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The impact of the stonewall riots
Gay rights movements in the us
The impact of the stonewall riots
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Homosexual culture has become increasingly more accepted over the past century. The United States has just begun to legalize gay marriage in many states however some areas of the U.S still do not accept homosexual culture. Many cultures around the world still do not accept homosexual culture. Some cultures accept homosexuality, some see the practice as a sin, some create laws forbidding same sex relationships and marriage, and some punish homosexuality with the death penalty. Homosexual culture is referred to as LGBTQI culture and is shared by any person who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning or intersex. LGBTQI was used to replace the term gay, when used in reference to the LGBTQI community. This introduction of the term LGBTQI was because many people in the community felt that the term gay did not accurately represent all members.
The LGBTQI community has a long history in the United States. The first gay rights organization, The Society for Human Rights, was founded in 1924 in Chicago. In 1955 the first lesbian rights organization was established, the organization was called Daughters of Bilitis and was founded in San Francisco. In 1967 Harvey Milk is appointed to the Board of Permit Appeals, making him the first openly gay city commissioner in the United States. This was a big step for the gay movement in politics however the turning point is the gay rights movement occurred in 1969. The Stonewall riots began in New York City in the Greenwich Village. These riots kick started the gay rights movement and moved it to the canter of public attention. The riots began when a police raid occurred in a bar called the Stonewall inn in Greenwich Village. The raid was followed by riots that lasted for ...
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...all Riot and Its Aftermath." Stonewall 25: Cases 1-2. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.
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In Vicki L. Eaklor’s Queer America, the experiences of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people in the years since the 1970s gay liberation movement are described as a time of transformation and growth. The antigay movement, threatened, now more than ever, created numerous challenges and obstacles that are still prevalent today. Many of the important changes made associated with the movement were introduced through queer and queer allied individuals and groups involved in politics. Small victories such as the revision of the anti discrimination statement to include “sexual orientation”, new propositions regarding the Equal Rights Amendment and legalized abortion, were met in turn with growing animosity and resistance from individuals and groups opposed to liberal and
LGBTQIA stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual. The LGBTQIA topic is still an issue in society. There are people who are still against it. Some people in society still see this topic as a negative thing. The Stonewall riots was an important event for the LGBTQIA community. Stonewall is where the gay rights movement started. The transgender community is an important part of the LGBTQIA community. Same sex marriage was an important event that happened and impacted people of the community. The LGBTQIA community has many influential people like Laverne cox and Caitlyn Jenner. The L and G stands for lesbian and gay which means you are attracted to the same sex. The B stands for bisexual which means you are
Ogawa, Ai: “Riot Act, April 29, 1992,”from Greed by Ai. Copyright 1993 by Ai. Used by permission of the author and W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
As the “Official Response to the Detroit Riot,” the Harlem race riots certainly exceeded the physical and emotional destruction the Detroit riot caused. With “six persons [dead], several hundreds injured, and approximately two million dollars’ worth of property [was] damaged,” the riots proved to be an explosion of frustration violence and contradiction (Capeci xi). With an unclear beginning, this event proved to be a culmination of small situations that spawned from hot tempers, gossip, and neighboring race riots.
When Richard Rodriguez published his essay “Family Values” in 1992 homosexuality was not a good thing and often, society viewed it as a mental disorder. There was little to no tolerance for those who participated in this lifestyle. Society has changed a great deal since then for the LGBTQ community. There are new laws that give equal rights and equal opportunities in the media to those in this group and people from around the country support the movement. Today, the American society is more tolerant of homosexuals than when Richard Rodriguez published his essay “Family Values” in 1992.
In the past decades, the struggle for gay rights in the Unites States has taken many forms. Previously, homosexuality was viewed as immoral. Many people also viewed it as pathologic because the American Psychiatric Association classified it as a psychiatric disorder. As a result, many people remained in ‘the closet’ because they were afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the society. According to David Allyn, though most gays could pass in the heterosexual world, they tended to live in fear and lies because they could not look towards their families for support. At the same time, openly gay establishments were often shut down to keep openly gay people under close scrutiny (Allyn 146). But since the 1960s, people have dedicated themselves in fighting for
. Gianoulis, Tina. "Gay Liberation Movement." In St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture., edited by Thomas Riggs, 438-43. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: St. James, 2013. Gale Virtual Reference Library (GALE|CX2735801056).
Society is created with both homosexual and heterosexual individuals. Previously when certain laws discriminated against others, such as law for women's rights to vote, these laws were changed. Changing the traditions of the country does not mean that it will lead to the legalization of other extreme issues. Each ...
...protest movements throughout America and the world.” Among the gay community Stonewall has become the word for freedom, for fighting, for equality. It became a turning point in Gay history, so much so that most books on the subject refer to “pre-Stonewall” and “post-Stonewall” as the lines of demarcation. Of course the journey is still long and fight has not been won. At the turn of the century there were still 20 states that made homosexual sex illegal , any only a few states would recognize the love and companionship of gays through marriage or civil unions. The military policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is still active and prejudices continue to exist. But, as exemplified by any other civil rights movement, it is through the constant grind of activists and lay-people constantly protesting and educating, that change occurs, even if only one person at a time.
The background of homosexuality in the 1940’s and 50’s was harsh, but people started to be opened toward the rights. There were criticisms toward homosexuality in the early days of Milk. Gay men carried the labels of mentally ill or psychopathic. Often times, gay men committed suicide from harsh judgement and criticism that always followed them. Even though population of homosexuality grew and had jobs, they were harassed and beaten by the police. There were a lot of disapproval and hostility of homosexuality. Anita Bryant, a singer, made a campaign to oppose the rights of homosexuals. Christian forces and activists withdrew gay-right legislation which lead to Proposition 6. The harshness from background of homosexuality back in the 1940’s and 50’s took the freedom away from the homosexuals. After the harshness, there came a little bit of hope for the homosexuals in San Francisco. Castro, a city in San Francisco, became the center of gay neighborhood. In 1964, gay men formed Society of Individual Right (SIR), and 1,200 members joined. Homosexuals started having good views when Sipple who was gay saved the president from a gunshot. Finally in 1972, Board of Supervisor banned the discrimination law for homosexuals. Even though in 1940...
The Stonewall Riots marked the start of the gay rights movement, and inspired members of the gay community to fight for their rights instead of being condemned for their sexuality. Even today, gay people in the US use the incident at Stonewall to educate younger members of the gay community. "The younger generation should know about Stonewall so that they will realize it is possible to make change. It is possible to overcome entrenched, institutionalized prejudice, discrimination, and bigotry. And that they can live full equal lives." (Frank Kameny, aarp.org) This is the message that many members of the gay community continue to spread after the incident at the Stonewall Inn.
The history of the gay rights movement goes as far back as the late 19th century. More accurately, the quest by gays to search out others like themselves and foster a feeling of identity has been around since then. It is an innovative movement that seeks to change existing norms and gain acceptance within our culture. By 1915, one gay person said that the gay world was a "community, distinctly organized" (Milestones 1991), but kept mostly out of view because of social hostility. According to the Milestones article, after World War II, around 1940, many cities saw their first gay bars open as many homosexuals began to start a networking system. However, their newfound visibility only backfired on them, as in the 1950's president Eisenhower banned gays from holding federal jobs and many state institutions did the same. The lead taken by the federal government encouraged local police forces to harass gay citizens. "Vice officers regularly raided gay bars, sometimes arresting dozens of men and women on a single night" (Milestones). In spite of the adversity, out of the 1950s also came the first organized groups of gays, including leaders. The movement was small at first, but grew exponentially in short periods of time. Spurred on by the civil rights movement in the 1960s, the "homophile" (Milestones) movement took on more visibility, picketing government agencies and discriminatory policies. By 1969, around 50 gay organizations existed in the United States. The most crucial moment in blowing the gay rights movement wide open was on the evening of July 27, 1969, when a group of police raided a gay bar in New York City. This act prompted three days of rioting in the area called the Stonewall Rio...
Famous children’s author Dr. Seuss once said, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind". Gay rights, at the moment, are one of the most publicized and well known controversial subjects of this decade. The sides clearly drawn one fighting for rights as simple as being married the other stating that it defames their religion and goes against the definition of marriage, being between a man and a woman. The individuals who are fighting for their civil rights are fallowing the same path that African Americans and women have taken, but the change has started and in over 13 states gays have been given their basic rights and more state are joining in the fight both for and against the topic.
Teicher, S. A. (1999, December 22). Ruling will stir states on same sex marriages. The Christian Science Monitor.
Declaration of Human Rights: Dignity and Justice for All of Us. Accessed on October 29,