Stonewall Riots Research Paper

"I was a radical, a revolutionist. I am still a revolutionist … I am glad I was in the Stonewall riot. I remember when someone threw a Molotov cocktail, I thought, 'My god, the revolution is here. The revolution is finally here!'" (Rivera 1). This quote comes from an actual Stonewall riots participant, Sylvia Rivera. Rivera was a transgender activist at the forefront of the gay rights movement along with many other participants of the Stonewall riots. Although the Stonewall riots protest happened almost fifty years ago, its impact and influence on the past gay rights movement, as well as the modern-day gay rights movement, can still be seen today. Many historians consider the Stonewall riots as the initial catalyst for the gay rights movement,

and before this historic event, life for gay people was sometimes very difficult.
Homosexuality has existed throughout history and has enjoyed brief periods of open acceptance, such as with the ancient Greek and Roman cultures. Unfortunately, throughout much of history, however, the practice of homosexuality was condemned and many homosexuals were arrested and sometimes killed for being their authentic selves. Since homosexuality, along with other forms of gender identity are "typically excluded from legal doctrine that expresses the rights of individuals," ("Gay Rights" 1) the status of homosexuality around the world varies widely. In some countries, a person could be sentenced to a few years to life in prison, while in other countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, homosexuality is a crime that is punishable by death. While these discriminatory laws have existed in these countries for centuries, modern discrimination against homosexuals can be linked to early psychologists and medical professionals.
Until 1973, homosexuality was classified as a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association. This classification traces all the way back to the work of psychologist Sigmund Freud, who "formed the basis of some of the American medical prejudice against homosexuality and other alternative sexual practices" ("The Stonewall Riots" 1). Freud believed that homosexuality resulted from problems a person had during their early childhood related to an inappropriate attachment to a parent of the same sex. Freud's theories eventually led doctors and psychologist to think that homosexuality could be treated. More often than not, this form of "treatment" was "painful electroshock therapy [designed] to weaken their same-sex attraction" ("The Stonewall Riots" 1). Obviously, this so-called treatment did nothing to change the behavior of homosexuals, but many people acted like the treatment worked so that the painful shocks would stop. It was not until the late 1940s that the negative perception of homosexuality began to change.
In 1948, American biologist Alfred Kinsey published a report on human sexuality titled: Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. This report assessed actual human sexual behavior to a degree never before attempted. Kinsey accomplished this by conducting extensive interviews with many different Americans. While researching, Kinsey found that "up to 30 percent of American males in the study had engaged in homosexual behavior at various points in their lives" ("The Stonewall Riots" 1). This report shocked many Americans, as they did not believe that there was an abundant amount of homosexual activity in their society. The conclusion of Kinsey's report was that homosexuality is completely natural, and it is far more common than Americans previously thought. Around the same time of the release of Kinsey's report, groups of prominent gays and lesbians began to advocate openly for equal rights.
During the 1950s, a man named Harry Hay helped found the Mattachine Society, which was an advocacy group for gay men in Los Angeles, California. This secret organization served as a support system for gay men who felt ostracized from mainstream society. In 1955, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon (two lesbians) formed the Daughters of Bilitis, which had similar goals as the Mattachine Society, but for lesbian women instead of gay men. Both of these groups wanted to prove that there is no difference between homosexuals and heterosexuals, only who they love. Groups like these helped spark the idea for the equal rights of gay citizens, but it would not be until almost twenty years later with the Stonewall riots that people really began to listen and recognize the discrimination against gay Americans.
On June 28, 1969, the New York City police raided a bar in Greenwich Village called the Stonewall Inn.

This particular bar was run by the Italian mafia without a proper liquor license. The Stonewall Inn was also notorious as "a meeting place for gay men and transvestites" ("The Stonewall Riots" 2). Because of this, the police saw the bar as an easy target because solicitation of gay sex and transvestism were illegal under the local laws at that time. During the raid, the police arrested the bartenders for liquor violations and took people who were not wearing at least three articles of gender-appropriate clothing into custody. Police raids were nothing new to the patrons of Stonewall Inn, as many of them had been targeted before for being gay. This raid was different from all the other raids, however, because many of the Stonewall patrons began to resist arrest. As this resistance continued, the raid eventually turned into a riot. With this escalation to a riot, the police locked themselves inside of the Stonewall Inn. While locked inside, the patrons of the bar would throw bottles of alcohol at the police, and their anger quickly escalated to the point where the rioters were "trying to break down the locked doors of the club, even tearing out a parking meter from the sidewalk [to use] as a battering ram" ("Gay Rights Movement" 2). After about forty-five minutes of rioting, the tactical police force (TPF) came to Stonewall Inn and rescued the trapped police officers inside the bar. After rescuing the police, the TPF fought with the crowd outside of the bar, using nightsticks to beat people down. The following night, thousands of people crowded on Christopher Street, where Stonewall Inn is located, to show their support for the gay community. People continued to crowd the streets at night outside of Stonewall Inn for about three days after the initial event, but tensions eventually cooled to the point where nightly protest stopped. While the protest stopped, the

"anger of the raids remained and, for the first time in the United States, gave rise to an organized gay rights movement" ("Gay Rights Movement" 2). The Stonewall riots were the first instance in history where thousands of gay people and allies of the gay community came together and stood up against discrimination and oppression that gay people were forced to endure for centuries not only in the United States but around the world. After the events of the Stonewall riots and the launch of the gay rights movement, gay people and allies of the gay community would now fight for equal rights and protection for homosexuals under the law.
One major impact of the Stonewall riots occurred about four years after the initial event. On December 15, 1973, The American Psychiatric Association (APA) officially removed homosexuality from its list of pathological disorders. Within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), the book that psychologists use to identify and diagnose mental disorders, homosexuality was described as a "sociopathic personality disturbance" ("Homosexuality is Removed" 1). Basically, this definition states that homosexuals will never be cured of their behavior, but it can be treated. A popular way to "treat" homosexuality was to use aversion therapy, specifically electroshock therapy. This method was very unsuccessful, and most gay rights activists saw this type of treatment as torture. After the deletion of homosexuality from the DSM, gay people began to feel more comfortable about coming out as discrimination against them started to fade. In addition to decreased discrimination against gay people, the deletion also encouraged other organizations to change their views and policies. For example: "the American Bar Association and the American Medical Association … supported the drive to decriminalize homosexual behavior" ("Homosexuality is Removed" 3). The APA's change inspired other organizations to become more open-minded about different types of people, ultimately making those organizations more inclusive. This change in thinking not only inspired organizations but the public's opinion as well. Many states began to repeal sodomy laws, cities began passing ordinances that protected the civil rights of gay people, and the U.S. Civil Service Commission removed homosexuality as a disqualification for someone to hold a federal job in the United States. The deletion of homosexuality from the DSM was one of the first major milestones of the gay rights movement, and the acceptance and visibility of gay people would only increase after this.
Not every impact of the Stonewall riots was necessarily positive, as with every historical event. With the new gay rights movement and the increasing number of new organizations, disagreements and differences were inevitable. Some of these disagreements were between younger and older gay people, as well as between gay men and lesbians. Older gay people who had come out "without the support of a very public movement resented the often dismissive attitudes of the young 'liberated' gays" (Gianoulis 3). Older gay people were angry that they had to come out when homosexuality was not widely accepted, while younger gay people had an accepting society that would not shun them because they were gay. Older gay people could have been jealous of the younger gay people, but more of them were most likely frustrated that they had to hide their sexuality for so long and not be accepted when they came out, versus young gay people who could come out and be instantly accepted. Another division within the movement occurred between gay men and lesbians. Some lesbians who came to the gay rights movement through feminism "questioned their commonalities with gay men, preferring to ally themselves with heterosexual women instead" (Gianoulis 3). Women, especially those who were apart of the feminist movement, wanted to distance themselves from men in any way they could. Around this time, many women started to label themselves as "lesbians" or "dykes" instead of referring to themselves as "gay" because they thought that the word gay had a male connotation to it. While these splits within the gay rights movement were not necessarily positive, they show that after a very unifying moment, such as the Stonewall riots, that new ideas can be created off of a unified start of a movement.