Gay New York:

This project is an analysis of the manner in which gender identity development was experienced by non-heteronormative people in the first half of the twentieth century, focusing on the experiences of gay men, with particular focus on the life of Anthony (Tony) Mascioli, a Rochester native and 1954 graduate of the Brockport State Teacher’s College, now The College at Brockport. Tony’s journey from a lower middle class, socially conservative, and mostly closeted lifestyle, to an upper class, extremely liberal, and totally open gay lifestyle sheds light on the manner in which American society’s view of homosexuality has evolved and on how heterosexism and classism intersect in both Tony’s life and in the formation of gay male identity as a whole. This research includes analysis of gay history, theories of gender identity and development, and personal experiences of identity as related in interviews and personal histories. Opening Thoughts Imagine living in upstate New York and being a gay, white, lower middle class male in the 1940s. Could you be out with this identity, or would you feel the need to stay closeted? What would life be like if you did choose to live openly as a gay man? These questions are central to understanding the life of Tony Mascioli, a gay male who grew up in western New York and lived there for most of the period from 1930 to 1954 when he graduated from the Brockport State Teacher’s College, now The College at Dissenting Voices, v. 3, issue 1, Spring 2014 1 Brockport. This paper looks at Tony’s life with a particular focus on the history of gay life and knowledge about gender and sexual identity as it evolved in American history