“HOW COULD LOVE BE WRONG?” GAY ACTIVISM AND AIDS IN CHARLOTTE, 1970-1992

Search for this publication on Google Scholar
Wright, C. (2017). “HOW COULD LOVE BE WRONG?” GAY ACTIVISM AND AIDS IN CHARLOTTE, 1970-1992. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
Download PDF

Analytics

1417 views ◎
1154 downloads ⇓


Abstract

ABSTRACTCHRISTINA ANNE WRIGHT. "How could love be wrong?" Gay activism and AIDS in Charlotte, 1970-1992. (Under the direction of DR. CHERYL HICKS) Sustained gay activism in Charlotte, North Carolina, only emerged in response to the HIV AIDS epidemic. Community building among Charlotte’s closeted gays and lesbians began in the 1970s with the emergence of safe spaces, particularly gay bars. However, before the mid 1980s, activism was intermittent, largely inward facing, and suffered from over-reliance on a few leaders. As the reality of AIDS gripped the community after 1985, two imperatives created by the epidemic gave rise to sustained gay and lesbian activism. First, the critical need to provide care for people suffering from AIDS galvanized the gay community into action and led to the creation of the Metrolina AIDS Project (MAP). MAP became the first outward looking and visible gay organization in Charlotte, and, critically, it enjoyed a degree of civic legitimacy. However, this civic legitimacy did not extend to the second imperative, the more contentious terrain of AIDS education. In this arena Charlotte’s gay activists came into conflict with the Religious Right and the county government, which forced activists to become more politically organized. By the early 1990s, it became clear that further progress would require partnerships with straight allies, but because these allies were motivated largely by sympathy for AIDS there was limited progress on the broader gay rights agenda. The timing of gay activism and the necessity for straight alliances shows that Charlotte’s experience as a mid-size Southern city differed from larger metropolitan areas and progressive university/capital cities that have been the focus of previous historiography.

Details
Author

Wright, Christina

Title

“HOW COULD LOVE BE WRONG?” GAY ACTIVISM AND AIDS IN CHARLOTTE, 1970-1992

Physical Description

1 online resource (242 pages) : PDF

Date

2017

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

ABSTRACTCHRISTINA ANNE WRIGHT. "How could love be wrong?" Gay activism and AIDS in Charlotte, 1970-1992. (Under the direction of DR. CHERYL HICKS) Sustained gay activism in Charlotte, North Carolina, only emerged in response to the HIV AIDS epidemic. Community building among Charlotte’s closeted gays and lesbians began in the 1970s with the emergence of safe spaces, particularly gay bars. However, before the mid 1980s, activism was intermittent, largely inward facing, and suffered from over-reliance on a few leaders. As the reality of AIDS gripped the community after 1985, two imperatives created by the epidemic gave rise to sustained gay and lesbian activism. First, the critical need to provide care for people suffering from AIDS galvanized the gay community into action and led to the creation of the Metrolina AIDS Project (MAP). MAP became the first outward looking and visible gay organization in Charlotte, and, critically, it enjoyed a degree of civic legitimacy. However, this civic legitimacy did not extend to the second imperative, the more contentious terrain of AIDS education. In this arena Charlotte’s gay activists came into conflict with the Religious Right and the county government, which forced activists to become more politically organized. By the early 1990s, it became clear that further progress would require partnerships with straight allies, but because these allies were motivated largely by sympathy for AIDS there was limited progress on the broader gay rights agenda. The timing of gay activism and the necessity for straight alliances shows that Charlotte’s experience as a mid-size Southern city differed from larger metropolitan areas and progressive university/capital cities that have been the focus of previous historiography.

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

History
Queer studies

Degree

M.A.

Keywords

Charlotte
N.C.
Gay Activism
HIV/AIDS
Religious Right

Subject Area

History

Advisor(s)

Hicks, Cheryl

Committee Members

Goldfield, David
Brintnall, Kent

Degree Note

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2017.

Rights Statement

This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). For additional information, see http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/.

Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Wright_uncc_0694N_11572

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:999