History Is Gay

In an article in the Columbia Spectator, Columbia History Professor David Eisenbach talks about his new book "Gay Power." Eisenbach is straight. Really and truly straight. So why would a straight man write a book called "Gay Power?" He's already a step ahead of you:

When I began writing it, I tried explaining to everyone that historians had neglected gay history and my book would be a significant contribution to the field of United States history in general. But even the most open-minded people were baffled. I could see them thinking, “why would a truly straight guy be interested in gay history?”

A knee-jerk reaction lives in all of us when we hear something like this. We all, gay and straight, think he must be one of those old-fashioned gays who can't face reality. We instinctively feel bad for him and better about ourselves. But Eisenbach has an answer that should make us sit up and take notice: "Why would a straight guy care about gay history? My answer became the central argument of my book: the gay rights movement liberated and transformed straights as well as gays."

He is saying that we gays are part of something larger. He outlines the fight for gay rights the same way another historian would frame the fights for other civil rights:

For decades comedians, politicians, and journalists reinforced negative gay stereotypes of the homosexual as either the silly fop or creepy pervert. But in the early 1970s, gay activists pushed the media to present positive images of gays. Almost every sitcom suddenly aired a “special episode” featuring a likeable gay character who revealed his homosexuality but, in the end, was embraced by the entire cast. Millions of Americans heard the message: “If the cast of Alice can accept a homosexual, so should you!” . . . For better or for worse, the gay rights movement was an American Revolution that transformed our political and social landscape. And so my fellow straight Americans, if you want to understand the country you live in today ... read your gay history.

So many of us have been calling for our leaders to see that we are as important as everyone else, that we matter as much. We're part of all that's going on even when we are told we're not, and our standing up for each other matters. We should thank Eisenbach for reminding us.