The Stonewall Riots, the Start of the Modern Gay Rights Movement
Homosexuality in the late 1960s was very much a secret
subculture of US society. Very little had been achieved for gay liberties in a
decade that had been flooded by civil rights activism and movements. During
this time gay Americans faced oppressive homophobic laws, with homosexuality still
being deemed a mental illness. In 1969 “homosexual sex was illegal in every
state but Illinois".[1]
New York contained America's largest homosexual population yet employed some of
the strictest anti-gay laws in the country.
Gay establishments were frequently raided by police,
claiming to investigate bootlegged alcohol and alcohol licences. In fact, these
raids vailed motives to arrest and harass the gay patrons present. Cause for
arrest during raids varied from being dressed in drag to dancing with the same
sex to women not wearing three items of feminine clothing.
One notorious location, New York's Stonewall Inn, owned by
the Genovese crime family, was one of a select few bars to openly allow
homosexuals. However, one raid on the Stonewall Inn, in the early hours of 28th
June 1969, would be the spark that ignited the modern gay rights movement.
The raid, much like any other, saw police entering the
property and arresting customers and workers. Yet, when released, instead of
dispersing, many of the patrons congregated outside and began throwing coins
and other objects at the police. Forced
to retreat inside the bar, Detective Inspector Pine is quoted saying after the
raid, "I had been in combat situations, [but] there was never any time
that I felt more scared than then".[2]
The following riots lasted for six days and although the
Stonewall riots were by no means the first gay rights movement in history, they
brought gay civil rights to a public level and global scale. Commonly called
the Gay Liberation Movement, gay rights suddenly became much more public, with
direct action being encouraged. Within a year, gay activist groups such as the
‘Gay Liberation Front’ and the ‘Gay Activists Alliance’ were established, and
seen to adopt a more visible and vocal stance. These organisations were the
first to openly use the word ‘gay’, representing a new unapologetic standpoint
from the LGBT community.
The same can be said for the newspaper Gay, which
challenged the same principle, being much more frank about using the word 'gay'
and discussing gay rights. Pre-existing newspapers such as The Village Voice
shied away from such terminology. In October 1969, Time published an
article titled 'The Homosexual: Newly Visible, Newly Understood'. Although
not wholeheartedly supporting the gay movement, the article illustrated that
the issue of gay rights was becoming more prominent in society.
As a result, gay rights movements emerged across the world
in Canada, Britain, Australia and France, with the first ever pride marches
also taking place in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago in June
1970. Stonewall became the catalyst and the motivating force in the gay rights
movement. The events of the riots transformed gay rights from something that
was never publicly spoken about to a movement that drew thousands out in
protest.
By Adam Knight
No comments:
Post a Comment