I grew up in a very hyper-masculine community back in the early ’80s. To deviate from the norm of masculinity was frowned upon and dangerous. It was so bad that roving bands of young teenagers would go on missions to pummel any male they deemed gay or effeminate. The media wasn’t much help. We were knee-deep into the AIDS epidemic, and politicians, the medical establishments, and churches labeled gay men a national threat. The fear-mongering was out in the open, and it wasn’t cloaked or implicit. Lesbians were also under siege, but the anger directed at gay men seemed like night and day by comparison.