I am older than you and was out on the town boogeying my way through the 70's, and I don't remember it being quite as bleak as that.
Off the top of my head, I can think of several major network prime-time TV shows that had very positive and normalized gay representation starting around 1973 or so....
The Mary Tyler Moore Show,
Maude,
Soap, and I'm sure there were some others.
The references stick in my mind 50 years later because it was done so well then, and presented us as normal and routine parts of society. Sure, there were still a lot of gay jokes and gay double entendre going around in some adult-themed shows, but the early and mid 70's were also when gay folks could be on prime time networks and be shown as just average, normal Americans. It was a huge change, and we were thrilled. After all, you can't go from segregated drinking fountains to President Obama in only two years time; big societal change requires individual steps and subtle progression.
And then of course there's every single damn episode of
The Hollywood Squares in the 1970's with Paul Lynde in the center square. That was always a good time!