by Michael McConnell, 2016
I
enjoyed reading this book, mainly for the personal, first-hand accounts of life
in the gay communities of the United States in the 1960s and ’70s.
Michael is the author of the book and, with the aid of his journalist
friend, he tells the story of his relationship with Jack in a direct and personal
way. He describes the large gatherings and informal parties of the gay scene in
mid-century Oklahoma, how he met Jack and how they built up their relationship
and decided that they wanted to get married. Michael describes his strong and
supportive family, and Jack’s absence of one, both of which likely contributed
to their ability to challenge social norms by living openly as a gay couple.
Michael also acknowledges (briefly) the changing social environment, the “cultural
earthquake of 1960s,” with the Vietnam resistance, the civil rights movement
and the women's rights movement.
I found his story of setting up a gay support group together with author
and activist John Preston in the city of Minneapolis an interesting one. He
says that this was one of the first gay community centres in the United States,
but the struggles around providing services and finding a unity of purpose are
familiar ones. Equally, Jack’s history as a gay student leader in the early
1970s, apparently the first out gay student president at a major American
university, is also an interesting story, with a campaign that directly and
successfully challenged homophobia with humour and innovative, practical
policies.
The successes and support that Michael and Jack had make me expand my
view of the American mid-west. Apparently, it was not as intolerant and
homophobic as the stereotypes suggest. However, the termination of Michael’s university
library job offer, and the failure of the American Library Association to take
up his case, to say nothing of their marriage fight, show that support was not
universal. In fact, I suspect that Michael is downplaying some of homophobia
they may have encountered.
In this light, the marriage story is peculiar. Michael wanted their
community to acknowledge their love, and Jack I think chose to enthusiastically
support his partner. It’s a bit disappointing that the book never gets into
Jack’s mind in the same way that it gets into Michael’s, so we don’t know if it
would have been an issue he would have chosen to fight without Michael wanting
it. As a young law student, Jack initially takes a naïve view of the issue, and
after a long series of legal steps, ultimately fails. Their strategy of getting
a marriage certificate under an ambiguous name is essentially deceptive and
does not advance the issue legally or socially. They had the support of civil
liberties lawyers, but a more considered legal strategy with queer community
leaders might have led to a more productive approach – or more likely they
would have been advised not to waste resources on it.
Not being an advocate of gay marriage, I’m personally less interested in
the details of the legal fight for their marriage, and the wedding itself is a
tad underwhelming – far from the rather grandiose claims of the title. Of
course, queer couples should have the same rights to marriage as unqueer ones
and Michael and Jack’s choice to claim public recognition of their love and
their relationship is inspiring. It’s just the particular way that they chose
to demand recognition, and the deceptive way that they did it, that make the
story a bit odd.
Still, the personal story is illuminating and inspiring. I learned about
some aspects of gay cultural history, and two nice people who undertook a
challenging struggle. It’s well worth a read.
