Gay 2.0: An Introduction

I alluded to this at the end of the last post, but I'm endlessly fascinated by the concept of Gay 2.0. (Bear with me as I over-generalize to an absurd degree, because I do have a point and I can't qualify every assertion.)

Gay culture is changing. Some would say gay culture is deteriorating. LGBT people are now accepted by more elements of society than ever before. The trends are unmistakable: gay marriage will become the law of the land for most people, if not all, within the next ten to twenty years. Younger LGBT are consequently becoming complacent in the movement for equal rights. Younger LGBT are also less inclined to seek out a specifically "gay" restaurant, bar, clothing store, movie, group of friends, etc. As LGBT people are more accepted by elements of non-gay society (for lack of a better term), generally speaking, the younger generations don't feel the need to focus on their sexual orientation in order to establish an independent adult identity.

This is--benefits minus costs--unquestionably a good thing. So much of the gay culture of the older generations (call it Gay 1.0) is built on a foundation of fear, persecution, ostracization, and prejudice. That is the society in which 1.0 culture developed. But as society changes, so too does gay culture change. However happy members of the LGBT community are with the massive progress the movement has made recently, that happiness has to be tempered by recognizing that our victories may inevitably lead to the end of "gay culture."

The ease with which a person accepts this change defines the "iteration" of that person's culture. If you are completely at ease with the declination of gay culture as such--because you don't think gay culture in and of itself is a necessary thing--you embody a Gay 2.0 culture. On the other hand, if you perceive that the victories are bittersweet, knowing that one more step ahead toward equality under the law is also one more undermining of the very necessity for gay culture--which you think is a bad thing--your mindset is representative of Gay 1.0.

Obviously, as a general matter the older gay generation tends to be 1.0, and the younger gay generation tends to be 2.0. I came out in 1998 at age 18. I would have to say that I categorize myself more 1.0 than 2.0, but I think I'm on the knife's edge of the categorizations. Most older LGBT people I know I would categorize as 1.0, whereas most of the younger LGBT I know I would say are 2.0. That isn't to say a 29 year old today is the fulcrum of the distinction; the response of friends and families as well as the environment in which a person grows up makes an enormous amount of difference. But that, anecdotally, is where I see a gray line.

I am absolutely not saying that I think this issue is black and white. To use my characterization, there are Gay 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 people, etc., on down the line. In the future I would like to explore specific areas where this cultural change will likely make a difference. But the undisputed truth is this: gay culture as it is formerly understood is being diminished by the very successes for which the entire culture was established. Where is it going to go next--if anywhere?