I think the AIDs crisis of the mid to late 80s is seen as the line. I’m a few years older than you, but not yet 50, and even though I wasn’t active in queer communities during that period, the horror stories on the media were enough to scar me for life, and keep me closeted for decades.
But those who lived in that period whilst moving in queer communities? They’re the ones who often didn’t make it.