Gay in the 80s by Colin Clews

 
Gay in the 80s - From Fighting for Our Rights to Fighting for Our Lives
 
 On the face of it, the 80s weren't the best decade for queer people around the world. Challenges included the rise of the New Right in the USA,  Section 28 in the UK  which prohibited the promotion of homosexuality nd the continuing criminalisation of homosexuality in the majority of Australian states. The unfolding AIDS crisis overlay all of this.
 
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom; by the end of the eighties there had been some very real progress. Major political parties had LGBT rights in their manifestos, trades unions increasingly took up the cause and regional legislators introduced anti-discrimination laws and policies. LGBT people became more prolific in film, television, music and literature and the LGBT community grew significantly.
 
Gay in the 80s examines a number of the events and issues in the UK, USA and Australia, giving a comprehensive perspective of queer reality during this decade 
 
It is a unique perspective on a pivotal era in LGBT history.