I've been reading more about 70's gay movies, both porn and non. The Boys in the Band for example. Going over cast lists, I see that the majority of the actors died of AIDS related complications. A few died of suicide, others of drug overdoses. One, Divine, died of a sleep apnea induced heart attack. It sounds like being gay in the 70s was a very hard and fast life. Depressing.

The appearance of AIDS in the 80s has greatly shaped gay culture-- for the better I think. AIDS has given gays a good short term reason to stay in a relationship. All relationships go through good times and bad times. In the 70's if your relationship was going through a bad time, it was easier to play around and find someone new. After AIDS, that someone new brought the risk of troubling disease and large health care costs.

AIDS indirectly encourages you to stay with your boyfriend for a little longer. And maybe that "little longer" is all you need to get back to the good times.