The Lesbian/Gay Political Movement   Term Paper ID:27440 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Reviews the growth & development of the gay rights movement. Discusses early history, but focuses on key developments such as the Stonewall riots & AIDS.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Reviews the growth & development of the gay rights movement. Discusses early history, but focuses on key developments such as the Stonewall riots & AIDS. Paper Introduction: The Lesbian/Gay Political Movement Introduction In thinking about this topic, it is interesting how difficult it is to even begin the discussion. What should the title be? Should it include bisexuals and transvestites in the heading? Should it be entitled the "queer" political movement? Language has been an issue during this history of this debate, and actually since the origins of the modern political movement dealing with homosexuality. Nonheterosexuals have been called by many names, mostly pejorative, including Uranians, inverts, queers, faggots, dykes, gays, and homosexuals. The contemporary political movement, which includes lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transvestites, and transsexuals, and any others that might be defined as an Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. AIDS hasled to the creation of new forms of extended family in the gay/lesbiancommunity that have been supportive during this time of great suffering(Hoffman, 1997). NY: Penguin Books. It was thehearth of gay community life, the community center, the meeting andgathering place, the source of news, the town square, and the source ofacculturation. There continues to be resistance to gay/lesbianadvances, such as the efforts in Colorado to roll back non-discriminationlegislation and in Washington and Oregon to institute discriminatorymeasures. Yet, therewas movement in that direction. There seems to be little awareness thatmarriage in its current form in the West is a relatively recent institutioneven for homosexuals, and that there did exist a rite of gay marriageduring the medieval period, within the Christian church. Thewell-hidden, the totally closeted, were not the individuals who began theStonewall action. What should the title be? It allowed gay/lesbian people to think about takingthe same route as other minority groups in seeking to secure basic civiland human rights within American society.The Contemporary Situation Thirty years ago, there was no Ellen, there were no anti-discrimination laws applicable to gays and lesbians, and there was nodiscussion of anything even resembling gay marriage. There is still such a degree of prejudice against gay people that BillClinton had to back off on his campaign promise to eliminate the ban onhomosexuals in the military, substituting his "don't ask, don't tell"policy instead. At the same time, however, the gay/ lesbian/ transgender/ bisexualcommunity has become increasingly visible, and increasingly confident andpositive about itself. One of the main factors influencing the contemporary gay politicalmovement is AIDS. Martin Duberman (1993) does a good job of describing the situation andthe forces that came together to make Stonewall such an important symbolic,political event. These are the concrete steps that can be taken in improving thesituation of the entire non-heterosexual community. That has been introduced, but it has not gained sufficientsupport at the national level, or in most states. Should it be entitled the"queer" political movement? So, there are opposing forces at work in defining thefamily and determining the value of various forms of the family. To be a lesbian, or an invert, as shethought of it, was to be isolated from other people and to be the source ofpain to oneself and to those one loved. While there are somelocal ordinances that support non-discrimination, there is no nationallegislation. The way we really are: coming to terms withAmerica's changing families. And Davis, M.D. Abolishing all discriminatory legislation prohibiting homosexualacts; 3. Tragedy was the predictableresult. (1993). There continuesto be a push in that direction by the gay/lesbian political movement. Currently, there are still acts on the books making it illegal toengage in such acts, as in Georgia for example, and there is still supportin the courts for such laws and support in the courts for variousprovisions that actively discriminate against gay people. Custody battles have been important in the gay community from thebeginning. (1974). Hall herself actually described this in her book, notingthat there were groups of women who were readily identifiable as lesbians,coupled up in sort of a butch/femme fashion (although she herself did nothave that language to describe it). It does not seem as thoughit will be easy, however. Durham, NC: Duke UniversityPress. NY: Basic books. The Lesbian/Gay Political MovementIntroduction In thinking about this topic, it is interesting how difficult it is toeven begin the discussion. At the same time, of course, there is an increasingemphasis on rethinking the ease of divorce and on the problems of single-parent families. They set the stage for thecontemporary gay political movement, which is vastly different from themovement of only 3 years ago. London: Corgi Books. The communities were comprised of women who were readily identifiableas lesbian, or at least the butch half of the group was identifiable assuch. (1993). (1996). Should it includebisexuals and transvestites in the heading? AIDS has determined some of the agenda of the movement,although not all of it, through the necessity of a community overwhelmed byit. Attaining fairer consideration in the military during this timeof changing sexual rules and regulations; 5. Language has been an issue during this historyof this debate, and actually since the origins of the modern politicalmovement dealing with homosexuality. When actually challenged for custody, most lesbians have lostcustody in the courts, although in some instances, men have returnedcustody to them after winning. Kennedy and Davis (1993) discussed the making of one of thosecommunities in their book, which focused on the growth and development ofthe lesbian community in Buffalo, New York. Although Stonewall was not the beginning of the gay politicalmovement, it was a pivot point. Kennedy and Davis (1993) indicated that most of the communitiesconstellated around bars and house parties, with women meeting each otherin various ways - often in the bars themselves - and coming together assmall groups of friends and family that persevered over long periods oftime and many changes. Theintention in the following pages is to look at some elements of the "non-heterosexual" political movement in this century.Historical Origins Stonewall is not the beginning of the gay political movement, or thegay power movement, as it was earlier called. After Stonewall, it became important to memorializethat event through annual parades and celebrations. Hoffman, A. NY: Penguin. A future agenda might include the following: 1. In particular, early 2 th century Europe,including Germany and France, saw a birth of lesbian and gay artisticvisibility, if not exactly political power and legal rights. The Well of loneliness. AIDS has led to increased activism by those who were not necessarilyactivists before, and to increased connections between gay men andlesbians, between the gay community and the straight community. Duberman, M. While this form of family has become increasingly apparent in thegay/lesbian community, there has also been an effort to make visible thenon-traditional family constellation of two men, or two women, or two samesex parents and child or children (Coontz, 1996). Another major effort has been exerted on behalf of gay marriage.Again, this has been well-covered by the media, while the conservatives inCongress and elsewhere have reacted to the effort by passing so-called"marriage protection" bills. Gay people continue to be asked their sexual preference, too, inviolation of the policies provisions. References Coontz, S. It is clear that the community has made greatadvances, even though there remains much work to be done.The Future The future seems to involve more of the same work as was done in thepast and continues to be done in the present. Achieving national legislation that supports basic civil rights,including housing and job rights; 4. Boots of leather, slippers ofgold. Working with the churches to decrease homophobic interpretationsand gain support for lesbian/gay participation within the churches on equalfooting with their heterosexual peers. In addition,contributions can be made by continuing to explore human sexuality, itsdevelopment, its expression, its meaning, and its spirit. In practice, however, that policy has not workedparticularly well, and there are actually more gay people currently beingthrown out of the service for homosexuality than there were before itsadoption. These have becomemajor events in the gay community and the levels of participation makeclear the changes in that community. It served as the symbolic gesture thatenergized men and women who had already begun participating in the vastmovements for social and political equality for women and minorities, or inthe anti-war movement. At the current time, there is an ongoing effort to have society acceptthe various forms of non-traditional, or alternative families. 6. Securing equal rights to custody and protection under family lawas heterosexual parents; 2. Before Stonewall, the bars andhouse parties were still the primary means for individuals to meet otherslike them and to develop some semblance of community. The recent discussions in the newsabout sexual practices in the military, and the possibility of rethinkingcurrent rules about fraternization and other sexual activity, might alsoreopen the discussion about homosexuals in the military. Hospital time. The effortis to reduce the stigma and invisibility, while allowing people to thinkabout their options. Instead, thiswas typical of the kinds of communities of women that developed in manycities. Instead, it was generally those who had less to lose andwere tired of being maltreated by the police. The contemporary politicalmovement, which includes lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transvestites, andtranssexuals, and any others that might be defined as an alternativesexuality is a story about language and definition and community. Gaining support in the churches and political venues forgay/lesbian marriage and other partnership rights and opportunities. Radclyffe Hall described the feeling of many lesbians of that timein her book, The Well of Loneliness. Yet there was community, and there were communities of lesbians longbefore Stonewall. Non-heterosexuals have been called bymany names, mostly pejorative, including Uranians, inverts, queers,faggots, dykes, gays, and homosexuals. Stonewall. Hall, R. This was the case for both lesbians and gay men (and to some extenttransvestites) until well into the 196 s. At the same time, the situation of most lesbians and gay men was moretragic. Major parades include gay/lesbianchurch groups, political groups, car clubs, hiking groups, social groups,support groups, groups from the heterosexual community, politicians, andother community leaders. Kennedy, E.L. There have been manyattempts to improve the position of lesbians and gay men, both in thiscountry and in other countries. Even afterStonewall, it took several years for the agencies, organizations, clubs,and groups that characterize the community today to develop and becomevisible.Stonewall In other words, the community was centered on the bar. It should be made clear thatthis is not the only community of its sort that developed. Primarily, the rebellion was led by the more marginalpeople in society, and the more marginal people in gay community life. It is natural, then, that the contemporary lesbian and gaypolitical movement emerged from a rebellious reaction to the typical policeharassment of clients of a Greenwich Village gay bar. There are several statesthat have non-discrimination legislation in effort, including Minnesota,California, and several of the northeastern states, but the majority donot. Instead, there was abeginning movement in which gay and lesbian people primarily wanted lawsremoved which made it illegal to engage in homosexual acts. Another major current effort is simply to continue eliminatingdiscrimination in all areas of gay/lesbian life. (1996). There was no expectation of mutual intimacy accepted by thecommunity and blessed with happiness and comfort. Lesbians have always been mothers, whether from entering intomarriages in order to prove that they were straight, or from the desire tohave children, even with a lesbian lifestyle (Kennedy and Davis, 1993).The threat of withdrawal of custody of those children has often been usedby husbands or families to try to stop women from acting on their lesbiandesires. 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