Review: Stand by Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation

Stand by Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation by Jim Downs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Stonewall Uprising was the cathartic moment that began the gay liberation movement in 1969. During the 70s activism for the LGBTQ community continued in the decade before the AIDS epidemic came to the forefront. Jim Downs provides 7 essays in Stand by Me that discuss various aspects of the gay liberation movement in the 70s. He begins by detailing a deadly fire the broke out in a gay bar in New Orleans in 1973. The fire resulted in the deaths of thirty-two people and is considered one of, if not the largest massacres of gays in American history. The discussion then turns to religion, specifically discussing the Metropolitan Community Church, founded by and for gays people. The MCC offered solace and understanding to a community shunned by most other religious organizations. Downs also discusses the usage of bookstores, print media, and poetry as resources for advocacy in the gay community. The book concludes with a discussion of the image of gay men in the 70s as many worked to shatter the stereotype of an effeminate man, proudly showing the world that you can be macho and be gay.

This was an engaging read that pulled the reader in from the beginning and tugged on your heartstrings reading about the fire at the Up Stairs Lounge in New Orleans. Such a tragic event eclipses more recent events that we have seen in the news, such as the Pulse shooting in Orlando, Florida in 2016. Advocacy for the LGBTQ community really took off in the 1970s and Stand by Me shares the beginning of the story for a subset of the community. Their work is far from done.

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