Gay Activist Divisions are Political, Not Generational
by Randy Shaw, Oct. 14, 2009
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=7442#more (http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=7442#more)
The New York Times spoke for much of the media when it framed last Sunday's national gay rights march as "primarily the undertaking of a new generation of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocates who have grown disillusioned with the movements leadership." The Sunday march of primarily young people was contrasted with the older crowd attending the previous night's black-tie dinner for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest national gay advocacy group. But the dichotomy between the two events was political, not generational. Progressive gay activists have criticized more establishment gay organizations since the 1980's, and the politics of those who became known as the "ACT UP Generation" have not "moderated" with age. Further, Congressman Barney Frank, whose criticism of the march was cited by both the Times and CNN, was never a gay activist leader, and is hardly representative of a generation that features march organizer Cleve Jones (age 54), San Francisco's post-60 Assembly member Tom "You Lie" Ammiano, author and activist Tommi Avicolli-Mecca, and countless others.