AFTER STONEWALL: THE EVOLUTION OF THE GAY MALE
CHARACTER IN AMERICAN CINEMA
By: M. West
8/15/2007
In the Beginning: The
Stonewall Riots
• Location: the bar of the Stonewall Inn, located in
Greenwich Village, New York
• The event: 8 police officers enter the bar at the Stonewall
Inn on the night of June 27, 1969 – 7 in street clothes,
only one in uniform
• The officers raid the bar for selling liquor without a
license and begin arresting anyone in drag for
“indecency”
• No one knows what exactly prompted the fighting that
ensued but riots broke out that lasted several days
New York Post June 28, 1967
New York Times June 29, 1969
New York Times June 30, 1969
New York Times July 3, 1969
After the Riots
• Riots marked by many as the beginning of the
gay liberation movement
• And prompted a transition in the role of the
homosexual male in American media
American Cinema in the 1970’s: Coming
Out and In Your Face
• Due to the relative freedom from persecution by police and censors gained by the
notoriety and resulting gay liberation movement of the Stonewall Riots, the American
cinema embraced many homosexual male characters in the 1970’s
• From the stereotypically gay characters in the famed 1970 movie “Boys in the Band”,
to the 1974 debut of the comedy/crime drama “Freebie and the Bean”, to the 1976
release of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show”, the American public was assaulted with
flamboyant, neurotic, and sometimes just plain scary images of the gay male
• However, a new image was emerging – the homosexual male as a “normal” human
facing all of the trials and tribulations that heterosexual males face
• Or example, in the 1974 film, “A Very Natural Thing”, we followed the life of a
homosexual man as he teaches in public school by day and looks for love in gay bars
by night. We watch as he flounders through the dating game and eventually commits
himself to another man. Then, they face all of the same rituals and challenges that a
“traditional” heterosexual couple must face.
• This image of gay men facing all of the same challenges as the “normal” heterosexual
people was strongly reinforced by the 1978 documentary “Gay USA” which focuses on
the events surrounding the gay rights movement and features footage of on-the-street
interviews with gay men and women discussion topics such as coming out, dealing
with their lovers, and their families’ reactions to their life choices.
The 1980’s: The Reagan Era and the AIDS
Epidemic Change the Cinematic Roles of the
Gay Male
• After 12 years of newly realized sexual freedom, the discovery of the newly
discovered disease AIDS decimating the homosexual population prompted a
dramatic change in the cinematic gay male persona
• Fearing this new disease, some cinematic producers reverted to the
portrayal of homosexual males as murderers and maniacs in movies like
“Cruising” (1980) and “Partners” (1982)
• In “Cruising” (1980) a gay music student turned serial killer is stalked
through an underworld of gay leather bars and kinky sex by an undercover
police officer. This movie also played on the heterosexual fear of being
homosexual as the cop struggled with his own sexuality.
• “Partners” (1982), a gay-themed cop movie, saw the Los Angeles gay
community suffering from a series of horrific murders. So, the LA police
department sent two of their own undercover into the local gay community.
However – here is the twist – one of the policemen is straight and the other
is “in the closet”. The movie had a decidedly homophobic bent to the
dialogue and implied one of the great fears of the heterosexual male of the
era – gay men cannot be trusted to work with straight men without falling
in love.
• However, a change was on the horizon…..
Change is in the Air…
• As the American people began to learn more about HIV and AIDS,
they started to more fully understand that it was not only a
homosexual disease, but that it affected everyone.
• So, once again, the producers of American cinema began making
films depicting gay men not as the bad guys, but as victims
themselves and normal people just like everyone else.
• “Making Love”, which opened in 1982, depicted the struggle of a
married man trying to come to terms with his homosexuality and the
repercussions of admitting it to his wife. This movie closely mirrored
the struggles of any marriage in which adultery occurs.
• With the ground-breaking movie, “The Times of Harvey Milk”
(1984), American film producers captured the essence of the struggle
of the homosexual male in American politics. The movie followed
the career of famed San Francisco politician Harvey Milk and the
dangers that being openly gay brought him (he was assassinated in
the end). It also brought to the forefront of the American moviegoer
mind the strife faced by homosexuals.
’80’s Movies and
Documentaries Breaking
Down Barriers
• In 1985, filmmaker Lucy Winer produced a documentary called
“Silent Pioneers”, which highlighted the homosexual relationships of
elderly gay men and lesbian women which have withstood the tests of
time and prejudice. This film furthered the battle to show
heterosexuals that the relationships of gay men and women are as
durable and fulfilling as those of heterosexual couples.
• The next year also saw the release of a movie called “Parting Glances”
which portrayed very realistic gay urbanites facing the challenges of
living openly gay in the ultra conservative Ronald Regan Era and at
the height of the impact of the AIDS epidemic on the gay community.
• Then, in 1989, yet another ground breaking semi-documentary called
“Tongues Untied” was released. This movie depicted struggle with
prejudice by the gay black man not only in the straight white
community but within the straight black community as well;
illustrating that prejudice does not only follow racial lines.
The Early 1990’s: The
“Outing” of the Extent of
America’s Prejudice
• The early 1990’s were a eye-opening time for the average American
movie-goer.
• With films like the documentary, “Paris is Burning” (1990), the
American people were allowed to see into the lives of the often poor,
African American and Latino gay and transgendered people who
participated in New York’s drag balls. It chronicled their fight
against racism, homophobia, poverty, and their struggle to gain
acceptance and validation from the rest of the world.
• Subsequently, with the release of “Philadelphia” in 1993, the
American public was confronted with their own prejudice against
not only gay people, but people with AIDS. This movie also
reminded people that gay men are not so very different from
themselves and that they should shirk their preconceived notions
and give them the same chance at life that everyone else gets.
The Mid and Late ’90’s:
Using Comedy to Turn the
Tables
• During the middle and late 1990’s, American movie producers
changed venues once again
• In order to reach a wider viewing audience, they hired popular
actors to portray gay men and created more comically inspired
movies (so called “safe movies”)
• Movies like “The Birdcage” (1996) and “In & Out” (1997) used
comedy to bring the struggles facing gay men in modern American
society.
• These films were widely accepted by the American public because of
their relative “safety” and intentional comic over exaggeration of the
gay male stereotype (especially those found in the film “The
Birdcage”). These factors did not make the viewer uncomfortable
like the “in-your-face” documentaries and dramas of the past but
made the gay characters both more approachable and more familiar
The 2000’s: An Era of
Healing and Acceptance
• In 2000 and 2001, movies like “Big Eden”, “Common Ground”, and
“Trembling before G-d” portrayed the gay male’s endeavors to
reconcile his lifestyle not only with those around him, but with
himself. Moreover, these movies illustrated the dilemmas that occur
when one’s sexual preference goes against one’s faith and/or
upbringing.
• 2004 found filmmakers once again focusing on the struggle of the
gay black man with the release of movies like “Brother to Brother”
and “De-Lovely” both of which show the trials and tribulations which
gay black men of notoriety had to face.
• Finally, in 2006, the widely lauded “Brokeback Mountain” hit
American theaters depicting two cowboys finding their sexuality
together and following them through several decades and one of their
untimely deaths. This movie was groundbreaking in not only the
amount of revenue it brought in, but in the compassion that it
engendered for the struggles of homosexual men.
A Final Note from the Author….
• This presentation lists but a small portion of the
American made movies portraying homosexual
males and if you are interested in finding a list of
more films on the subjects mentioned here, type
into your internet address bar:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lesbian%2
C_gay%2C_bisexual_or_transgender-
related_films_by_year
• And remember:
…media shapes us as we shape it, it impacts not
only our mental images of others – but of
ourselves……