Temperamentals

When I first came out, as a LBG "Late Breaking Gay" I was scared. I had only the most negative sense of what it meant to be gay. But as I "mature" in my gayness I discover that there is a wonderful community and even a rich history.

Last night I tapped into that history and community. Our church, the Cathedral of Hope, sponsored a fundraiser at a local production of "The Temperamentals". I loved it!

I am amazed by the bravery of the men that were depicted by this wonderful and funny play. It is set in the 1950's when America was hunting down communists and gays. In that day “temperamental” was code for “homosexual”, part of a created language of secret words that gay men used to communicate. The play tells the story of two men – the communist Harry Hay and the Viennese refugee and designer Rudi Gernreich – as they fall in love while building the first gay rights organization in the pre-Stonewall United States.

The play helped me find part of the history of the new life that I have adopted. Being gay isn't just my experience it is the lives and struggles of generations of gays before me. I am the lucky one. I stand on their shoulders and the view is great up here.