AnOther Magazine covered “Castro to Christopher: Gay Streets of America 1979–1986” as part of their IN THEIR WORDS series.
“These Photos Capture the “Gay Paradises” of 1980s America” features an interview with author Nicholas Blair as well as compelling imagery from the book.
“In the late 70s, gay life began to spill out onto the streets of San Francisco’s Castro District, rapidly eclipsing the hippies as the most visible counter-culture movement of the day. People came to see and be seen, tease, cruise, and congregate in public as a community. ‘It was this outburst of pent-up celebration,’ says Nicholas Blair, who was living in a free-love arts commune across town at the time. ‘It felt like the door of tolerance was opening and people were leaning in, hard, to live as their true selves.’
With a Leica rangefinder camera loaned to him by a childhood friend, Blair walked through this so-called “gay paradise”, capturing everything from the mundane to the profane. He photographed individuals dressed head-to-toe in fetish gear, others who preferred to communicate in more subtle codes and winks, and the everyday passersby who moved around them. Between 1979 and 1986, he followed the fervour to other pockets and playgrounds of gay life across the US – New York’s Christopher Street and Fire Island, and Provincetown, Massachusetts.”
Read the full article HERE
Read more about Castro to Christopher: Gay Streets of America 1979–1986 HERE