The Stonewall Riots And Women s Rights Movement Essay

Although most people who know about the Stonewall Riots see the riots as the â€Å"birthday of the Gay Liberation Movement,† it perhaps would be more accurate to say that it signified the merging of the Civil Rights or Black Power movement, and Women’s Rights movement, and the political and social unrest amongst gay, lesbian, and transgender and gender variant individuals that would soon become a movement. Incited by a Black trans woman, Marsha P. Johnson, and a Puerto Rican trans woman Sylvia Rivera, the Stonewall Riots are a symbol to this day of some of the most marginalized people in society (ostracized even by the whitewashed, male-dominated Gay Liberation movement) pushing back against racism, sexism, transphobia, fascism, and police brutality and resisting cooptation from white media. However, this would not have been possible without 20th century trailblazers of Gay and Lesbian rights and visibility. According to Richard B. Nugent, homosexuality in the 1920s for those living away from mainstream society was â€Å"always a dirty word†¦ but the practice was not a dirty thing.† Cowboys were rumored to have had sex with each other and animals. Most gay people, including gay cowboys, lived in isolation or away from society and many never saw consequences such as the ones Donna Smith expressed. In her case, her status as a lesbian was the cause of her being non- consensually commitment to a psychiatric institution. In many cases of gay and lesbian people who were not in isolation,Show MoreRelatedWhy The Stonewall Riots Became A Turning Point For The Lesbian Community1459 Words   |  6 Pageslimited their basic rights. On the night of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York’s Greenwich Village, and arrested three drag queens by using excessive force. Bar patrons and spectators, tired of police oppression, stood up and fought back. This was the first major protest based on equal rights for homosexuals. The Stonewall Riots became a turning point for the homosexual community in the United States sparking the beginning of the gay rights movement, and encouragedRead MoreThe Stonewall Riots Of 19692040 Words   |  9 PagesYork City Stonewall Riots of 1969, concerning their influence on the rise of the modern gay rights movement, specifically regarding political emergence, social unity, and demographic shifts. The investigation will attempt to answer the following question: To what extent were the Stonewall Riots of 1969 a catalyst for the LGBT social movement in America? Two sources, â€Å"Movements and Memory: The Making of the Stonewall Myth† by Elizabeth A. Armstrong and Suzanna M. Crage, and Stonewall: the Riots That SparkedRead MoreThe Stonewall Act Of Stonewall1193 Words   |  5 PagesStonewall is known as the riot that kickstarted the movement for gay rights in America in 1969. Throughout the 1960’s the gay community was targeted for their homosexual activities because this went against the common beliefs of the people. Most of the population had the Christian belief that being interested in the same sex was against God’s will. This caused discrimination throughout the nation between members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender plus (LGBT+) community and the rest ofRead MoreStonewall Riots Sparked The Gay Revolution By David Carter907 Words   |  4 PagesThe book I choose to review is Stonewall: The riots that sparked the gay revolution by David Carter. It was published by St. Martin’s Press, with a co pyright date of 2004. I bought the book at Half-price Books for $6.99 My book’s topic was the Stonewall riots in New York. The Stonewall riots were a series of impulsive, violent protests by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, located in the Greenwich VillageRead MoreLgbt History And The Modern Era1737 Words   |  7 Pagesaccording to lore. While gender identity defined Native American gender roles, their expectations for the two spirits differed. Native American ideology welcomed a third gender and openly encouraged the behavior. They were considered holy men and women. The tribes deemed the two spirits a considerably blessed person. Thought to bring magical powers unto the non-two-spirit spouse, partners were not ostracized, or excluded, like shown in many ways during the European world of this time. Tribe membersRead MoreThe Stonewall Riot of 1969830 Words   |  3 PagesWhile it was barely a kernel of activism against the immense backdrop of advocacy during the 1960’s and 70’s, the gay liberation movement was one of the most important challenges to the hierarchal structures of accepted moral and scientific thought. Functioning as a minor footnote within the context of a substantial political arena comprised of the issues of war, race and a raging women’s liberation movement, gay liberation in the late twentieth century still sought to impress upon the marginalizingRead MoreThe Rights Of The Gay Rights Movement1374 Words   |  6 PagesWhen it comes to the gay rights movement, the structure and the history of how it got to where it is today is a huge factor in today’s society. There have been a lot of things that negatively influenced gay rights. In some ways, things have happened in a positive way as well. The gay rights movement today and legalizing gay marriage has struck some people the wrong way because of their beliefs. For the gay community, though, it has been a very positive thing. Some of the big key moments in historyRead MoreThe Importance Of Equal Rights And Opportunity In America1113 Words   |  5 PagesMy America values equal rights and opportunity for all its people. My America believes that equal rights are given to all its people no matter their race, religion, social status, gender, or sexuality. According to none of the aforementioned factors of a person’s identity should anyone face discrimination denying them of equal rights and opportunity. In my America, no one is denied their rights. In my America, everyone has the opportunity to pursue their passion. In America today we see people notRead MoreThe Gay Liberation Movement Of Manhattan, New York City1536 Words   |  7 Pages On June 28, 1969, the Gay Liberation Movement was sparked due to the Stonewall Riot in Manhattan, New York City, (History.com Staff). The Stonewall was a gay club located in New York City. It was often regulated and harassed by police officers but one day the LGBT decided to stand up for themselves and fight back. Although the police were legally justified in raiding the club, which was serving liquor without a license among other violations, New York’s gay community had grown weary of the policeRead MoreDiversity Experience : Lgbt Context889 Words   |  4 PagesBerlin s Institute for Sexual Science, Europe s best library archive of materials on gay cultural history, but the great library was destroyed and the books burned by the Nazis on May 10, 1933 (APA, n.d.). On April 27, 1953, President Eisenhower issued an executive order banning all gay men and women from working for any government agency. President Eisenhower also order private contractors doing business with the go vernment to fire their gay employees (Huffington Post, 2012). Eisenhower s executive