Can one page sum up an entire year? The late 1980s, while still in full-on Reaganomics hell, offered bits of resistance and joy amid the continuing oppression, epidemic deaths, and discrimination.
A vibrant advance promo for the annual Men Behind Bars benefit variety show led the Arts & Entertainment section of the February 11, 1988 issue.
Marga Gomez got a full-page spread in the expansive 96-page June 23, 1988 Pride edition of the B.A.R. That entire issue's packed with local and national LGBT coverage, and worth a look.
And who could pass on the sexy, splashy photos and story of the Wet Underwear Contest in the March 17 issue? Originally started at The EndUp, the event sprung a bulge at San Jose's Club St. John, with a $175 cash prize.
But one page to define a year?
I offer up for my additional weekly '50 Years in 50 Weeks' selection, a two-page spread that visualizes an array of nostalgia, hope, and loss: an interview with musician, author and AIDS activist Michael Callen, an AIDS benefit performance of the musical Cats, next to an ad for a live 'strip squad' show at the "all-new" Campus Theatre.
All this in the July 5, 1988 issue.
Enjoy more vintage reading at https://archive.org/details/bayareareporter
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