Know Your LGBT History - Billy Squier and the 'Rock Me Tonite' video

If you don't know who Billy Squier is, blame the video below.

In the early 80s, Squier was a hard rocker with several hits and he was on the verge of superstardom. Until the video for his song, Rock Me Tonite premiered.

The song itself was a huge hit, but the video has been called one of the worst, if not the worst music video ever for a number of reasons. Personally, I think his dancing was a hot mess. But others cited the homoerotic subtext in the video, i.e. the satin sheets, the pink clothing he put on, as well as him writhing on the floor. Nowadays, that's old hat, but in the 80s homoeroticism was a huge no-no in rock videos. Even singers like Prince and Mick Jagger "butched it up" a bit back then. And while Boy George of Culture Club was wild, he walked a very tight line between bizarre and gay.

Many, including Squier himself, said that the video totally destroyed his career by alienating a huge part of his fan base. Whatever the case may be, take a look and judge for yourself:



Wikipedia has a huge entry on the Rock Me Tonite video and the havoc it wrecked on Squier's career.

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

'Right-wing FURIOUS that courts won't let them discriminate against gays' and other Friday midday news briefs

Right-Wing Media Cry "Tyranny" Over Enforcement Of New Mexico's Non-Discrimination Law - Sorry guys, but you have the follow the rules just like everyone else. If you let photographers discriminate on the basis of "religious beliefs" today, tomorrow it may be apartment complex owners, or restaurants, or maybe even pharmacies. It's neither fair nor right.

5 most absurd, self-pitying gripes of the Christian Right - I'm amazed that the author found just five.

Senator Claims Pentagon Policy Allowing Gays To Marry Harms Straight Couples - Tell you what. Give us the right to be legally married in all 50 states (like straight couples have) and we wouldn't need a policy like this one.  

Daily Beast Publishes Piece Suggesting Prison Is Pretty Great For Transgender People - I read that piece and it was a HOT MESS! Whatever happened to standards a publication should follow when publishing material?  

Center for Marriage Policy Worries Lesbians Will Trick Gay Men Into Fathering Their Children And Become Their Slaves - Ooo Lawd!

Bryan Fischer anoints Christians as the ‘new Black’ after court ruling

The New Mexico Supreme Court just ruled against a wedding photographer who refused to service a gay couple, saying that “personal religious beliefs” is not grounds for discrimination.

Naturally,  Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association is all broken up over the ruling:

Cry me a river, Fischer.

MLK's son speaks about his father's legacy in the gay community

This wonderful interview that Michelangelo Signorile conducted with Martin Luther King III, the son of MLK, is an excellent antidote for all of the times the wannabes and never-will-bes attempt to co-opt the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and MLK to plant a wedge between the lgbt and black communities.

King also voiced support for the boycott of the Russian Olympics due that country's anti-gay policies. But this part is very poignant to me:

King III also discussed his father’s legacy on civil rights and claims by some anti-gay religious conservatives, including some black minsters, that his father would not have supported LGBT equality. MLK's widow and King III's mother, Coretta Scott King, eventually became a champion of LGBT rights and gay marriage. Gay advocates are included among the speakers at the rally this weekend commemorating the march, and LGBT groups are busing in attendees.

“What I know, for sure, is that dad was beyond the average person in terms of what he chose to embrace and accept,” King III said. “One of the most significant persons -- the most significant person in fact -- who helped to organize the March on Washington was Mr. Bayard Rustin [who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom this year by President Obama]. And Mr. Bayard Rustin was openly gay. The point is, if dad had problems with gays I don’t think he would have embraced someone in a such a significant role. I think that as he worked to advocate for civil and human rights, he was talking for everyone, not just for people of color. That’s where my mom was throughout her life.”

You read more about the interview here. But try to listen to it all if you can.

'Is Scott Lively taking credit for Russian homophobia?' and other Thursday midday news briefs

How A Global Anti-Gay Activist Reached Into Russia - Homophobe Scott Lively seems to be taking credit for the anti-gay debacle in Russia while he is facing a lawsuit for another anti-gay debacle in Uganda. 

The Seven Most Ignorant Reactions To Bradley Manning Coming Out As Chelsea - I would be accused of having my head in the sand if I ignored the situation regarding Chelsea Manning.

 WND Touts Hate Group's Distortion Of Pentagon Policy On Same-Sex Marriages - World Net Daily teaming with the Family Research Council? It's one of those proverbial matches made in the lower part of hell.

 “Dangerously Uninformed”: Fox News’ Fact-Free Campaign Against Protections For Transgender Students - Isn't calling Fox News "dangerously uninformed" an extreme oxymoron?

Albany pols push for ban on gay ‘conversion’ therapy for teens, citing new N.J. law - Yes! Big time yes!

Video proof that homophobia rots your brain

Andy Warhol once said that in the future, everyone will be famous for at least 15 minutes. Methinks he was predicting youtube. This observation was very astute, but highly unfortunate for some homophobes who seem to think that their personal observations about our community deserve a wide audience. I challenge you to get through at least five minutes of this "common sense" video without choking on laughter.

Religious right talking head wants 'civil disobedience' over marriage equality

As many times as some of my African-Americans brothers and sisters get angry to hear the gay rights movement being compared to the civil rights movement, I wish some of them would show a little of that fire when someone like the Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber besmirches the name of the civil rights movement.

Dear Matt, NO ONE on your side of homophobes can be compared to Martin Luther King, Jr. Please get over yourself.