When Pansy Division began in 1991 in San Francisco, they were the first to be so boldly open about being gay. Founded by guitarist/singer Jon Ginoli and soon joined by bassist/vocalist Chris Freeman, with the intent of forming a gay rock band, Pansy Division blew the closet doors open.

Raised on a diet of ’60s pop and ’70s punk, their sound was suitably crunchy and catchy as hell. They wrote in-your-face lyrics, but did it with a sense of humor. Not only did their music and stance defy stereotypical norms of rock musicians
being openly gay, they also broke gay cultural stereotypes that rock wouldn’t interest gay people.

With album titles like Undressed and Deflowered,
and song titles like “Bill & Ted’s Homosexual Adventure,” their bluntness and humor stood out amid the ’90s alterna-rock scene.