shame

I started reading "Beyond Shame: Reclaiming the Abandoned History of Radical Gay Sexuality" by Patrick Moore. He apparently asserts that a culture of sexual exploration/creativity is linked to a larger sense of creativity (in the artistic, cultural, intellectual, political, etc senses) by analyzing gay men's culture in the 1970s ant 80s. He seems to be claiming that AIDS created an individual and cultural sense of shame that dampened creativity and continues to haunt lgbt/queer culture and HIV education. The author makes the assertion that HIV prevention needs more sex, not less sex - because it's connected to joy and reclamation of sexuality. He is not calling for a return to mindless sexual hedonism, but pointing out what died with the legions of people who died from AIDS in this time period. He suggests that we honor their memory without binding ourselves in a straitjacket (chastity belt?) of shame. He also seems to be suggesting that race was more integrated into sexuality during this time and that the resulting shame affects young men of color most of all because it seems to imply that gay sexuality is something to be hidden, or at least quiet, about -- while young gay men of color have the highest rate of contracting HIV in the US.
Clearly, I haven't read the book yet, so I'm reserving judgment. Moore addresses some of the gender imbalances of his book -- for example, he mentions the gender split between gay men and gay women at the time, healed largely by lesbian, bi, and straight women who provided caretaking and activism during the crisis of AIDS. It provokes the question: what were lesbian women doing while gay men were going to baths and sex clubs? I suspect they were doing a lot of the same, but I haven't heard that history yet. My greatest sense of excitement is that Moore seems to be embracing the broadness of sexuality - from normative to bizarre, from monogamous to wildly promiscuous - without passing judgment on what is safe and sane. I like this, because it's what I believe fervently in. I was never very good at promiscuity, and I am very excited and happy about monogamy for myself. And my brief exposure to SM didn't find a niche with me. Yet I insist on the value of promiscuity for those who want to, and on embracing leather and SM as a wonderful part of larger sexual culture. It will be interesting to see how this book lays out the argument for understanding history and envisioning a future beyond shame. After all, shame is the biggest force that shaped my sexuality, and it will take a lifetime to recover.