Gay men are as likely as other men to be homophobic or sexist, a sad but unsurprising thing to observe. I have known very few gay men, out of very many I have known, who are disdainful of lesbians, even fewer who are openly disdainful. But I have known some.

That's possibly a little ironic, because back in my NYC queer liberation life, when lesbian bars and other spaces were in the their hayday, some gay men felt lesbians didn't like them very much. I don't think this was true, I think it was just a phenomenon of many lesbians quite naturally desiring spaces not controlled by men.

So when the lesbians who ran or frequented these spaces took steps to ensure lesbians stayed in charge and men's roles were limited, it could look like hostility toward gay men. I think this was an unfortunate misperception on the part of some gay men.

In activist circles, lesbian and gay men leaders joined forces closely, with women like Ann Northrup playing key roles in Act Up and lesbian community leaders playing key roles in politics.

I suppose misunderstanding arose, when they did, because a few people didn't want to understand that intersecting interests don't mean identical interests.