So now that we know why LGBTQ people need Pride, another question arises: how did we get from the oppressions of the past--when gay people were forced to remain in the closet or face institutionalization, beatings and arrests--to where we are today? Who paved the way for the gay rights movement of today? Who is the Rosa Parks of the gay rights movement?
Although there is no real equivalent figure to Rosa Parks, there is a specific day to which most people point as the beginning of the gay rights movement: June 28, 1969. It was on that day that the four day riots known to us today as the Stonewall Uprising began.
A movement existed before the Stonewall Uprising, though--groups known as homophile groups had contingencies all across the country. Two of the most famous groups include the Mattachine society and the Daughters of Bilitis. They held protests and served as the public face of gay people, on occasion going on TV. Interestingly enough, in one interview for a television special, a leader of the Mattachine society specifically stressed that gays weren’t looking for the right to marry one another (something especially fascinating with the recent win for gay marriage in New York).
In 1969, a mayoral election in New York City led to a crackdown on gay bars, as well as a significant increase in the number of violent vigilante attacks against gays. Up and down Christopher Street, widely-considered the center of the gay community in New York City, bars were raided and arrests made--in fact, the Stonewall Inn had been raided only a few nights before June 28th.
To quickly explain the story, here’s a video from hip-hip radio show host Jay Smooth [note: this video is a few years old and makes reference early in to an incident that happened in 2009. Stick it out a few seconds. Jay makes it worth it]:
Although there were three nights of riots, they received very little publicity; the New York Times merely printed a news brief about it, and it didn’t spread to any other papers. The Village Voice did print an actually story about it, but in the process became the focus of the first gay-rights rally as the newly-united community protested against the use of the word ‘fag’ in the article; from that point onward the Village Voice used the word ‘gay’ instead. Despite the limited publicity, however, the uprising changed the direction of the gay movement. A year from the start of the riots, the first parade was held in New York City, marching from Christopher Street to Central Park despite uncertain numbers and several bomb threats. Ultimately 2000 people marched in broad daylight, marking the birth of the gay rights movement. The incident was so decisive, Pride events in Germany are called ‘Christopher Street Days’. It is to the brave people who rioted at the Stonewall Inn that we owe the victory in New York, and indeed every victory won for LGBTQ people today.
Saturday, June 25
Sunday, June 19
Why We Need Pride
Often when people talk about Gay Pride events, a question comes up: “Why do gay people get their own parade? Why can’t straight people have a Pride Parade?” Questions like this are often asked by dominant groups about non-dominant groups; it’s a derailing tactic used to erase the history of oppression that non-dominant groups have experienced. People ask the same questions about Black History Month, and International Women’s Day.
Still, the question remains: why? Why do LGBTQ people get their own special day (and, as you’ll remember from our last post, a whole official month)? If we take a hop in the Way-Back Machine (and if you know what that is, you probably don’t have to read this post), we’ll see why.
Picture yourself in the 1960s. A lot of people say they would love to live during that time--with Woodstock and hippies and the peace movement. It was a time of social upheaval, with the Civil Rights Movement in full swing and the counterculture resisting the mainstream culture of the time. The women’s rights movement was also pushing for equality. It was a great time to be alive--a time of intense change, when life for people was getting better.
Except if you were gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. At the end of the decade, homosexuality was illegal in 49 states, with Illinois being the only state without such laws. Almost all medical authorities agreed that homosexuality was a mental defect, and many classified same-sex relationships as “sociopathic relationships”. It was thought that this ‘mental illness’ developed in the first three years of life, and if you were out, therapy for such an illness consisted of, according to one survivor, psychiatrists trying to convince the patient that they weren’t gay, and if that didn’t work, they would then turn to “aversion therapy”, in which the patient was shown pornographic images of people of their same gender, and then were electrically shocked to ‘re-train’ their brains.
If such ‘therapies’ didn’t work, a gay person could be committed to a psychiatric institution, such as Atascadero State Hospital, which became known as the ‘Dachau for queers’. At Atascardero, gay patients were experimented on, and in one case given a drug to simulate drowning--essentially medicalized water boarding. In other institutions, gay men were often sterilized or castrated, and many were given lobotomies. These were the lives led by gay people who confessed their sexuality to their families.
Oppression didn’t just come from the medical field. It also came from law enforcement. LGBTQ people had zero protection under law, and if arrested for “lewd, immoral behavior”, had to face their names, ages and home addresses being published in the local newspapers. Such an arrest in some cases made it practically impossible to get a job or housing. Numerous arrests were made because people weren’t wearing the “right clothes”--according to activist Leslie Feinberg, one had to be wearing three or more garments assigned to the “correct” sex in Buffalo, NY, in order to avoid arrest--and these laws were simply a few that openly discriminated against the gender-variant. Many who lived during the time explained that being out wasn’t an option, for obvious reasons, and those who were out faced harassment from almost every avenue of life.
The openly gay were often homeless and unemployed youth who were kicked out of their homes from their families--kids around high school age and a little older. The center of their communities were gay bars, but even here they weren’t safe. Police raided bars frequently, demanding IDs and making arrests. Anyone who resisted was often met with violence--this on top of violence from outside law enforcement. In some cases, beatings of gay, lesbian and trans people ended in memory loss or paralysis; in still more cases, the victims were murdered.
It seems almost unimaginable, to think about the way LGBTQ people were treated by other citizens, by doctors and by the police. And because of the nature of the attacks made on them, gay people had very little political voice. No one was willing to stand up for them, and perhaps most importantly, most of them weren’t standing up for themselves. Although many people who were at the Stonewall uprising were involved in the civil rights movement, they didn’t yet have the community to organize any formal protests. That would change after a series of riots in New York City in June 1969.
So when people ask the question why do gay people need Pride Parades? It’s because of the oppression they suffered at the hands of their families, their communities, medical professionals and the law. It’s because before the Stonewall riots, the lives of LGBTQ people were threatened every single day, just because of their sexuality. Gay marriage was generally not on these people’s minds--they just wanted protection from police brutality and the threat of murder.
Still, the question remains: why? Why do LGBTQ people get their own special day (and, as you’ll remember from our last post, a whole official month)? If we take a hop in the Way-Back Machine (and if you know what that is, you probably don’t have to read this post), we’ll see why.
Picture yourself in the 1960s. A lot of people say they would love to live during that time--with Woodstock and hippies and the peace movement. It was a time of social upheaval, with the Civil Rights Movement in full swing and the counterculture resisting the mainstream culture of the time. The women’s rights movement was also pushing for equality. It was a great time to be alive--a time of intense change, when life for people was getting better.
Except if you were gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. At the end of the decade, homosexuality was illegal in 49 states, with Illinois being the only state without such laws. Almost all medical authorities agreed that homosexuality was a mental defect, and many classified same-sex relationships as “sociopathic relationships”. It was thought that this ‘mental illness’ developed in the first three years of life, and if you were out, therapy for such an illness consisted of, according to one survivor, psychiatrists trying to convince the patient that they weren’t gay, and if that didn’t work, they would then turn to “aversion therapy”, in which the patient was shown pornographic images of people of their same gender, and then were electrically shocked to ‘re-train’ their brains.
If such ‘therapies’ didn’t work, a gay person could be committed to a psychiatric institution, such as Atascadero State Hospital, which became known as the ‘Dachau for queers’. At Atascardero, gay patients were experimented on, and in one case given a drug to simulate drowning--essentially medicalized water boarding. In other institutions, gay men were often sterilized or castrated, and many were given lobotomies. These were the lives led by gay people who confessed their sexuality to their families.
Oppression didn’t just come from the medical field. It also came from law enforcement. LGBTQ people had zero protection under law, and if arrested for “lewd, immoral behavior”, had to face their names, ages and home addresses being published in the local newspapers. Such an arrest in some cases made it practically impossible to get a job or housing. Numerous arrests were made because people weren’t wearing the “right clothes”--according to activist Leslie Feinberg, one had to be wearing three or more garments assigned to the “correct” sex in Buffalo, NY, in order to avoid arrest--and these laws were simply a few that openly discriminated against the gender-variant. Many who lived during the time explained that being out wasn’t an option, for obvious reasons, and those who were out faced harassment from almost every avenue of life.
The openly gay were often homeless and unemployed youth who were kicked out of their homes from their families--kids around high school age and a little older. The center of their communities were gay bars, but even here they weren’t safe. Police raided bars frequently, demanding IDs and making arrests. Anyone who resisted was often met with violence--this on top of violence from outside law enforcement. In some cases, beatings of gay, lesbian and trans people ended in memory loss or paralysis; in still more cases, the victims were murdered.
It seems almost unimaginable, to think about the way LGBTQ people were treated by other citizens, by doctors and by the police. And because of the nature of the attacks made on them, gay people had very little political voice. No one was willing to stand up for them, and perhaps most importantly, most of them weren’t standing up for themselves. Although many people who were at the Stonewall uprising were involved in the civil rights movement, they didn’t yet have the community to organize any formal protests. That would change after a series of riots in New York City in June 1969.
So when people ask the question why do gay people need Pride Parades? It’s because of the oppression they suffered at the hands of their families, their communities, medical professionals and the law. It’s because before the Stonewall riots, the lives of LGBTQ people were threatened every single day, just because of their sexuality. Gay marriage was generally not on these people’s minds--they just wanted protection from police brutality and the threat of murder.
Sunday, June 12
Pride Month!
For those who don’t know, the month of June is officially recognized as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month! In honor of this important month, the WRA GSA is kicking off their blog with a three-part series of posts explaining the history and answering that one question people always seem to ask: why do gays and lesbians get their own Pride Parades?
The first Gay Pride Parades in the United States happened June 28th, 1970, exactly one year after the Stonewall Riots (more on this later). Subsequent parades held in New York City and Atlanta were called Gay Liberation Day; those held in San Francisco and Los Angeles were called Gay Freedom Day; by the time the 1980s rolled around, most events had been renamed Gay Pride Day. Parades spread across the country over the next thirty years.
In June of 2000, then-President Bill Clinton declared June to be Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in the United States, the first time the events had been officially recognized by the national government. So far in every year of his administration, President Barack Obama has recognized June to be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month; you can see his official proclamation here.
If you can, look for Pride Events in cities around you; most cities will have them, from major metropolitan areas like Cleveland, San Francisco and New York, to smaller cities like Iowa City! Events vary by city, but there’s often music, a parade, booths where you can get a lot of great free swag, and information about services in your city! Finding a Pride event is as easy as googling the name of your city and the phrase “Gay Pride” (or any combination thereof).
Next week we’re going to take a look at some history and examine that question that you hear so often: why do gay people get their own Pride parades? Why do they have to show off their Pride? Keep your eyes peeled for a link from our Facebook page!
The first Gay Pride Parades in the United States happened June 28th, 1970, exactly one year after the Stonewall Riots (more on this later). Subsequent parades held in New York City and Atlanta were called Gay Liberation Day; those held in San Francisco and Los Angeles were called Gay Freedom Day; by the time the 1980s rolled around, most events had been renamed Gay Pride Day. Parades spread across the country over the next thirty years.
In June of 2000, then-President Bill Clinton declared June to be Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in the United States, the first time the events had been officially recognized by the national government. So far in every year of his administration, President Barack Obama has recognized June to be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month; you can see his official proclamation here.
If you can, look for Pride Events in cities around you; most cities will have them, from major metropolitan areas like Cleveland, San Francisco and New York, to smaller cities like Iowa City! Events vary by city, but there’s often music, a parade, booths where you can get a lot of great free swag, and information about services in your city! Finding a Pride event is as easy as googling the name of your city and the phrase “Gay Pride” (or any combination thereof).
Next week we’re going to take a look at some history and examine that question that you hear so often: why do gay people get their own Pride parades? Why do they have to show off their Pride? Keep your eyes peeled for a link from our Facebook page!
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