LGBTQ HISTORY MUSEUM OF CENTRAL FLORIDA - Key Persons

Alan Lunin

Job Titles:

Director of Legal Affairs

ALEXIS RODRIGUEZ

Job Titles:

President of the Executive Board

Billy Manes is both typical and unique. He is an openly gay man who does not work for a gay establishment. He works from within the system, to change the system. He lives outside the bubble. You would never know on the surface the kind of lives that these men have had. Though not every man is like this, most hide their pain. They are extremely giving in their love and affection, and expect their friends to be there for them in return. Living and loving in great quantities. I remember hanging out at the salon one Saturday afternoon, talking to Tim about his tattoos. Tim is big and burly, with biceps that were the size of my thighs and springy gray hairs on his chest. He unbuttoned his shirt and showed me the Buddhist symbols on his pectorals. I asked him if he had to shave to get the tattoos and how long it took to grow back, like most curious children. He looks very masculine, but his voice is soft and tender toward me. Most of the time he is laughing at something, smiling at something else, or trying on colorful wigs just for fun. But now he is serious. He tells me about his seven older brothers, and I picture him, short, skinny, sans tattoos. He lived in a state I couldn't even remember seeing on a map. His eyes got tight. There was a lot he wasn't telling me. But next thing I knew he was leaping off his stool, teasing Randall about his highlights, laughing again. We cannot have this conversation without talking about HIV and AIDS. The pandemic has become a section of the collective conscious of Billy Manes generation, of basically all older gay men. Although statistically it is being spread more by heterosexuals, the higher correlation of the virus in homosexuals has contributed to their stigma. Billy Manes has lost a great deal of friends and family to HIV/AIDS. He told us how when he did come out to his mom, it was hardest because his parents were scared for his life. His step-brother had died of the disease only a month prior. While Shea and I were interviewing Mr. Manes in his office at the Orlando Weekly, he revealed a strong sense of humor, humility, and openness. Personal questions? I'll give you my therapist's phone number.