This Month in the History of Gay and Lesbian life in Wisconsin--
Month by Month, Year by Year

This Month in Wisconsin LGBT History: May 2008
by Michail Takach and Don Schwamb

30 years ago-- 1978-- Saugatuck Lodges, self-described as both the "Fire Island of the Midwest" and the "gayest resort in the Great Lakes" announced its opening for the 1978 summer season. Offering five acres of secluded woods, campsites, restaurants, a disco, and a nude beach, Saugatuck Lodges was a screaming deal by today's standards, with camping at $4/night and summer rooms starting at $17/night. The resort offered monthly events all season long, including Leather Week, Mr. Jockey Shorts Contest, and of course, the "famous giggle weed parties."

20 years ago-- 1988-- LGBT activists were outraged when a cereal commercial for Kellogg's Nut'N'Honey seemed to encourage gay-bashing. As the memorable Old West scene played out, an effeminate chuck wagon cook is asked by a butch cowboy what's for breakfast. When he responds, "Nut'N'Honey," the entire cowboy camp quickly draw their guns on the cook for what they understand to be a romantic pass. The Coalition against Media/Marketing Prejudice (CAMMP), a Chicago based media watchdog group, called for the immediate withdrawal of the ad campaign. "These commercials are not merely offensive, but they send a serious and dangerous message: that gays and lesbians, or anyone perceived as sexually or behaviorally different, are easy and acceptable targets for trivialization and/or direct violence."Kellogg's vice-president for public affairs assured the media that there was no intention to promote violence against the LGBT community. CAMMP quickly countered with a statement that "any commercial in which gun-toting cowboys threaten to kill a cook who they think has called them 'honey' implicitly promotes a dangerous message endorsing violent intimidation of gays and lesbians." Kellogg's later pulled the ad.

15 years ago-- 1993-- Following a two-week cryptosporidium epidemic that caused over 100 deaths, infected over 400,000 Milwaukee residents with gastrointestinal illness, and attracted negative media attention for the city, the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin disclosed a five-month-old study suggesting that Milwaukee had a longstanding problem with cryptosporidium contamination. Originally mistaken for a flu epidemic, the cryptosporidium outbreak was especially cruel to persons with weakened immune systems. During the crisis, 48% of Milwaukee AIDS Project patients reported illnesses, 12 were hospitalized for dehydration, and four actually died. Although it was never determined if the four deaths were caused by water contamination, the Milwaukee AIDS Project continued to advise its clients to use only boiled or bottled water for years after the outbreak.Although a malfunctioning water treatment plant received most of the blame, the root cause of the contamination was never fully isolated. To this day, Milwaukee's cryptosporidium crisis remains the largest waterborne disease outbreak ever documented in American history.

10 years ago-- 1998-- A decade ago, Viagra was released by the FDA and became instantly popular for its affects on erectile dysfunction. However, the medical health community asked ground-breaking questions about Viagra's safe interaction with other medications, notably protease inhibitors and antibiotics commonly used by HIV patients. It was rumored that combining Viagra and amyl nitrate (i.e., poppers) could be deadly --and this was later validated by researchers, who proved a Viagra-nitrate combination could cause a fatal drop in blood pressure. In May 1998, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) met with drug manufacturer Pfizer, Inc. to lobby for improved consumer education on Viagra's health risks.

See relevant articles related to the above, and do your own exploring, in issues of the following periodicals that appeared 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years ago:

Note: Keep in mind that relevant news may appear in issues previous to or after the month of interest: earlier issues may have advertisements or announcements of upcoming events, and later issues may carry actual photos or more extensive coverage of events that occurred after publication deadlines.

 

Credits: "This Month in History" concept by Kate Sherry of Q-Life, and Don Schwamb;
Page design and arrangement by Don Schwamb.
Last updated: July-2008.