tony@mit-athena.ARPA (Tony Della Fera) (05/23/84)
I too was impressed by John Boswell's talk here in Boston on Monday. I was wondering if anyone out there might have taped the talk? It would be of great value to me if I could get a taped copy of the talk. I would be willing to provide the tape for the copy. In regards to Greg Woods reply to my last note: I apologize if my message seemed directed towards gay people only. I didn't mean to imply that. I simply ment to convey the idea that net.motss helps to form a community atmosphere among its readers and that that atmosphere, in general, helps the gay community at large. In his talk Boswell made a point which relates well to my last paragraph. He requested (strongly) that the gay community begin to define parameters for itself. To step away from the pervasive desire to avoid saying that somthing is "not acceptable". He stated (I am writing from memory so excuse me if I make a mistake) that gay people, in general, having been told that various aspects (if not all) of their lives are unacceptable tend not to be able to say that somethings are indeed "unacceptable". I am not a historian so I will not comment on his deductions regarding the "why" of the last sentence but I do agree that the gay community must begin to define itself (its parameters, if you will). Boswell also remarked that in many cases it is the lack of clearly defined parameters that makes the gay life style unacceptable to many people. Do others agree?? Reactions? Responses? Tony...