The LGBT + Community: A Sociological Analysis

With every coming year, a new set of laws is brought to the American people to vote on what they deem is fit for society to live by. Despite a rich history of blocking gay rights, on June 26th, 2015, same sex marriage was in all fifty states, bringing great controversy, but also great joy. Within the last twenty years, the LGBT+ community has seen great strides socially and have seen great changes at a federal level. However, these changes didn’t occur overnight. The LGBT+ community has challenged the societal perception of those that fall beyond the heterosexual cisgender realm through movements and the work of inspirational leaders. The resistance to these changes can be traced back to the five institutes, and how they related to the 1950s

and on society; it can also be supported by values and norms perpetuated by the society.
The basis of the resistance against these movements begins with one of the first social groups people are a part of: the family. Prior to the first same sex marriage in 1987 (PBS), the only government recognized marriage in the U.S. was heterosexual couples (PBS) . Though heterosexuality and bisexuality has existed throughout history and in nearly every known culture known to man (Bidstrupt), the American family of the 1900s to the 1980s was intertwined with traditional Catholic and Christian values and beliefs about the sanctity of the family. These values and beliefs evolved into the norms for the family dynamic: a heterosexual couple with a patriarchal emphasis. Straying beyond these norms resulted in ostracization, hate crimes, loss of assets, such as a job or an eviction from places of residence.
As stated previously, the family institute within the time period was heavily connected to another highly influential institute, religion. When presented with movements and discussions about changing exclusive policies, good Christians didn’t have to look far for answers. The scriptures from enduring Saint James’ Bible offered only one idea about homosexuality: “Leviticus 18:22: " Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination (Hagler). Though in recent years, there has been discussion about how Bible verses is interpreted (Shore), verses were accepted at face value at the time. Though these simple words of an age old text may not have had much weight to some groups, the people of that generation held fast to faith, which had been a prominent piece of society as it offered stability through and after the two World Wars (Tucker).
Though homosexuality being integrated into mainstream society, or rather lack of, seems like a purely social concern, it did play a role in a third institute, economics. As demonstrated in Proposition 6 in 1977, which sought to prohibit homsexual teachers in California (Milk Foundation, PBS), the values influenced by religious teaching called for action. In another case regarding children and adult homsexuals, Anita Bryant, a popular American singer of the 1970s and opponent to gay rights activists, reasoned that “Since homosexuals cannot reproduce...“they must recruit and freshen their ranks...They might, in other words, make their children gay, too (Alternet)”. Her stands against the LGBT+ community was based around religious teachings and was a key part in repealing the gay rights ordinance in Dade County, Florida in 1977. These actions were all attempts to stamp out the deviance in the society, which directly shows how that the 1970s were seeking to control the socialization of their children and continue to preserve the long standing Christian traditions alive. However, by alienating homosexuals, there is a loss in the workforce as homosexuals are losing jobs where they are needed or are seeking jobs where they will not be persecuted. It is also is a cost to the government to criminalize homosexuales, since holding them in jail and prison costs a fair amount of money (Badgett).
Politics and government also played a role in the resistance of homosexual integration as well. Notable leaders against LGBT+ rights include John Briggs, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Anita Bryant, and countless others (PBS, Alternet). Though their campaigns against the queer community were claimed to be for youth or by the will of God, supporting these views would guarantee voters. By sharing a similar viewpoint with the public and taking action against the deviance within the society, in this case the homosexuales, candidates could ensure more support for other campaigns and elections. Through this support, these figures that believed in homosexual exclusion were able to remain in power and continue to create laws to stifle the integration of the LGBT+ community into mainstream society. This occurrence supports the sociological theory, Conflict Theory, as it shows that those in power structure society in order to benefit themselves.
Education serves as the final institute where homosexuality met great opposition between the 1950s to 2000. As in most societies, education was based around religion and scientific discoveries. As stated previously, religion only offered a single view on homosexuality, which was deemed enough for certain groups of people. However, scientific studies were done to prove not only that homosexuality was morally wrong, but also a disorder. These scientific studies support the religious base at the time, which led to the masses agreeing to the findings and further solidify their views on the subject. Scientific studies also showed that like any other disease, homosexuality could be treated and even cured. Prior to 1973, the year that homsexuality was declassified as a disored by the American Psychiatric Association (Scot), aversion therapy of horrific means was used to ‘cure’ homosexuality. Some means included castration, lobotomies, and electroshock therapy to name a few (Scot).
The 1950s version of the five sociological institutes explain why the queer community met great resistance while attempted to better their lives and their status in society.

But despite the attempts to keep the LGBT+ community under the thumb of the dominant perception of the moral and immoral, the community did take a stand.

From the creation of The Society for Human Rights and the Mattachine Society, both groups created to strive to improve the lives of the alienated queer community, to the three day riot in Stonewall, which had followed a raid on a gay club, to Harvey Milk’s campaign for San Francisco Board of Supervisors (Milk Foundation, PBS, Leadership Conference) the LGBT+ fought valiantly for their rights as

citizens.
Though same sex marriage was only legalized throughout the U.S. since 2015, Vermont was the first state to legalize civil unions in 2000, followed by eight states in the years after (PBS). Though there is still controversy about presenting a same sex couple as a ‘true family’, shown through the ban on same sex couple from adopting children, despite studies saying otherwise (Barlow), and backlash at visibility in media. In the last year, the blog group, One Million Moms, attacked companies like Disney and Nickelodeon for having same sex couples appear on their kids’ programming. The group explained that “Just because something may be legal or because some are choosing a lifestyle doesn't make it morally correct. Nickelodeon should stick to entertaining instead of pushing an agenda. Nickelodeon has decided to be politically correct instead of providing family-friendly programming (One Million Moms)”. Though the American society has advanced enough to allow for LGBT+ people, that doesn’t necessarily mean personal beliefs and values have conformed as well.
Due to religious ostracization, homosexuals were forced to flock together in order to ensure safety and find a community. These communities created influenced the creation of activist groups, as well as marches for equality, including the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1979, which had 75,000 participants (MilkFoundation.org, Leadership Conference). Large spectacles like these caught the country’s attention and many began to consider more in depth what gay rights meant to the masses in the U.S.
On the political front, Harvey Milk reated great strives for the community within San Francisco and across the U.S.

by becoming the first openly gay male politician (MilkFoundation, PBS). Through his work, he was able to battle John Briggs’ proposition to remove gay teachers from schools in California, introduced a gay rights ordinance to serve as protection for the queer community in San Francisco, as well as offer inspirational speeches for those around the country living in fear (MilkFoundation). Some notable quotes include, “Gay people, we will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets. … We are coming out to fight the lies, the myths, the distortions. We are coming out to tell the truths about gays” and more simply, “You must come out” (MilkFoundation). His activism inspired other leaders to take stands and encourage change within the society. Numerous marches within San Francisco and across the country followed his assassination in 1977 (PBS) once again bringing more attention to the problems facing the queer community. Today, politicians reflect the needs and desires of the masses, and as a result including gay rights into their platforms. Presidential candidates like Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein have made it a point to ensure their voters that they will continue to support the queer community (On The

Issues).
Science has also shown the progress of society through studies on sexuality and gender identity. From the development of the Kinsey Scale (Grollman) to removing homsexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Grollman, Scot), homosexuality is no longer seen as a disease or a mental disorder by the scientific community.
In conclusion, though homosexuality was reviled as deviance during the 1950s and movements were regarded as a danger to heterosexual based families and the long standing tradition of Christianity in America, the LGBT+ community was able to push past norms and laws in order to create the more accepting society as seen today. Retrospect truly does provide more insight into the significance events, as the betterment of the queer community was seen as villainy at the time, it is now seen as progress for equality among all people.