Gay Community News (Boston)
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''Gay Community News'' was an American
weekly newspaper Weekly newspaper is a general-news or Current affairs (news format), current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and electronic publishing, digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspap ...
published in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
from 1973 to 1999. Designed as a resource for the
LGBT community The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ people, LGBTQ individuals united by LGBTQ culture, a common culture and LGBTQ movements, social movements. These Community, comm ...
, the newspaper reported a wide variety of
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
and
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
-related news. Founded as a collectively-run, local newsletter, early in the struggle for
gay liberation The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s in the Western world, that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoff ...
, it was soon expanded into a major newspaper with an international readership. The publication saw itself as part an important vehicle for debating
gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...
,
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
,
antiracism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...
,
multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...
,
class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...
,
prisoners' rights The rights of civilian and military prisoners are governed by both national and international law. International conventions include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the United Nations' Minimum Rules for the Treatment ...
,
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
, and other causes. The newspaper's influence was such that it enjoyed a "national reach that was considered the movement's 'paper of record' throughout the '70s, and whose alumni at one point occupied so many leadership roles around the country that they were called the 'GCN mafia'"."How Boston powered the gay rights movement"
''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
''.
The newspaper's political stance was reflected throughout its reporting. It often served as a place in which liberals and radicals in LGBT groups debated conflicting agendas. An article entitled "Gay Revolutionary", published in 1987, led to claims from the conservative right that the newspaper promoted a "
homosexual agenda "Gay agenda" or "homosexual agenda" is a pejorative term for the normalization of non-heterosexual sexual orientations. The term has been used to disparage advocacy for LGBTQ rights, rooted in the belief that LGBTQ activists seek to Homosexual r ...
" to destroy
heterosexuality Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or ...
and traditional values. The collective published the paper once per week from June 1973 to July 1992, when it temporarily ceased publication. It was then revived with a much smaller staff of new editors and student journalists, who published issues sporadically until its last issue in 1999.


History


Early history

The premier issue of ''Gay Community News'' was published out of the
Charles Street Meeting House The Charles Street Meeting House is an early-nineteenth-century historic church in Beacon Hill at 70 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts. The church has been used over its history by several Christian denominations, including Baptists, the ...
on June 17, 1973, as a two-page mimeograph, at first titled "Gay Community Newsletter".''Archives and Special Collections Finding Aids: Community Resources for Justice Records.''
Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections, July 2013. Web. Accessed 06 March 2017.
In less than a year, Gay Community News developed from a two-page mimeograph to an eight-page, tabloid-style newsprint, and moved its office to 22 Bromfield Street. The first issue was loosely organized into sections titled Events, Volunteers, Needs, Notices, and Directory. The editors introduced the very first newsletter by stating: On March 8, 1975, the newspaper made two major changes: it began distributing color copies, and publishers expanded distribution to a regional level. In 1978, the membership of Gay Community News voted to become a national newspaper in both its focus and distribution.


Office Fire

In the early morning of July 7, 1982, a fire broke out at the paper's office at 22 Bromfield Street. The entire office was destroyed, along with that of '' Fag Rag'', another publication to whom ''GCN'' subletted part of their office.
Glad Day Bookshop Glad Day Bookshop is an independent bookstore and restaurant located in Toronto, Ontario, specializing in LGBT literature. Previously located above a storefront at 598A Yonge Street for much of its history, the store moved to its current location ...
, a bookstore across the hall, was also destroyed. Both publications were forced out of the Bromfield Street office; ''GCN'' moved to 167 Tremont Street until 1992 when it temporarily ceased publication. The
Boston Fire Department The Boston Fire Department provides fire services and first responder emergency medical services to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It also responds to such incidents as motor vehicle accidents, dangerous goods, hazardous material spills, util ...
Arson Squad investigated the incident, and many staff members of the paper believed the fire to be arson. The building was set on fire by a group of firemen, policemen and security guards, who had set a number of fires in the city. According to testimony from two of the arsonists, the arson ring set over 200 fires in 1982 and 1983, mostly in Boston. They claimed their motive was to scare Boston voters into repealing Proposition 21, a state tax-limiting measure which would lay off or freeze hiring of firefighters. The group of arsonists were ultimately held responsible for the destruction of more than $50 million worth of property, and at the time, the arson case was considered to be the largest in state or federal history. As a result of the fire, much documentation from the paper’s first ten years was lost.


Paper Organization

''Gay Community News'' was established and operated as a collective. At first, most major decisions were made by votes of the entire membership, though by 1978 it had moved to a committee structure for things like hiring new editors. “Membership” was defined very broadly, and local readers and members of the queer community were encouraged to assist in the paper’s production. For example, every Friday evening, volunteers known as “Friday folders” would come to the GCN offices to assist in stuffing the papers into envelopes to be mailed to subscribers. GCN was primarily funded through subscriptions and through advertising from local queer businesses. Unlike most others in its genre, the paper did not solicit advertisements from gay bars, which was a popular source of revenue for queer newspapers at the time. In another anomaly for its genre, GCN employed and wrote for an audience of both gay men and lesbians. During this time, most queer publications either focused on one group or the other, but GCN was one of a few exceptions along with Toronto’s ''
The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987. It was one of Canada's first significant gay publications, and played a prominent role in the development of the LGBT community in Canada. ''The Body Po ...
''.


Influential Contributions


"Gay Revolutionary" article

In 1987, Michael Swift published an article in the ''Gay Community News'' entitled "Gay Revolutionary". The newspaper's editors had requested that Swift write an article as satirical proof of the so-called "
gay agenda "Gay agenda" or "homosexual agenda" is a pejorative term for the normalization of non-heterosexual sexual orientations. The term has been used to disparage advocacy for LGBTQ rights, rooted in the belief that LGBTQ activists seek to recruit het ...
" that conservative right-wing Christians were establishing. Thirty years after the article's publishing date, conservative religious groups continue to quote "Gay Revolutionary", but omit the crucial first line of the piece, "This essay is an outré, madness, a tragic, cruel fantasy, an eruption of inner rage, on how the oppressed desperately dream of being the oppressor." The original article has come to be known as The Homosexual Manifesto.


Prisoner Project

The Prisoner Project was initiated in 1975, coming as a result of the staff member Mike Riegle, who responded to letters sent by prisoners to the ''Gay Community News'' and granted them free newspaper subscriptions. The project grew to a larger scale, with The Bromfield Street Educational Foundation sending prisoners books, providing legal assistance, and receiving and publishing letters and about homophobia, racism, and sexism in prisons. In 1977, The Bromfield Street Educational Foundation and the
National Gay Task Force The National LGBTQ Task Force (formerly National Gay Task Force; National Gay and Lesbian Task Force) is an American social justice advocacy non-profit organizing the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ ...
joined together to sue the federal prison system and won the right for prisoners to receive gay publications in jail. Although the verdict came in 1980, The Bromfield Street Educational Foundation continued to spend subsequent years advocating on behalf of prisoners who were denied copies of the ''Gay Community News'' and other LGBTQ publications. Starting in 1981, a regular prisoners' column was published in every edition of the ''Gay Community News''.


Terminology

Concerning the naming of the publication,
Amy Hoffman Amy Hoffman (born 1952) is an American writer, editor, and community activist. Early life Hoffman was born to a traditional Jewish family. She is the eldest of six children, and grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey. Hoffman graduated from Brande ...
, in ''Army of Ex-Lovers'', writes, All of this was taking place during a time when even the word "gay" was still controversial. "Gay" had been adopted as a unifying term by radical groups like the
Gay Liberation Front Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was the name of several gay liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots. Similar organizations also formed in the UK, Australia and Canada. The GLF p ...
, but the mainstream press still used the term "
homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...
", when they would discuss the community at all. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', for example, continued to use "homosexual", refusing to use the word "gay" until 1987.


End of the newspaper

By 1991, the newspaper "was the oldest, continuously published gay newspaper that had a national audience." It had ten people on staff and was publishing issues of 20 pages. In spite of "a strong readership", it had financial difficulties. As a result, it stopped publishing on July 3, 1992. The revived ''Gay Community News'' was published bimonthly as a 28- to 32-page tabloid-style publication. In April 1993, the first new edition of the paper was distributed at the gay pride march in Washington, D.C. The final issue of the ''Gay Community News'' was published in 1999.


In media


Literature

* Regular contributor
Amy Hoffman Amy Hoffman (born 1952) is an American writer, editor, and community activist. Early life Hoffman was born to a traditional Jewish family. She is the eldest of six children, and grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey. Hoffman graduated from Brande ...
wrote of her time at the newspaper in her 2007 book ''An Army of Ex-Lovers: My Life at the Gay Community News''. * Maida Tilchen wrote of her time at Gay Community News in the 2012 anthology ''Gay Press, Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT Community Newspapers in America.''


Podcasts

*Former ''Gay Community News'' employee and LGBTQ+ activist Nancy Walker is interviewed about her experiences working for the paper on Season 6, Episode 4 of ''
Making Gay History ''Making Gay History'' is an oral history podcast on the subject of LGBT history, featuring trailblazers, activists, and allies. Most episodes draw on the three-decade-old audio archive of rare interviews conducted by the podcast's founder and h ...
''.


Panels

* The History Project in partnership with the
Massachusetts Historical Society The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street ...
hosted a series of panels to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Gay Community News in 2023
Defining GCN
with Loie Hayes, Gordon Gottlieb, Russ Lopez
Content, Controversy, and Coverage
with
Amy Hoffman Amy Hoffman (born 1952) is an American writer, editor, and community activist. Early life Hoffman was born to a traditional Jewish family. She is the eldest of six children, and grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey. Hoffman graduated from Brande ...
, Gayle Rubin, Chris Guilfoy, Craig Bailey, and Chris Bull.
GCNs Impact and Legacy
with Gerard Cabrera, Gilda Bruckman, Haden Smiley, Moderated by Michael Bronski


See also

*
List of newspapers in Massachusetts This is a list of newspapers in Massachusetts, including print and Online newspaper, online. Daily newspapers Non-daily newspapers College newspapers * ''The Amherst Student'' – Amherst College * ''The Beacon (Massachusetts College of L ...
*
List of LGBT periodicals The following is a list of periodicals (printed magazines, journals and newspapers) aimed at the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) demographic by country. Australia The most comprehensive holdings of LGBT periodicals is f ...


Notes


References


External links

*Th
Bromfield Street Educational Foundation records, 1968-1999 (bulk 1985-1993)
are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
Gay Community News Collection (partial run, 1973-1988)
housed by The History Project, Boston, MA.
Gay Community News Photograph Collection
{{Newspapers in Massachusetts 1973 establishments in Massachusetts 1999 disestablishments in Massachusetts Defunct newspapers published in Massachusetts Defunct weekly newspapers LGBTQ culture in Boston LGBTQ history in Massachusetts LGBTQ-related newspapers published in the United States Newspapers published in Boston Publications disestablished in 1999 Newspapers established in 1973 1973 in LGBTQ history