Similarities Between Before Stonewall And City Of Night

Response Paper 1

The last century of LGBTQ+ history, and more specifically male sexuality has had its positive and negative shifts in time between the period of the 1910’s to present day. Beginning with the pre-Stonewall period, the 1910’s to June 28, 1969, gay men were in closets due to their unjust persecution, as depicted in the film Before Stonewall and John Rechy’s City of Night. After the storm, the sun rose and the most liberating time period for gay men surfaced, the post-Stonewall period upto the unearthing of HIV/AIDS in June 1981, as illustrated in the film Gay Sex in the 70s. The sun’s shine began to dim again from 1981 to 1996 as HIV/AIDS was discovered and began to extinguish the LGBTQ+ community, as depicted in the film, United

in Anger: A history of ACT-UP!. More recently, there has been a strong uproar in issues of equality and this want for a heteronormative life in the LGBTQ+ community, the white LGBTQ+ community. Meanwhile, queer people of color are still being forgotten. The erasure of people of color in monumental events in the LGBTQ+ community, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Queer men of color, transgender women and men of color, and the undocuqueer community have the highest Seroconversion rates. Transgender women of color are being killed due to their lack of access for life saving HIV drugs. The last century of LGBTQ+ history has failed to include a queer Xicanx/Latinx historiography, it has been erased, forgotten, and __.
Beginning with the film Before Stonewall which depicted the closeted gay men, there is a lack of representation of the quuer Xicanx/Latinx community.

The film accounts for many of the white gay man experience and how many of them were perceived as diseased. The desire they had for one another was seen as an abomination. This is further supported by an event in John Rechy’s, City of Night, when the protagonist held hands with another man, but after holding hands they cannot bare to look at each other because it is something that is condemned during this time period. Unlike Rechy, the men depicted in the film were privileged because of the color of their skin. Other than being gay, they were not a minority. The Xicanx/Latinx experience was failed to be accounted for. This experience is a special one, because it would include the several intersectionalities of a queer Xicanx/Latinx person. Not only were they gay, but they were brown, and most likely came from a very conservative Catholic family which condemns homosexuality. The film includes several oral histories of gay men, rarely were those men Latinx. Chronologically, towards the end of the movie they mention the occurrences of Stonewall, yet failed to acknowledge that two transgender women of color, Sylvia Rivera a Latina, and Marsha P. Johnson, a black transgender woman, started the Stonewall riots. These names were never mentioned and much less known by people who are trying to gain consciousness about this occurrence

in history. The erasure of Latina and black faces has diminished the integrity of the film. Erasing, two vital queer peoples of color from the riots, and whitewashing the Stonewall riots.
Following the pre-Stonewall period, the sun shined among the gay community, as illustrated in the film Gay Sex in the 70s. This time period was the most liberating for the gay community. During this period, men were having sex anywhere and anytime. Having multiple fountains of sources for sex. Men were having sex without hesitation. Contracting an STD was not a big worry, because it was popular belief that everything was curable. Throughout the film, the majority of gay men depicted were pertained to the white middle class. There was no people of color. Everyone had the same look, tan, muscular, and tall. In addition, one of the men recollected, how if he had contracted an STD, he would easily call his gay doctor friend in order to get the proper medical attention. The film did not recollect how Xicanx/Latinx men would access proper medical attention, ultimately their histories were not depicted in the film. Unfortunately, privilege plays a major role in who gets access to healthcare, and ultimately, who gets their story herd.
The storm began again, following the post-Stonewall period, as the first cases of HIV arose from 1981 to 1996.

Larry Kramer, refers to this period in LGBTQ+ history as the “gay holocaust” for good reason. As depicted in the film United in Anger: A history of ACT-UP!, many queer peoples of color were dying because there was no one researching HIV/AIDS and there were no medications. A lot of people were dying, especially people of color, and no one was doing anything about it. This film showed the intersection with race and healthcare. If you were nonwhite your chances at survival were even worse than if you were white. In this film, more Xicanx/Latinx people were included. There were members of ACT UP who were Xicanx/Latinx who were ready to fight the genocide of queer people. Unfortunately, there was still a lot of minorities dying from seroconverting. On the other hand, it was essential for us to see the representation of queer Xicanx/Latinx in the film. This showed us they were present during this crucial time where they fought to save the lives who those who practically had a death

sentence.
In conclusion, the queer Xicanx/Latinx historiography throughout the last century has been been left to be forgotten. Important queer peoples of color, such as Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera have been forgotten. Recollections of queer people have been obliterated. More awareness needs to be created. In more contemporary times, the mini youtube novela series, "Sin Verguenza" hold vital role in the Xicanx/Latinx community. This mini novela, helps raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in the Xicanx/Latinx community. Through a novela, which is deeply embedded in Xicanx/Latinx culture, they are able to decrease the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. Through media like “Sin Verguenza”, the Xicanx/Latinx community is able to reach out to the community, and through these types of platforms are they able to add the queer Xicanx/Latinx historiography that is in need of more awareness. Creators of media need to be more inclusive of queer people of color, more specifically of the queer Xicanx/Latinx community.