PRIDE MONTH: A HISTORY, Stonewall and Its Impact on Society
Stonewall refers to the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York
On June 27, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn on the pretense that liquor was being sold without a license, something police had known for two years. It was an election year and by this time gay/lesbian society were tired of the almost constant harassment by police and decided that they had had enough. This was the first time gays and lesbians had fought back. When questioned by police, people in the neighborhood said that the gays were quiet, never bothering anyone, that the gays wanted to be left alone, and that nothing ever happen at the Stonewall Inn until the police raided it. By fighting back, and with the support (willing given or not) of the neighborhood, things began to change. Urvashi Vaid shows how.
According to Urvashi Vaid, the central ideas in “the Stonewall era of gay and lesbian liberation” are based on the following four principles:
- coming out and pursuing visibility is key to freedom;
- queer freedom is seen as profound, changing sex roles, ideas on sexism and heterosexual institutions such as family;
- gays/lesbians, bisexuals are seen as integral part of the demand for social change becoming the tie that binds race, gender, and economics;
- gay/lesbian counterculture seen as essential part of establishing gay/lesbian identity.
Being thus empowered, new organizations are formed.
HRC being the largest. In 1973, the APA lifts its mental illness designation of homosexuality, openly gay/lesbian persons are elected to public office, ie, Harvey Milk, and the Civil Service test is no longer allowed to discriminate against gays/lesbians.
By taking this stand, gay society made it known that gays/lesbians are here and that they are people just like everyone else. By “coming out” and making their presence known, gays/lesbians are making it impossible for the straight community to continue to ignore and/or persecute gays/lesbians. Queer freedom, changing sex roles, the high divorce rate among heterosexuals, and other factors are changing the face of the American family. No longer can we define family as mom, dad and child(ren). Some children are being raised by grand-parents, aunts/uncles, foster parents, step-parents, gay/lesbian parents, etc. Hence, gays/lesbians become an integral part of society’s demand for social change (integrating themselves with groups such as Civil Rights movement) becoming the tie that binds race, gender and economics.
Gays/lesbians begin to have groups act up making themselves more visible and harder to ignore.
They incorporate Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi’s views of nonviolent protest. New organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign give gays/lesbians a voice. In 1973 the APA finally lifts its mental illness designation for homosexuality making it harder for heterosexuals to refer to gays/lesbians as deviant or mentally deranged. With each of these victories, gays/lesbian gain more and more of the right that have been denied them for so long.
As a result of Stonewall
Homosexuality begins to be seen as a way of life. Until AIDs sexual freedom was preferred, giving gays/lesbians the chance to fully explore and come to terms with their sexuality. Lesbians develop their own independent culture apart from gays. There is a rise in gay/lesbian press. The following are just a few of the examples given in class: Lawrence v Texas where two gay men are found naked in a bedroom and are arrested for violation of Texas sodomy laws; Doe v Yuntis which concerns a 15 year old boy with gender identity issues, he wanted to attend school dressed as a girl, school said no; Fricke v Lynch in which a boy wanted to bring another boy to the prom as his date.
This fight for equality continues today.
It seems like a "two steps forward one step back " kind of struggle. Legislation needs to change; what happens in the bedroom between two consenting adults is no one else's business. Medicine needs to change; we need to help are children figure out their identity, not assign it to them forcing them to be that which they are not. Society needs to change; love the person not the package. Here's one way to start to change.
For more information on the history of the gay pride flag and movement see also:
GLBT Historical Society, historical society in San Francisco that houses the sewing machine used by Gilbert Baker to make the first pride flag; LGBT symbols; Queer culture; Rainbows in culture; Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence; Other pride flags; Asexual flag; Bear flag (gay culture); Bisexual pride flag; Flag gallery; Intersex flag; Transgender flags.
References:
- The National Museum & Archive of Lesbian and Gay History; Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center (1996). The Gay Almanac. New York: Berkeley Books. ISBN 0-425-15300-2. OCLC 636576927.
- Witt, Lynn; Thomas, Sherry; Marcus, Eric, eds. (1995). Out in All Directions: A Treasury of Gay and Lesbian America. New York: Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-67237-8. OCLC 37034700.
External links:
"Unsung Heroes of the Gay World: Vexillographer Gilbert Baker". UK Gay News. 17 April 2008. Archived from the original on 2016-08-25.
Welcome to Steemit :)
I follow u, follow me back if u want lot of fun and amazing picture every day.
Thank you for the welcome. This is new to me, so it will take sometime for me to get used to being on Steemit. Your pictures are amazing, thanks for sharing them.
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I think the medicine need to change
I am so sorry, but I do not understand your response. Can you please clarify?
do sorry false typo, I mean in my last respon is our mindset need to change to see the movement of LGBT as respecting to other people. @apothecae.
Thanks for the clarification. I agree with you on showing respect to ALL people.
This is a great article on the recent history of the gay and lesbian movement. I understand people who do not want young children to alter their body at a young age. But dressing up as a girl if you are a boy should be aOK. It is your right as an individual to dress in any way you want!
You have structured your article and did the crediting of your sources better than I ever did. Your article is incredibly undervalued. I hope a feature in my series "What I read in politics today" can give your post a little more attention. Are you OK with me featuring your article?
Thank you for your time and attention. If it is not to late then by all means use my article. Please bare with me as I am new to this form of communication! Thanks again; especially for asking first!
Hey, I posted my last Issue yesterday and want to have 2-3 days in between - it is actually more work than I anticipated and I need to wait for the permissions. I did not ask for them until very recently, so thanks for this feedback.
Your article was the most undervalued on my list. I will look out more for your articles in the future and maybe feature them, not to make something up to you, but because I want more well written articles like this on Steemit!
I appreciate it! I do actually edit. Should I send them to you...or what? I usually just click on what my daughter tells me to, lol.
Hi @apothecae, I am @politics-trail. I think when it comes to society we are at a point where it comes to the nitty gritty of accepting the gay and lesbian lifestyle. As I mentioned I can often understand both sides of the argument. You are free to love whoever you want, there is no question for me, but
I found the bathroom debate somewhat silly. Cant we just install more unisex bathrooms to solve that problem? Both sides were a little over the top on that argument, imo.
Thanks for taking the time to read my article. I believe we should show compassion, inclusion, and tolerance for our fellow human beings. We must look after each other as no one else will. Thanks again for your time.
Oh and since you are new to the platform/ not used it often since you created your account, feel free to ask me any questions about it ;)
Thanks, I just might do that. I am still learning all the different places to look to see what's going on. So if I do not respond right away, please be patient cuz I'm getting there. My daughter says to use Steemit like I use fb so we'll see how that works! Thanks again for the commit and encouragment.