Tag: 1980s
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The (Mis)Education of AIDS Storylines on TV Shows: The Golden Girls
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before the advent of social media and digital organizing, network television played an integral role in raising awareness about social issues. this often resulted in sometimes dramatic and/or awful “very special” episodes of popular sitcoms. this series unpacks and revisits some of these shows with a historical lens. the golden…
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MARTHA WASH
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martha wash is one of the greatest vocalists in music history. and i would wager my mariah carey cd collection (which at this moment is 250 plus of cds, cassettes, and vinyl) that you have shaken your ass to a martha wash record. in the late 1970s, marta got her…
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The Enduring Queer Cheer of Pee-Wee Herman’s Christmas Special
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33 years ago this week, one of the wackiest, campiest, and queerest christmas specials premiered on network television– and it was a kids show! “pee-wee’s playhouse” was the brainchild of paul rueben and was america’s most watched weekly children’s show from 1986 – 1990. based on his 1981 stage show…
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SHERYL LEE RALPH
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on december 20, 1981, one of the most beloved and influential musicals in broadway’s history, “dreamgirls” made its premiere at the imperial theatre. the show was a phenomenal success wracking up six tony awards and two grammy’s for its cast album. “dreamgirls” also made stars of its primary cast members…
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MARY JANE GIRLS
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the pointer sisters, sister sledge and vanity 6 were my earliest introduction to the miracle that is the girl group genre. as a young child trying to make sense of societal demands to be “rougher,” girl groups captured my imagination with their style, choreography, and essence while commanding me to…
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GEORGE MICHAEL
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to be a global pop star who was gay but not out during the height of the AIDS epidemic meant living in closets that were never to be vacated. It meant contending with being loved and adored by a world that was simultaneously waiting with baited breath to stigmatize you…
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TONY VIRAMONTES
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years before i knew who tony viramontes was, i knew of his art. sometime in 1986, three years before i began buying music on my own, my uncle took me to my first record store. as we walked into the store, i was in complete wonderment. it was the closest…
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Songs That Soundtracked the AIDS Epidemic: Weather Girls “It’s Raining Men”
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what would the world’s dance floor sound and feel like if it weren’t for gay anthems? how would we bond, survive plagues, discover liberation, and dance? how might we forget about our broken hearts, if we did not have a gay anthem, blasting in the background of our lives? “it’s…
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Songs That Soundtracked the AIDS Epidemic: Patti LaBelle’s “You Are My Friend”
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every year, just as pride season is about to kick off, the interwebs argue, fight and debate about who is and who isn’t a queer icon. thankfully, many of these exhausting debates center non-black celebrities who have generally mastered performative allyship, for the sake of rainbow capitalism. frequenting gay clubs…
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Songs That Soundtracked the AIDS Epidemic: Gwen Guthrie’s “Can’t Love You Tonight”
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dubbed the queen of paradise garage, legendary 1980’s new york night club, gwen guthrie scored her biggest hit when she topped billboard’s r&b chart in september 1986 with the self-penned and produced “ain’t nothin’ goin’ on but the rent.” that same month, the surgeon general’s report on AIDS was released.…
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Songs That Soundtracked the AIDS Epidemic: Jermaine Stewart’s “We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off”
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in january 1986, the CDC reported more people were diagnosed with aids in 1985 than all of the earlier years combined. even as health experts were predicting that the number of diagnoses could double within the year, the US was still without a coordinated effort to address the AIDS pandemic.…
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Songs That Soundtracked the AIDS Epidemic: Whitney’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)”
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in 1987 the AIDS epidemic was still unfolding. it was still a death sentence. those living with HIV–who were still among the living–were at constant war with a government that willfully denied, withheld and blocked necessary resources to address the epidemic. it was a brutal time. but it was also…