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Among the gays, there is a basic split between those who flaunt a defiant lifestyle and the closeted, who grant that "drag queens" and "flaming fags" have called attention to the gays' plight by marching in the streets, yet would never dream of emulating them. There are other divisions. Black homosexuals charge, with some justice, that the gay rights movement is dominated by whites who are often no less racist than straight society. At the same time they are rejected, and vehemently, by heterosexual blacks. Says Terri Clark, a Washington lesbian activist: "The black community is extremely homophobic, because it feels that the [homosexual] person has been corrupted by the white man's perversions."
Lesbians often feel themselves to be the most persecuted minority of all. One reason is economic: working at low-paying jobs, they usually do not have as much money as gay males, who are often successful in the straight world. Nor do homosexual men usually have children to support, as do a fair number of lesbians who have finally admitted their sexual orientation. Many female homosexuals think they have less in common with gay men than with heterosexual feminists, who have now largely accepted them after some early misgivings.
The males are also far more visible than the females in performing one of the most fascinating roles of the gay rights movement: influencing straight culture. Male homosexuals have long been particularly active in the world of the arts, where they often can work openly with no fear of losing their livelihood if they have the talent; Novelist Truman Capote and Playwright Tennessee Williams are two notable examples. But the new influence of homosexuals is something quite different: their dress, tastes and speech are being adopted by many straights who would be stunned if they knew the origins of the latest fashions or fads.
The extent of this influence is difficult to pin down since there is no readily identifiable "gay aesthetic." For every flamboyant gay male who parades about in tight-fitting Levi's and bomber jacket (one current uniform), there are others who wear three-piece pinstripe suits, and even the strollers in New Town and Castro Street will affect one look today and another tomorrow. What does seem to be true, however, is that some open gays, feeling themselves to be rebels against conventional society, search restlessly for new fashions that run counter to the straight taste of the moment. Then fashion designers and music executives, some of whom are themselves gay, introduce to straight audiences whatever new look or sound catches on at Fire Island or other gathering places for gays. Says David Rothenberg, a gay who used to be a publicist on Broadway: "If I were a businessman, I'd walk Christopher Street la gay parade ground in Manhattan's Greenwich Village] because that's what they'll be selling at Lamston's next year."