Hi William,

Gosh, my thinking today is so shaped by my experiences with Queer Nation, Act Up, and queer thinkers back in the 90s and before, that I would have a very hard time pinning down when I first started thinking of using the word homophobia as parallel to racism for the purposes of better communication.

I know the concept was already cemented by at least 1995.

It certainly didn’t originate with me of course. I have clear memories of other, older activists discussing it when I was still quite new to organizing and protesting.

Anne Northrup for one, a television journalist turned Act Up organizer, advised strongly that we adopt the term for everyday usage.

I’ve written some stories on Medium already about my days as an LGBTQ/HIV activist. Plenty more to come, if you’re interested.

Feel free to browse!

Jim