The GLBT History Museum in the Castro will hold a reunion and panel discussion Thursday to mark the 25th anniversary of the activist group Queer Nation, known for its flamboyant street actions, ubiquitous fluorescent stickers, and its slogan "We're here! We're queer! Get used to it!"
Queer Nation was part of an upsurge of activism in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ACT UP, formed in 1987, held many successful actions that targeted both AIDS and homophobia �" with many blaming the latter for the government's neglect of the former �" but some activists wanted a more specific focus on queer identity and issues.
"Queer Nation arose at a time when blatant heterosexism was the norm, the Supreme Court had recently affirmed the criminality of gay sex, gay-bashing was common, and the LGBT rights agenda had been overwhelmed by the HIV/AIDS crisis," said GLBT Historical Society publicist Ben Carlson. "It attracted members who embraced difference and rejected assimilation as a strategy for overcoming oppression."
Carlson told the Bay Area Reporter that the historical society has a substantial collection of documents and ephemera related to the formation, actions, and internal debates of Queer Nation San Francisco, which was used to put together the July 16 event.
A bit of history
The first Queer Nation group started in New York City in the spring of 1990, but it hit the national radar with the still-anonymous "Queers Read This" broadsheet distributed at that city's Pride march in late June. Buzz about the new group �" and the idea of starting a local chapter �" was in the air during the week of ACT UP protests surrounding the June 1990 International AIDS Conference in San Francisco.
Queer Nation San Francisco co-founder Mark Duran, one of the panelists at Thursday's event, recalls that he was watching a "town hall" meeting on KQED on the Saturday before the 1990 Pride parade featuring representatives from New York and San Francisco.
"The New York side was made up of ACT UP and Queer Nation people, while the San Francisco side was made up of your typical gay Democratic club hacks," Duran told the B.A.R. "At one point tempers flared, with the New York queers insisting that direct action was an important tactic while the San Francisco gays gave the usual 'work-within-the-system' pushback. It was at that precise moment that I realized the time was up for asking for crumbs from the table as our gay leaders had been doing for so long �" it was time for us to simply take our place at that table and demand our civil and human rights."
Queer Nation had no official leadership structure, operated on a consensus model, and chapters acted autonomously. Queer Nation San Francisco met weekly at the Women's Building and communicated through its Queer Week newsletter and Queerline voice mail system.
"I remember the founding of Queer Nation and its early days of meetings and actions as one of the most thrilling times of my life," said former Queer Nation San Francisco member Rachel Pepper, also on the panel. "I felt swept along in a giant raging wave of positive energy, which was a welcome change from the profound grief, sadness, and anger many of us felt as a result of not only AIDS, but the conservative, anti-gay climate in this country at the time. The birth of Queer Nation felt like the birth of hope for our generation of mostly 20-something queer kids."
Queer Nation actions focused on queer visibility �" including take-overs of straight nightclubs and shopping malls, often featuring same-sex kiss-ins �" as well as protests against the religious right, queer-positive sex education campaigns, and efforts to stop anti-gay violence.
"At a time when many in our communities were rightfully focused on AIDS, Queer Nation was born to remind us that there was more to our existence and survival than only fighting society's neglect and indifference around HIV," said Karl Knapper, also a former member and panelist. "If we were really going to achieve equality and acceptance �" as opposed to assimilation �" then we would need to boldly and unashamedly assert our visibility and our rights."
Queer Nation spawned several working groups including LABIA (Lesbians and Bi Women in Action), United Colors of Queer Nation, UBIQUITOUS (Uppity Bi Queers United in their Overtly Unconventional Sexuality), and Catherine Did It (a group protesting homophobic and biphobic stereotypes in the film Basic Instinct).
During its brief life the group was often mired in controversies over everything from its name ("queer" was controversial, especially among older LGBT people) to its composition (Did "queer" include heterosexual allies?). As much as a sexual orientation, "queer" denoted a confrontational spirit and pride in being an outsider. But some felt Queer Nation only really welcomed the young and hip.
By the summer of 1991 there were more than 40 Queer Nation chapters in large cities and small towns across the country, but the group largely petered out by 1993. Although short-lived, Queer Nation made a lasting impact on the LGBT movement and the language it uses to describe itself.
"What we did created a movement of ideas that is still unfolding," said Duran. "We still have a great deal of work to do. Nationally, we still need our full package of human and civil rights �" we can't stop until every one of us is equal in the eyes of the law. And as San Francisco devolves into a monocultural city serving only the wealthy, we queers need to act in solidarity with other radical groups to take it back."
The Thursday, July 16 event will feature a panel discussion, slideshow, and time for audience questions. Due to strong advance interest there will be two showings, at 6 and 8 p.m. Tickets ($5) can be purchased online and may be available at the door. For more information, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/queer-nation-san-francisco-25th-anniversary-review-tickets-17491805461.