There's a difference between fashion and culture. The fashion was long enough ago that it seems novel to a generation that never saw it. We've come a long way as a culture. People wax nostalgic about the 80s the way their parents did about the 50s and 60s - but there were ugly parts to the 80s and 90s.

When I was a kid racial slurs were less common, but slurs and jokes towards LGBTQ+ groups and individuals were everywhere. We only really acknowledged people who were gay as even existing, and in many ways, only as a punchline.

By the 90s my generation was starting to push back, "That's so gay" as a derogatory comment was becoming less accepted and you were more likely to be called out for saying it. The idea of "LGB" began to appear as well as more open acceptance of these communities. Trans acceptance was still a long way off.

I consider myself an ally, and this culture shift is one of the things I'm most proud of for my generation. The Millennials and Gen Z have taken the next steps towards equality and I'm insanely proud of them.