The 1970s, the era of radical sexuality for gay American men, is often seen as a shameful period of excess leading to the AIDS crisis. Beyond Shame claims that when the gay community divorced itself from this allegedly tainted legacy, it tragically resulted in an intergenerational disconnect between younger and older gay men because the original participants were unable to pass on a sense of pride and identity to younger generations. Indeed, one reason for the current rise in HIV, Moore argues, is precisely due to this destructive disconnect, which increased the willingness of younger gay men to engage in unsafe sex. Lifting the “veil of AIDS,” Moore recasts the gay male sexual culture of the 1970s as both groundbreaking and creative-provocatively comparing extreme sex to art-and presents a powerful, yet nuanced, snapshot of a maligned, forgotten era. Illustrating why it’s critical for the gay community to reclaim this decade, Moore rescues gay America’s past, present, and future from a disturbing spiral of destruction and AIDS-related shame.