Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
just equal treatment but also
gay events, businesses, and
organizations to thrive.
With the establishment of
the Castro as a gay area, the
community gained political
force. In 1977, local shop owner
Harvey Milk was elected to the
Board of Supervisors, becoming
the nation's first openly gay
elected official. His tenure was
cut short in 1978 when he and
Mayor George Moscone were
shot at City Hall by Dan White.
This further fueled the political
movement - when White was
found guilty only of man-
slaughter and given a light
sentence, the city rioted in what
became known as “White Night.”
Fairs, Festivals,
and Events
AIDS Candlelight Vigil
May, usually 3rd Sunday.
AIDS Walk San Francisco
July, date varies.
Te l
615-9255.
Castro Street Fair
October, usually first Sunday.
Te l
853-5950.
Folsom Street Fair
September, usually last Sunday.
Te l
777-3247.
Last and main event for popular
Leather Week. Not only for the
leather and fetish community.
Gay Pride Month
June, various events, including
Dyke March (last Saturday of
the month).
Gay Pride Parade
June, last Sunday of the month.
Te l
864-0831.
∑
sfpride.org
Halloween
October 31. Party along Market
and Castro Streets.
Map
10 D2.
Home for the Holidays
December 24. SF Gay Men's
Chorus Christmas concert at the
Castro Theatre
(see p136)
.
Pink Saturday
June, Saturday evening before
Pride March (men and women).
Women's alternate Pride parade
and party in the Castro.
SF International Lesbian and
Gay Film Festival
June, usually ten days before
Gay Pride Day.
Te l
703-8650.
Up Your Alley Fair
July, last Sunday.
Te l
777-3247. SoMa's
Dore Street fair.
Map
11 A2.
The right to a same-sex wedding is an
ongoing political battle
Recovery: 1990-Present
The 1990s were perhaps most
marked by the increase in
political clout for gay people,
with the passage of domestic
partnership laws, more gay
politicians being elected,
military policies on gays being
challenged, and much more.
The AIDS epidemic bred new
forms of participation in San
Francisco's gay community and
to some degree made it more
cohesive. But the sheer numbers
of members lost means that the
community is once again
redefining itself. In these days of
same-sex on-screen kissing and
prom dating, gender roles are
more fluid, and there's less of a
sense of urgency to sorting out
the “rules” of sexuality.
That said, the politics of
being gay are very much in
the forefront, and were put
famously on view by Mayor
Gavin Newsom's attempt at
legalizing same-sex marriage.
Some 3,000 couples were
wed at City Hall in February
of 2004, a historic event
broadcast around the world.
The marriages were later
invalidated by
Proposition 8 in 2008,
which eliminated the
rights of same-sex
couples to marry.
This was clearly the
opening salvo of an
ongoing battle as
this Proposition has
since been ruled
unconstitutional.
The Plague Years: 1980s
After all the hard-won political
gains of the previous decades,
the community was decimated
by a new adversary. In 1981, the
first incidence of a rare form of
cancer was reported and within
months, word spread of a
disease dubbed “the gay
cancer.” The disease was later
named AIDS (Auto-Immune
Deficiency Syndrome), which is
caused by the HIV virus (Human
Immunodeficiency Virus). The
city's gay community became
one of the hardest hit, with as
many as half of the city's gay
men infected with HIV. It also
became a model in developing
a response. People rapidly
mobilized to establish
education and prevention
efforts and community-based
services to care for people
with AIDS. San Francisco also
leapt to the forefront of
research, establishing the
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
and the Center for AIDS
Prevention Studies at the
UCSF Medical School.
Contact Information
Betty's List
Te l
503-1375.
∑
bettyslist.com
Online community directory.
GLBT Historical Society
657 Mission Street.
Map
6 D4.
Te l
777-5455.
HIV Nightline
Te l
434-2437.
James C. Hormel
Gay and Lesbian Center
100 Larkin St.
Map
11 A1.
Te l
557-4400.
SF City Clinic
356 7th Street.
Map
11 B2.
Te l
487-5500.
STD testing/counseling.
SF LGBT Community Center
1800 Market Street.
Map
10 E1.
Te l
865-5555.
Sex Information Hotline
Te l
989-7374.
Suicide Prevention Hotline
Te l
781-0500.
The San Francisco AIDS Fund, now AIDS Emergency Fund
(AEF), established in 1982
