An Unforgiving Era
It’s important to remember that Dusty had operated at a time when “being gay was career poison.” So rather than being her true self, she fell to pieces. The industry was homophobic and sexist, and being a lesbian was considered awful and shocking. As unfortunate as that is, it was nonetheless the culture of the times.
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As it turns out, even the newspapers didn’t want to know. Norma Tanega said how, “In those days, girls in her situation didn’t come out and talk about being gay or bisexual.” Being forced to live her personal life in secret meant she was suffering, and she acted out as a result. Hence the strange behavior, drugs, and alcohol.