This Blog aims to
explore two different narratives of LGBT civil rights movements in 1960s. The
first being the USA movement and their struggle to gain a meaningful discourse in
the mainstream. The Second being the decriminalisation of homosexuality in East
Germany.
The Advocate was a pioneering LGBT magazine with humble origins. The
Personal Rights in Defence and Education (PRIDE) made their first publication
in 1967 as a response to an overly aggressive police raid on a gay bar in Los
Angeles, called The Black Cat. The Publication started life as a newsletter for
LGBT issues, it did not take long for it to become the magazine that it is
today, with pieces on Hollywood celebrities, columns on fitness, and cooking.
This magazine helped to pave the way for other LGBT magazines, as well as, the
LGBT movement as a whole. However, it is important to note that this did not
end discrimination it only provided a voice for those LGBT people in the USA. However,
not all LGBT movement sort non-violet solutions to their oppression. For
example, the ground-breaking Stonewall riots of 1969 in New York, which was a
response to the institutionalised discrimination felt by the LGBT
community, as they were open harassed for their sexual orientation. It was
Stonewall and the civil disobedience which instigated a national discourse on
LGBT rights, which encouraged a more sexually liberal way thinking in America.
Stonewall was one of the first poignant steps to the legalisation of gay marriage
in 2015.
While following
the stories of the different LGBT movements around the world in the 1960’s one
man stood out to me, that man being Dr Rudolf Klimmer. Due to Klimmer’s sexuality and
communist affiliation, he maintained a low profile in Nazi Germany until the
war had ended 1945. After which time Germany was divided into east and west.
When Klimmer became a promenaded figure in the denazification of the east
portion of Germany, he was instrumental in the removal of anti-gay legislation as
he worked with the East German Government to devise strategies for denazification.
Using his position in the East German communist party, he was able to establish
a Scientific-Humanitarian committee. This allowed for
issues of sexual politics to be discussed in the public sphere, to raise
awareness of LGBT issues and decriminalised homosexuality through the removal
of section 175 of Bismarck’s law. This monumental change in the East came 20
years before it did in the West, as the West was more socially and sexually conservative. However, it is
important to note that, even though homosexuality became decriminalised in the
East, it was still far from being socially accepted. The ideological concepts
at play betwixt the two Germanys’ is of particular interested to me, as both
Germanys’ are pushing for denazification and progressive reform. However, East
German were the first to adopt an open discussion on sexual politics and thus
decriminalised homosexuality. This was clearly influenced by the campaign lead
by Dr Rudolf Klimmer.
Ultimately,
in the 1960s the LGBT community had to struggle to gain a rational discourse worldwide.
I feel that these two stories help to highlight the global fight for LGBT civil
rights.
Please feel
free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
- Jack
Cerullo :)
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