Special Issues :: 50th Anniversary

50 Years in 50 Weeks: April 1974: Undies at The EndUp

50 Years in 50 Weeks: April 1974: Undies at The EndUp

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Apr 29, 2021

As advertised in the April 17, 1974 'Bay Area Reporter,' the EndUp's Jockey Short Contest, immortalized by Armistead Maupin in his best-selling 'Tales of the City' series, took place frequently at the South of Market nightclub.

50 years in 50 weeks: 1974, MCC confab in SF

50 years in 50 weeks: 1974, MCC confab in SF

  • by BAR staff
  • Apr 28, 2021

This week goes back to 1974 and the MCC confab in SF,

50 Years in 50 Weeks:  Nudes in the news, 1973

50 Years in 50 Weeks: Nudes in the news, 1973

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Apr 22, 2021

January 24, 1973's issue of the 'Bay Area Reporter' features reportage on the Gaslight nightclub's legal battle to allow nude gogo dancers.

50 years in 50 weeks:  Meet the candidates, 1973

50 years in 50 weeks: Meet the candidates, 1973

  • by BAR staff
  • Apr 21, 2021

The B.A.R.'s wayback machine travels to 1973 for a look at the candidates for emperor and empress.

50 years in 50 weeks: 1972, Sex laws fall

50 years in 50 weeks: 1972, Sex laws fall

  • by BAR staff
  • Apr 14, 2021

The Bay Area Reporter's 50 years in 50 weeks feature continues with this front page from September 20, 1972

50 years in 50 Weeks: May 17, 1972 Chaotic Cowboy Contest

50 years in 50 Weeks: May 17, 1972 Chaotic Cowboy Contest

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Apr 9, 2021

The Covered Wagon bar hosted the 1972 Mr. Cowboy contest, but things didn't go well, as reported in the B.A.R.'s May 17 issue. Many in attendance were "stirred into a frenzy of accusations, charges and counter-charges of fraud, fake fix and cheat."

50 years in 50 weeks: 1971

50 years in 50 weeks: 1971

  • by BAR staff
  • Apr 7, 2021

In honor of the Bay Area Reporter's 50th anniversary, we're culling from our archive to feature a different year of the paper each week.

50 years in 50 weeks: May 1, 1971: In all their plumage

50 years in 50 weeks: May 1, 1971: In all their plumage

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Apr 6, 2021

As we continue to celebrate the Bay Area Reporter's 50th anniversary, each week we'll take a nostalgic look at a highlight from each year's issues. In May 1, 1971 , a plumaged party seemed like a lot of fun.

Screen times: Film coverage in the B.A.R. through 50 years, part 2

Screen times: Film coverage in the B.A.R. through 50 years, part 2

  • by Brian Bromberger
  • Apr 6, 2021

As the 1990s approached, films began to offer more positive portrayals of LGBTQ people, often as the loyal best friend, with characters beginning to be more fleshed out, having lives rooted in their sexuality but not necessarily ruled only by it.

Groove Tube: the B.A.R.'s five decades of TV turn-ons

Groove Tube: the B.A.R.'s five decades of TV turn-ons

  • by Victoria A. Brownworth
  • Apr 6, 2021

It is hard to narrow the discourse to just a handful of TV shows over so many years and hundreds of columns, but here are some of the LGBTQ stories that spurred controversy or altered the landscape.

The Producers: Behind the scenes at the B.A.R.

The Producers: Behind the scenes at the B.A.R.

  • by Jim Provenzano
  • Mar 31, 2021

Some of the Bay Area Reporter's production designers were, and are, not only accomplished computer whizzes, but also artists and nightlife stars, like DJ and musician Adriana Roberts, who, with Scott King, share a bit of the backstage B.A.R. scoop.

B.A.R.'s pages featured spirituality

B.A.R.'s pages featured spirituality

  • by Jim Mitulski
  • Mar 31, 2021

"Feminism has done more to save the lives of women in the last 30 years than Jesus Christ did in the last 2,000 years!" renowned lesbian feminist Sally Gearhart, Ph.D., proudly proclaimed as she opened her sermon one Sunday night.

Bay Area Reporter turns 50: Once a bar rag, paper now bestrides LGBTQ news

Bay Area Reporter turns 50: Once a bar rag, paper now bestrides LGBTQ news

  • by John Ferrannini
  • Mar 31, 2021

Fifty years ago the gay bar — that foremost location for so much dating, friendships, political organizing, and times both fun and challenging — gave birth to the B.A.R.

Writers pool helped readers on AIDS issues

Writers pool helped readers on AIDS issues

  • by Stephen J. LeBlanc
  • Mar 31, 2021

The Bay Area Reporter front page on September 20, 1990 announced that the San Francisco chapter of the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power, or ACT UP, had split into two groups.