Editor’s note: This commentary is by John R. Killacky, executive director of the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts. He read it at Vermont Public Radio’s commentators’ brunch on Saturday, May 3, 2014.
I’ve enjoyed the privilege of being a judge at Burlington High School’s talent show for two years in a row. I’m astounded by the powerful culture of inclusion and respect exhibited. In particular, I’m deeply touched as gay, lesbian, and transgendered kids perform on stage with their classmates cheering them on.
This was not my reality as a young teenager coming to terms with sexuality in the 1960s. I was alone. There were no positive role models for young gays and lesbians, no networks of support.
At that time, most of us lived in fear, closeted from our families, work colleagues, and neighbors. Transsexuals were deemed pathological. There was no legal protection, only stigmatizing witch-hunts. We found each other of course, but led separate, parallel lives: one in full view, one in shadow.
Seeing today’s students gleefully celebrating who they are in such a supportive environment, I marvel at how far society has come in just three generations of activism. Fierce drag queens in New York fought back at the Stonewall Inn in 1969, shining light on police intimidation and corruption. Their struggle catalyzed the LGBT movement for civil rights.
A second wave of political action erupted during the AIDS pandemic of the late ‘80s; people fought for their lives, raging against pharmaceutical companies and government indifference. Heroes emerged as they nursed, grieved, and memorialized friends.
As a gay teenager, I never imagined that so much positive change could transpire. I’m grateful to those in my idiosyncratic tribe who challenged the status quo.
Currently the queer agenda is focused on assimilation with same sex marriage equality battles being waged state by state. Vermont led the nation in this, granting civil unions in 2000 and full marriage rights in 2009. And with the Supreme Court’s blessing, for the first time this year, my husband and I were able to file a joint federal tax return. What a difference it made financially.
As a gay teenager, I never imagined that so much positive change could transpire. I’m grateful to those in my idiosyncratic tribe who challenged the status quo. Without them, I could not be who I am today.
Meanwhile, it’s abundantly clear at Burlington High School that the next generation is already defining their own social, political, and cultural agendas. A lesbian and transgendered teen duo of slam poets testified and a young man danced fabulously to Lady Gaga surrounded by a chorus of schoolmates.
These kids will be all right; their futures are jam-packed with possibility. And I imagine that those Stonewall drag queens must be very proud indeed as they dance away in that divine disco in the sky.
