But We Loved

Lori Branch was one of the pioneering DJs of house music in the 80s. She reflects on the queer origins of the genre, how this history was erased, and why house music still resonates with so many queer people today.

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Alex Espinoza is the author of the only official history on gay cruising: Cruising: An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime. He reflects on how cruising helped him find self confidence and led him to the love he had always been searching for.

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Studio 54 was much more than a club. It was the embodiment of disco — a movement that empowered LGBTQ+ Americans and prepared them for a fight they never saw coming. Hal Rubenstein, a fashion icon, was a regular there. He remembers how the highs of the 70s sustained him through the lows of the 80s.

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In Part 2 of our episode with Tabytha Gonzalez, she details the consequences of her sex work: a harrowing drug addiction followed by 16 years of incarceration. And she reflects on how years later, she’d return to The Stroll with a new purpose.

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Tabytha Gonzalez is a trans woman who worked on The Stroll in the 90s, a historic area of NYC known for sex work. She recounts the freedom that sex work gave her — and the costs that came with it.

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Danny Ingram was a gay soldier who had to stay closeted during the military’s ban on gay people in the 80s. But when his partner began to die of AIDS, he realized he couldn't stay silent any longer. He decided to fight to end the ban — and 17 years later, he would win.

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Brandon Wolf survived the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016. Hailing from rural Oregon, Brandon reflects on how the club — and the people in it — changed his life forever.

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Jim Obergefell was the plaintiff in the case that legalized gay marriage for all of America in 2015 (Obergefell v. Hodges). Behind that case was a story of love and loss.

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A lawsuit meant Zoe Dunning was the only LGBTQ+ person allowed in the miltiary for 13 years. Compliant at first, she would tranform into one of the most vocal opponents against the military's ban on gays. She would eventually stand next to President Obama as he abolished the ban for good.

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Jason Prefontaine's father died from AIDS related complications. Decades later, he reunited with him in an unexpected way. Special thank you to Trent Straube for originally writing about Chris & Jason in POZ magazine in 2021. You can read his article here.

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