Join Mankind on Saturday October 22 at 2pm for a Brand X Liquid Latex Demo. Learn how to make a super sexy 2011 Halloween costume that will have the boys wanting to strip you down and rub you up!

December 1971, a newsletter from an organization named the Gay Liberation Front of San Diego, reminded people of the their second annual “Gay-in” to be held on the grassy area south of Cabrillo bridge (a.k.a. Laurel Street bridge) and east of Balboa Drive, near where the San Diego Pride festival is being held today.

The major story in the newsletter recapped the organizations picketing of San Diego Police headquarters on Sunday, November 28, 1971. The newsletter stated that a handful of brave GLF members were “expressing their anger at police harassment of gay people in San Diego.”

At the time the city’s sodomy laws banned consensual gay sex, and according to the newsletter, officers used the ordinance as a vehicle for harassment of gay men and women. LGBT people were “pushed around, slammed up against walls, searched in public, verbally abused for ‘associating with known homosexuals’ and then issued a citation for ‘obstructing traffic’ or ‘jay walking.’”

As another Pride season has come upon us, Mankind has stopped and asked, how did the LGBT community get to this point? How are we able to freely love whomever we want without fear of being thrown in jail, bashed or disowned by family and friends?

Mankind’s 2011 Pride campaign seeks to remember the “Spirit of 1971” and those handful of brave gay, straight and lesbian San Diegans who stood up to local government, demanding equal rights and fair treatment. They were members of a grassroots organization housed locally on the campus of San Diego State University, united and determined to stand up to local government until “policemen learn that gay people are no longer easy targets for their sadism.”

The GLF was born of the idea that the world could and should be “free from not just homophobia but the whole sex-shame culture, which oppressed straights as much as LGBTs.” A radical idea to some now, in 1970, it was hardly conceivable, though this mix of anarchists, hippies, feminists, liberals and counter-culturalists must have known that a cultural revolution had to start somewhere.

Mankind wants to remind the community to keep pushing forward, and in order for things to be accepted, they must first be radical and divergent. The “Spirit of 1971” is meant to evoke the energy behind movements such as that of the GLF and the Stonewall Riots. It’s about putting fear aside, and continuing the work of these pioneers of freedom and equality.

This past year the LGBT community has fought and repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. The United Nations recently passed a resolution recognizing the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people for the first time, and six states now legally permit same sex marriage. Gay rights are now a mainstream issue, which seems to be progressing faster than ever.

Nationally, the movement is experiencing growing pains. As with any push forward there is a strong attempt to push back. Young gay people are accepting themselves at a younger age, though not without teasing, harassment and torment from their peers and otherwise. A rash of suicides in the past year has brought awareness to the serious problem of bullying based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

This year Mankind hopes to inspire a new generation to keep striving for true sexual human liberation. We want to wish our community a Happy 2011 Pride, and may the “Spirit of ‘71” remind you to be revolutionary and keep the vision of the GLF alive.

Special thanks to Stephen Bell, Chris Duran, Prince Charming, Sequoia Steen, Leilani Angel, Josh Angel, Keanu Christian and Maile Diana Schoonover.

Mankind presents ‘A Rainbow of Fashion’ with styles from Frank Dandy, Timoteo, Pull-In, Andrew Christian and more! Come watch our hotties strut their colors as we celebrate Pride 2011 with a rainbow of fashion. Also featuring Brand X Liquid Latex, now available at Mankind!