„A rendszerváltás előtt titokként kellett megélni”
“You Had to Live a Lie in the Previous Regime”

Life Interviews with Gay Men about the 1960s–1980s

Summary/Abstract: The book entitled Hot Men, Cold Dictatorships was published along the documentary of the same title in 2015. This is the first collection of interviews that presents the lives of older gay men who were socialised in the Kádár era. Thirteen participants, their photos and names supplied, relate their lives and experiences living as gay men in the Kádár regime. The paper shows that although their lives are very different, they also show similarities. It gives an insight into the process of self-acceptance of homosexual men in the 1960s and 1970s, the type of information at their disposal, as well as the terms they used to describe themselves. In addition, the study also sheds light on the typical life strategies of closet homosexuals and men who came out at least in certain circles, as well as their most popular ways and places to meet and socialise. The paper also examines the establishment’s attitudes towards homosexuals and vice versa, police monitoring and the beginnings of the LMBT movement in Hungary.

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