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72-581: The Royal Vauxhall Tavern is a Grade II listed gay entertainment venue in Vauxhall , London. It is also known as the RVT. It is South London's oldest surviving gay venue. The RVT was built between 1860 and 1862 at Spring Gardens, Kennington Lane, on land which was originally part of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens . Although sometimes reported to have started life as a music hall, the venue

144-413: A noun , referring to the community , practices and cultures associated with homosexuality. In the 1960s, gay became the word favored by homosexual men to describe their sexual orientation . By the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, the word gay was recommended by major LGBTQ groups and style guides to describe people attracted to members of the same sex, although it

216-436: A Saturday night with Land of Hope and Glory . The RVT survived local redevelopment throughout the 1970s and 1980s and maintained its independence as a gay venue. Many of London's top drag artists performed there, including Hinge and Bracket and Regina Fong . Diana Dors also appeared there. Lily Savage , the drag persona of Paul O'Grady , was a regular performer for eight years, with shows four times per week. In 1987,

288-416: A community of similar others from whom they learn about their identity and who reinforce and support that identity. Rather, LGB individuals are often raised in communities that are either ignorant of or openly hostile toward homosexuality." The British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell has argued that the term gay is merely a cultural expression which reflects the current status of homosexuality within

360-423: A fantastical lens that is always grounded on human emotion." Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 90 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. Filmmaker Edgar Wright praised the film, saying "I am in awe of what Andrew [Haigh] managed to do in this film. It's

432-411: A given society, and claiming that "Queer, gay, homosexual ... in the long view, they are all just temporary identities. One day, we will not need them at all." If a person engages in sexual activity with a partner of the same sex but does not self-identify as gay, terms such as ' closeted' , 'discreet', or ' bi-curious ' may apply. Conversely, a person may identify as gay without having had sex with

504-409: A same-sex partner. Possible choices include identifying as gay socially, while choosing to be celibate , or while anticipating a first homosexual experience. Further, a bisexual person might also identify as "gay" but others may consider gay and bisexual to be mutually exclusive . There are some who are drawn to the same sex but neither engage in sexual activity nor identify as gay; these could have

576-455: A small beam of light among stars in the night sky as the screen turns to black. Graham Broadbent and Sarah Harvey of Blueprint Pictures first pitched the project to Yamada in June 2017. Later that year, Haigh and Film4 Productions came on board. Haigh described his adaptation of the novel as "a long and sometimes painful process". He said, "I wanted to pick away at my own past as Adam does in

648-435: A sudden!" Since this was a mainstream film at a time, when the use of the word to refer to cross-dressing (and, by extension, homosexuality) would still be unfamiliar to most film-goers, the line can also be interpreted to mean, "I just decided to do something frivolous." In 1950, the earliest reference found to date for the word gay as a self-described name for homosexuals came from Alfred A. Gross, executive secretary for

720-423: A willingness to disregard conventional or respectable sexual mores . Such usage, documented as early as the 1920s, was likely present before the 20th century, although it was initially more commonly used to imply heterosexually unconstrained lifestyles, as in the once-common phrase " gay Lothario ", or in the title of the book and film The Gay Falcon (1941), which concerns a womanizing detective whose first name

792-504: Is "Gay". Similarly, Fred Gilbert and G. H. MacDermott 's music hall song of the 1880s, "Charlie Dilke Upset the Milk" – "Master Dilke upset the milk, when taking it home to Chelsea; the papers say that Charlie's gay, rather a wilful wag!" – referred to Sir Charles Dilke 's alleged heterosexual impropriety. Giving testimony in court in 1889, the prostitute John Saul stated: "I occasionally do odd-jobs for different gay people." Well into

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864-513: Is a 2023 British romantic fantasy film written and directed by Andrew Haigh , and loosely based on the 1987 novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada . It stars Andrew Scott , Paul Mescal , Jamie Bell , and Claire Foy . The second feature adaptation of the novel, after the Japanese film The Discarnates (1988), the film follows a lonely screenwriter who develops an intimate relationship with his mysterious neighbour while revisiting memories from

936-407: Is a relief to his mother, although untrue. The three tearfully reaffirm their love for each other, after which both parents vanish. Having accepted the loss of his parents, Adam goes home to see Harry. He enters Harry's flat and notices an awful stench, with drug residue on a table and squalor throughout the flat. Adam finds Harry dead in the bedroom, holding the same whiskey bottle he was drinking on

1008-457: Is homosexual. The American Psychological Association defines sexual orientation as "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes," ranging "along a continuum, from exclusive attraction to the other sex to exclusive attraction to the same sex." Sexual orientation can also be "discussed in terms of three categories: heterosexual (having emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to members of

1080-571: Is more commonly used to refer specifically to men. At about the same time, a new, pejorative use became prevalent in some parts of the world. Among younger speakers, the word has a meaning ranging from derision (e.g., equivalent to 'rubbish' or 'stupid') to a light-hearted mockery or ridicule (e.g., equivalent to 'weak', 'unmanly', or ' lame '). The extent to which these usages still retain connotations of homosexuality has been debated and harshly criticized. The word gay arrived in English during

1152-606: Is perceived as excessively clinical, since the sexual orientation now commonly referred to as "homosexuality" was at that time a mental illness diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). In mid-20th century Britain, where male homosexuality was illegal until the Sexual Offences Act 1967 , to openly identify someone as homosexual was considered very offensive and an accusation of serious criminal activity. Additionally, none of

1224-645: Is possibly the first traceable published use of the word to refer to a homosexual relationship. According to Linda Wagner-Martin ( Favored Strangers: Gertrude Stein and her Family , 1995) the portrait "featured the sly repetition of the word gay, used with sexual intent for one of the first times in linguistic history", and Edmund Wilson (1951, quoted by James Mellow in Charmed Circle , 1974) agreed. For example: They were ... gay, they learned little things that are things in being gay, ... they were quite regularly gay. The word continued to be used with

1296-461: Is sometimes used to refer to individuals, as in "he is a gay" or "two gays were there too," although this may be perceived as derogatory. It was also used for comedic effect by the Little Britain character Dafydd Thomas. To avoid pejorative connotations, the adjective form can be used instead, e.g. "gay person" or "gay people". When used with a derisive attitude (e.g., "that was so gay"),

1368-599: The 50th Telluride Film Festival on 31 August 2023, and played at the 2023 New York Film Festival on 1 October 2023. It also made it to the main competition of the 68th Valladolid International Film Festival . Cork International Film Festival chose the film as its International Gala film, acting as the Irish premier, on 19 November 2023. The screening was held at the Everyman Theatre to a packed house. The QCinema International Film Festival hosted three screenings of

1440-595: The Board of Governors over the negative use of the word by Chris Moyles advises that "caution on its use"; however, it acknowledges its common use among young people to mean "rubbish" or "lame". The BBC's ruling was heavily criticized by the Minister for Children, Kevin Brennan , who stated in response that "the casual use of homophobic language by mainstream radio DJs" is: "too often seen as harmless banter instead of

1512-553: The Fringe Report best venue in 2010, and London Best Cabaret Venue 2012. 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 19th century, that meaning became increasingly common by the mid-20th century. In modern English , gay has come to be used as an adjective , and as

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1584-515: The Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. The word may have started to acquire associations of sexual immorality as early as the 14th century, but had certainly acquired them by the 17th. By the late 17th century, it had acquired the specific meaning of "addicted to pleasures and dissipations", an extension of its primary meaning of "carefree" implying "uninhibited by moral constraints". A gay woman

1656-508: The 12th century from Old French gai , most likely deriving ultimately from a Germanic source. In English, the word's primary meaning was "joyful", "carefree", "bright and showy", and the word was very commonly used with this meaning in speech and literature. For example, the optimistic 1890s are still often referred to as the Gay Nineties . The title of the 1938 French ballet Gaîté Parisienne ("Parisian Gaiety"), which became

1728-421: The 1941 Warner Brothers movie, The Gay Parisian , also illustrates this connotation. It was apparently not until the 20th century that the word began to be used to mean specifically "homosexual", although it had earlier acquired sexual connotations. The derived abstract noun gaiety remains largely free of sexual connotations and has, in the past, been used in the names of places of entertainment, such as

1800-534: The 1980s, and especially in the late 1990s, the usage as a generic insult became common among young people. Use of "gay" in some circumstances continues to be considered a pejorative in present day. As recently as 2023, the American Psychological Association described language like "that's so gay" as heterosexist and heteronormative . The pejorative usage of the word "gay" has been criticized as homophobic . A 2006 BBC ruling by

1872-530: The Eagle in Vauxhall. Beefmince is a twice-monthly Friday night club night. Anthem is an in-house bi-monthly Friday night club night featuring trance and euro tracks and mixes. The performance artist David Hoyle intermittently hosts an avant-garde cabaret show. Push The Button is a club night hosted on the last Friday of every month, playing pop music from 1990 to present day. The Royal Vauxhall Tavern won

1944-650: The George W. Henry Foundation, who said in the June 1950 issue of SIR magazine: "I have yet to meet a happy homosexual. They have a way of describing themselves as gay but the term is a misnomer. Those who are habitues of the bars frequented by others of the kind, are about the saddest people I've ever seen." By the mid-20th century, gay was well established in reference to hedonistic and uninhibited lifestyles and its antonym straight , which had long had connotations of seriousness, respectability, and conventionality, had now acquired specific connotations of heterosexuality. In

2016-540: The RVT in the late 1980s, disguised as a man and accompanied by Rocos, Freddie Mercury and Kenny Everett . Rocos stated that revellers did not notice Diana because their attention was focused on Mercury, Everett and Rocos. Mercury’s close friend and personal assistant, Peter Freestone, has stated that Mercury was not involved in this outing and never met the Princess. In 2005, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern

2088-423: The RVT, starting in the mid 1990s. According to the venue, Duckie provided "queer heritage, performance art and honky-tonk". The event's disc jockeys , known as "The Readers Wifes" [ sic ], play Britpop , disco , hi-NRG , easy listening , glam rock , rock, contemporary pop, new romantics and punk. Duckie had its last night at the RVT in 2022. It still runs a regular event hosted by Azara Meghie at

2160-422: The ambiguous line "he is so gay and fancy-free" attesting to the word's double meaning at that time. As late as 1970, the first episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show has the demonstrably straight Mary Richards ' neighbor Phyllis breezily declaiming that Mary is still "young and gay", but in an episode about two years later, Phyllis is told that her brother is "gay", which is immediately understood to mean that he

2232-453: The building and wants to join him for the night. Reluctantly, Adam declines and sends Harry away. Adam begins writing and decides to visit his suburban childhood home, now unoccupied. He encounters his parents, who both died in a car accident decades earlier just before he was twelve. Adam has dinner with them and promises to visit again. Returning to his flat, Adam encounters Harry by the lift. He reciprocates Harry's interest from earlier and

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2304-734: The bullying Adam experienced as a child. The two tearfully reconcile and hug. Later, as Adam and Harry's relationship flourishes, the two spend a lot of time clubbing and begin to do ketamine together. One night Adam wakes up after a blackout and discovers he is back at his parents' home, this time at Christmas. They hang lights on the Christmas tree together and celebrate happily as music plays. Unable to sleep, Adam gets in bed with his parents and tells his mother about being sent to stay with his grandmother after her death, which his mother laments. Adam then drifts back to his life with Harry. Adam seemingly awakes on an Underground train and sees Harry in

2376-409: The case of gay , other connotations of frivolousness and showiness in dress ("gay apparel") led to association with camp and effeminacy . This association no doubt helped the gradual narrowing in scope of the term towards its current dominant meaning, which was at first confined to subcultures. Gay was the preferred term since other terms, such as queer , were felt to be derogatory. Homosexual

2448-670: The current "homosexual". In the British comedy-drama film Light Up the Sky! (1960), directed by Lewis Gilbert , about the antics of a British Army searchlight squad during World War II, there is a scene in the mess hut where the character played by Benny Hill proposes an after-dinner toast. He begins, "I'd like to propose..." at which point a fellow diner interjects "Who to?", implying a proposal of marriage. The Benny Hill character responds, "Not to you for start, you ain't my type". He then adds in mock doubt, "Oh, I don't know, you're rather gay on

2520-482: The dominant meaning of "carefree", as evidenced by the title of The Gay Divorcee (1934), a musical film about a heterosexual couple. Bringing Up Baby (1938) was the first film to use the word gay in an apparent reference to homosexuality. In a scene in which Cary Grant 's character's clothes have been sent to the cleaners, he is forced to wear a woman's feather-trimmed robe. When another character asks about his robe, he responds, "Because I just went gay all of

2592-517: The efforts to raise awareness, stop using anti-LGBT language and safely intervene when they are present and anti-LGBT harassment and behavior occurs." Research has looked into the use and effect of the pejorative. In a 2013 article published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence , University of Michigan researchers Michael Woodford, Alex Kulick and Perry Silverschanz, alongside Appalachian State University professor Michael L. Howell, argued that

2664-641: The film on 19, 20, and 24 November 2023. It began a limited release in the United States on 22 December 2023 and was released in the United Kingdom on 26 January 2024. In its limited opening weekend, the film made $ 232,909 from four theaters, a per-venue average of $ 58,000. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 96% of 267 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's consensus reads: " All of Us Strangers examines profound grief and love through

2736-432: The film. I was interested in exploring the complexities of both familial and romantic love, but also the distinct experience of a specific generation of gay people growing up in the 80s. I wanted to move away from the traditional ghost story of the novel and find something more psychological, almost metaphysical." On 30 June 2022, the film, then known as Strangers , and the principal cast were announced. The announced plot

2808-481: The gay label for reasons other than shame or negative connotations. Writer Alan Bennett and fashion icon André Leon Talley are out and open queer men who reject being labeled gay, believing the gay label confines them. Starting in the mid-1980s in the United States, a conscious effort was underway within what was then commonly called the gay community , to add the term lesbian to the name of organizations that involved both male and female homosexuals, and to use

2880-419: The glass. Adam pounds on the door until the glass breaks. Upon waking up the next morning with his parents, they explain that Harry went home. They tell Adam that in order for him to find happiness, he must let them go and move forward in his life with Harry. They take him to his favourite childhood restaurant, where they ask about the circumstances of their deaths. Adam tells them they both died instantly, which

2952-407: The hospital. His grandmother kept Adam from seeing his mother due to her dire condition, which has forever haunted Adam. Adam takes Harry on a trip that night to meet his parents. Harry is skeptical and somewhat alarmed at Adam's behaviour. They find the house empty. Concerned about Adam's mental condition, Harry urges them to leave. Adam's mother is then seen beyond the window peering at them through

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3024-526: The mid 20th century a middle-aged bachelor could be described as "gay", indicating that he was unattached and therefore free, without any implication of homosexuality. This usage could apply to women too. The British comic strip Jane , first published in the 1930s, described the adventures of Jane Gay . Far from implying homosexuality, it referred to her free-wheeling lifestyle with plenty of boyfriends (while also punning on Lady Jane Grey ). A passage from Gertrude Stein 's Miss Furr & Miss Skeene (1922)

3096-506: The modern usage developed. The label gay was originally used purely as an adjective ("he is a gay man" or "he is gay"). The term has also been in use as a noun with the meaning "homosexual man" since the 1970s, most commonly in the plural for an unspecified group, as in "gays are opposed to that policy." This usage is somewhat common in the names of organizations such as Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and Children of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere (COLAGE). It

3168-437: The next car. Harry is distant and does not approach him. Adam sees a vision of his younger self screaming in the reflection of the train car. In actuality, Adam is in his bed, suddenly waking up crying. Harry has brought him home after a club incident where Adam had a panic attack. Adam discusses the details of his parents' death. He reveals his father died instantly in the car accident, while his mother lingered for several days in

3240-477: The night they met. Harry has been dead all along, having been an apparition similar to his parents. Outside the room, Harry's ghost is distraught and crying, as he did not want Adam to see him as a corpse. Adam assures Harry that everything will be all right, and takes Harry back to his flat. The two lie in bed together, tightly in each other's arms. When Harry asks Adam to play a record, he puts on " The Power of Love " by Frankie Goes to Hollywood . The two fade into

3312-529: The offensive insult that it really represents. ... To ignore this problem is to collude in it. The blind eye to casual name-calling, looking the other way because it is the easy option, is simply intolerable." Shortly after the Moyles incident, a campaign against homophobia was launched in Britain under the slogan "homophobia is gay", playing on the double meaning of the word "gay" in youth culture, as well as

3384-457: The original meaning of the word being used in popular culture include the theme song to the 1960–1966 animated TV series The Flintstones , wherein viewers are assured that they will "have a gay old time." Similarly, the 1966 Herman's Hermits song " No Milk Today ", which became a Top 10 hit in the UK and a Top 40 hit in the U.S., included the lyric "No milk today, it was not always so; The company

3456-489: The other sex), gay/lesbian (having emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to members of one's own sex), and bisexual (having emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to both men and women)." According to Rosario, Schrimshaw, Hunter, Braun (2006), "the development of a lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) sexual identity is a complex and often difficult process. Unlike members of other minority groups (e.g., ethnic and racial minorities), most LGB individuals are not raised in

3528-613: The past. All of Us Strangers premiered at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on 31 August 2023, and was released in the United Kingdom by Searchlight Pictures on 26 January 2024. It received critical acclaim, was named one of the top ten independent films of 2023 by the National Board of Review , and earned six BAFTA Award nominations. Lonely television screenwriter Adam lives a secluded life in London. At his tower block, he meets his drunk neighbour Harry, who has noticed him in

3600-454: The pejorative use of the word "gay" was a microaggression . They found that college-age men were more likely to repeat the word pejoratively if their friends said it, while they were less likely to say it if they had lesbian, gay or bisexual peers. A 2019 study used data collected in a 2013 survey of cisgender LGBQ college students to evaluate the effects of microaggressions like "that's so gay" and "no homo." It found that increased exposure to

3672-446: The phrase "that's so gay" was significantly associated with greater developmental challenge (a measure of academic stressors). Research published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence in 2021 finds that use of anti-gay banter among Midwestern middle and high school students such as "that's so gay" is perceived less negatively and more humorously if the person saying it is a friend. All of Us Strangers All of Us Strangers

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3744-473: The popular perception that vocal homophobia is common among closeted homosexuals. The United States had its own popular campaign against the pejorative use of "gay" called Think B4 You Speak. It was created in 2008 in partnership with the Advertising Council, GLSEN, and Arnold NYC . This initiative created television, radio, print and web PSAs with goals "to motivate teens to become allies in

3816-417: The premises were raided by officers wearing rubber medical gloves to investigate allegations of drunken behaviour, despite no such complaints being made by Vauxhall residents. Junior minister Douglas Hogg said the surgical gloves were worn to prevent "infection by hepatitis B or AIDS as a result of accidental injury from any drugs paraphernalia", including poppers (amyl nitrite). In 1980s Britain, HIV/AIDS

3888-421: The quiet." By 1963, a new sense of the word gay was known well enough to be used by Albert Ellis in his book The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Man-Hunting . Similarly, Hubert Selby Jr. in his 1964 novel Last Exit to Brooklyn , could write that a character "took pride in being a homosexual by feeling intellectually and esthetically superior to those (especially women) who weren't gay...." Later examples of

3960-445: The said culture . For example, the term "gay bar" describes the bar which either caters primarily to a homosexual male clientele or is otherwise part of homosexual male culture. Using it to describe an object, such as an item of clothing, suggests that it is particularly flamboyant, often on the verge of being gaudy and garish. This usage predates the association of the term with homosexuality but has acquired different connotations since

4032-437: The term asexual applied, even though asexual generally can mean no attraction, or involve heterosexual attraction but no sexual activity. Some reject the term homosexual as an identity-label because they find it too clinical-sounding; they believe it is too focused on physical acts rather than romance or attraction, or too reminiscent of the era when homosexuality was considered a mental illness. Conversely, some reject

4104-575: The term gay as an identity-label because they perceive the cultural connotations to be undesirable or because of the negative connotations of the slang usage of the word. Style guides, like the following from the Associated Press , call for gay over homosexual : Gay : Used to describe men and women attracted to the same sex, though lesbian is the more common term for women. Preferred over homosexual except in clinical contexts or references to sexual activity. There are those who reject

4176-535: The terminology of gay and lesbian , lesbian/gay , or a similar phrase when referring to that community. Accordingly, organizations such as the National Gay Task Force became the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force . For many feminist lesbians, it was also important that lesbian be named first, to avoid the implication that women were secondary to men, or an afterthought. In the 1990s, this

4248-469: The tiny apron stage at one end. Prior to the cabaret starting the bar would be cleared of glasses and drinks and the staff would clean the bar ready for the drag to dance along with it in their heels. The public bar attracted local workers and had a dartboard whilst the lounge attracted the local gay community. Notable acts from this era include "Carla" with her Barbra Streisand impersonation, "Jackie Sh*t" with her political tombola and "The Great Lee Paris" on

4320-475: The two begin a passionate relationship. Adam learns of Harry's own feelings of distance from his family, and the two slowly begin to build a life together. Adam has several subsequent meetings with his parents. During a talk with his mother, Adam reveals his sexual orientation and they discuss it. His mother accepts that Adam is gay, but reacts with concern and slight discomfort. On a later visit with his father, Adam discusses being hurt by his father's silence about

4392-452: The venue's continued use as a site of LGBTQ community and culture. Following an application by RVT Future, the RVT was made a Grade II–listed building on 8 September 2015, becoming the UK's first building to be listed in recognition of its importance to LGBTQ community history. The campaign was supported by the then Mayor of London , Boris Johnson , and the actors and entertainers Ian McKellen and Paul O'Grady , among many others. The RVT

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4464-448: The word gay is pejorative . Though retaining other meanings, its use among young people as a term of disparagement is common; 97 percent of American LGBTQ middle and high school students reported hearing its negative use as of 2021. This pejorative usage has its origins in the late 1970s, with the word gaining a pejorative sense by association with the previous meaning: homosexuality was seen as inferior or undesirable. Beginning in

4536-419: The words describing any aspect of homosexuality were considered suitable for polite society. Consequently, a number of euphemisms were used to hint at suspected homosexuality. Examples include "sporty" girls and "artistic" boys, all with the stress deliberately on the otherwise completely innocent adjective. The 1960s marked the transition in the predominant meaning of the word gay from that of "carefree" to

4608-448: Was a prostitute , a gay man a womanizer , and a gay house a brothel . An example is a letter read to a London court in 1885 during the prosecution of brothel madam and procuress Mary Jeffries that had been written by a girl while enslaved inside of a French brothel: I write to tell you it is a gay house ... Some captains came in the other night, and the mistress wanted us to sleep with them. The use of gay to mean "homosexual"

4680-506: Was brief and vaguely worded, and attracted inquiries on social media as to whether the film involved a romance between Scott and Mescal's characters. Filming was in progress in the United Kingdom when the announcement was made. Haigh's childhood home served as the filming location for the house in which Adam finds his parents. Nightclub sequences were shot on location at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern . The film premiered at

4752-455: Was considered by some to be a "gay plague"; this raid has been seen by LGBT historians as an example of increased discrimination and harassment of gay men during this era. 11 people were arrested, including Savage, who was performing that day. During the raid, she quipped that the gloved officers had arrived to "help with the washing up". According to Cleo Rocos in her memoir The Power of Positive Drinking , Diana, Princess of Wales , visited

4824-447: Was featured as a location in the 1970 film Goodbye Gemini , 2007's Clapham Junction , 2014's Pride , 2016's Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie and 2023's All of Us Strangers . Bar Wotever is a weekly cabaret and performance night every Tuesday. Sunday Social is a Sunday afternoon event which combines drag performers and DJs. Duckie is an avant garde club night which used to be hosted by Amy Lamé every Saturday night at

4896-633: Was followed by a similar effort to include terminology specifically including bisexual, transgender , intersex , and other people, reflecting the intra-community debate about the inclusion of these other sexual minorities as part of the same movement. Consequently, the portmanteau les/bi/gay has sometimes been used, and initialisms such as LGBTQ , LGBTQ , LGBTQI , and others have come into common use by such organizations, and most news organizations have formally adopted some such variation. The term gay can also be used as an adjective to describe things related to homosexual men, or things which are part of

4968-489: Was gay , we'd turn night into day." In June 1967, the headline of the review of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album in the British daily newspaper The Times stated, "The Beatles revive hopes of progress in pop music with their gay new LP". The same year, The Kinks recorded " David Watts ", which is about a schoolmate of Ray Davies, but is named after a homosexual concert promoter they knew, with

5040-472: Was in fact constructed as a public house and has always served that function. After the Second World War , returning servicemen and local gay men were reportedly attracted to the venue, which held shows by female impersonators (drag shows). By 1975, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern had two bars around a kidney-shaped bar which doubled as a stage for the drag artists to dance along in their stilettos from

5112-403: Was often an extension of its application to prostitution: a gay boy was a young man or boy serving male clients. Similarly, a gay cat was a young male apprenticed to an older hobo and commonly exchanging sex and other services for protection and tutelage. The application to homosexuality was also an extension of the word's sexualized connotation of "carefree and uninhibited", which implied

5184-407: Was taken over by gay businessmen Paul Oxley and James Lindsay. With a new lighting and sound system, the venue opened seven nights a week and maintained its popularity. In November 2014 the RVT was sold to property developers in a multimillion-pound commercial deal. Lindsay was retained and appointed by the new business owners. The community campaign group RVT Future was formed soon afterwards to defend

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