AIDS first came to the world's attention with a June 5, 1981, report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about five cases of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) among young gay men in Los Angeles.
With more than 900 articles penned for the Bay Area Reporter, I feel a strong connection as the newspaper celebrates its 50th anniversary this week. I thought to share some behind the scenes tales as well.
In honor of the B.A.R.'s 50th anniversary, let's look back on the past five decades of local leather seen through the lens of the paper, which is admittedly but a smidgen of the entirety of local leather history.
Our veteran erotica reviewer reminisces about the early glory days of gay porn on film, vintage B.A.R. coverage, and porn's rise, (ahem) in popularity before changes made into VHS and online formats.
The Bay Area Reporter has never shied away from expressing and exploring every aspect of the community, including sexuality. A look back at the 1990s peak of escort ads leads to bit of erotic nostalgia.
If you search the word "theater" in the archives of the Bay Area Reporter, you'll discover plenty of features and reviews. A few productions with LGBT themes stand out.
Philip Campbell summates 50 years of the Bay Area Reporter's classical music and opera coverage, noting examples and adding personal remarks to recount his four decades of contribution.
From the beginning, the Bay Area Reporter has covered celebrities, both Broadway and Hollywood stars. many have indeed sat down with us for a chat. There are many such examples in the B.A.R. archives.
The Bay Area Reporter first published on April 1, 1971, two years after the New York Stonewall Riots. But the paper's emergence grew not out of activism, but from San Francisco's growing gay bar scene.
It wasn't until the third issue of the 'Bay Area Reporter' in 1971 that the rationale for having a film section was revealed by its first critic. 100s of film reviews since then have catalogued the rise of indie and mainstream cinematic LGBT depiction.
