Edmund White and Terrence Koh

I find it somewhat disparaging that in a recent issue of Out, they call contemporary artist Terrence Koh the "defining voice of the gay art world" and yet Koh had to Google Stonewall. Granted, the man is Chinese, yet he's been in the states since before 2003. Has the erasure of the origins of gay identity already reached those who are leading us into the future?

The article, which is a conversation between Koh and Edmund White, has many instances where I felt somewhat let down by the gay art world's poster boy and his glib remarks. The most interesting passage came from White, when speaking of the influence of Stonewall: (in reference to the AIDS movement) "So you get this thing where everybody now wants to get married and adopt children - it's sort of dreary. The early gay movement was all about the right to have sex, because it was very hard to find anyone to have sex with in the old days. Stonewall, in a way, was about saying, 'We have a right to have bars; we have a right to get together; we have a right to be visible.'"

Reading this, I can't help but think that 30+ years after Stonewall, yes things are better, at least for us in the US. Yet homosexuals are still being hung in Iran. I mean, the yes I believe everyone should have the right to get married if they wish. But as far as the gay movement goes, I can't help but think marriage is just a big band-aid for the fact that after all these years, we are still fighting for a right to be visible all around the world.

"Edmund White Vs. Terence Koh" in Out, June/July 2009, pages 117-120.

1/20/13 Update: Add to that last line - "and even visible amongst ourselves."