"The Imitation of Life..."

Mart Crowley and The Cast of "The Boys in the Band"

Earlier today, I was watching an old film, but a significant one... "The Boys in the Band." And as I reminisced in my mind about the many times I've watched this ground breaking film, I realized how seminal this and other films and later television had been in my coming out and coming to terms with the truth of my own heart.

Indeed, as the character Michael says at the end of "The Boys in the Band" as he's recovering from an emotional breakdown, "If we could just learn to hate ourselves less..." I understood just how much the world has changed in my short lifetime.

We've gone from vilification, pity and fear to a point today where I think most people understand (and this is reflected in today's film and television portrayals of SGL people), "we're only human..." with the same desires, hopes and dreams for love and happiness as everyone else.

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"Fear Eats the Soul"