond belief.
Living in shame and in the shadows was no way for anyone to live but we had no choice .
I lived In NYC that Summer and Stonewall was one of the many places I would go to. I was not there that night 50 years ago. I was back in Boston. But that night changed our lives forever.
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the best cruise & travel news, tips & reviews for the sensible gay traveler
the best cruise & travel news, tips & reviews for the sensible gay traveler