Today we’re back with another episode in our series, “Villians of the LGBTQ”. And we’re discussing the woman who launched the modern day anti-queer movement, Anita Bryant. So much of the anti-lgbtq rhetoric we hear in today’s society is based on Bryant’s attack of the queer community. And her advocacy against us homos has been running for nearly as long as the queer revolution. But where did this woman come from? Who is she and why the hell does she have such a problem with our community? We’ll do our best to answer those questions and more. So let’s dive into the story of a beauty queen and pop singer turned Christian fanatic and queer basher. Born in Barnsdall, Oklahoma on March 25, 1940, Anita grew up in a broken home. Her parents split shortly after she was born, and parts of her childhood included long stays with her grandparents while her mother looked for work to support the family. Anita was certainly a gifted child and it became apparent that she was meant to be an entertainer. Her first song she ever remembers learning was “Jesus Loves Me”. And apparently she never heard the other popular children’s song “Jesus loves the little children – all the children of the world.” No Anita seems self obsessed from a very early age.  When she was six years old she held her first performance at the local fairgrounds near Barnsdall. Her singing caught the attention of a radio manager and Anita was often brought on air to entertain listeners all across Oklahoma. And perhaps this local notoriety gave her the boost she needed to win Miss Oklahoma in 1958 at age 18. She then went on to compete for Miss America and came in second place in 1959. The next four years were the heyday of Anita’s entertainment career. She released one pop album every year between 1959 and 1964 and had four songs hit the Billboard top 20. And of course, we remember this is in the days when the charts were solely dominated by white people and therefore offered little true competition. Still, life was a fairytale for the rising star. She married a DJ named Bob Greene in 1960 and the two had four kids together. The entertainer kept busy appearing on various television shows, working ad campaigns, and moving on to record religious albums. Her most iconic work though would be landing the job as spokesperson for the Florida Citrus Commission. Anywhere a person looked there was a billboard of Anita. Or a commercial with her sipping a glass of OJ and saying “Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine.” And this is all well and good. We have no qualms with Anita’s early life. She was a hard-working mother and business- woman which we can admire. But things changed in 1969. And if that year sounds familiar to you then we’ve been doing our job here at Your Queer Story. 1969 was the official birth of the queer revolution. Yes there had been stirrings for decades, but the riots at Stonewall on June 28th sparked a national public outcry. All across the nation newspapers told stories of the 2 day long riot, followed by marches and demonstrations in cities all over America. The country as a whole was in a sexual upheaval as people from all walks of life bucked the social roles enforced on them. Just two years earlier the landmark case of Loving vs Virginia allowed for interracial couples to marry. Which also struck down a long list of local laws which prohibbitted interracial couples from living together or even having sex together. Couples could now legally live openly with their relationship, though they werent safe from discrimination and violence. Another social change came in the form of music. Rock-n-roll had erupted with the entrance of the Beatles at the beginning of the decade, and by the end famous bands such as Led Zeppelin were making their debut. And the theme of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll began to emerge in the American narrative. Which greatly unsettled white, suburban,