Stonewall riots

During the 1970s, people started questioning gender and societal norms, leading to the second wave of Feminism, and other movements seeking rights for various groups. In the public sphere, women entered the workplace in traditionally masculine roles, joined organizations like NOW, and seeked legislation like Title IX to end workplace discrimination. Privately, women seeked protection against marital rape, and more respect in their marriages, and when they remained dissatisfied, divorce rates…

were relaxing at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. All of a sudden they were interrupted by the sound of fists beating on the door. It was the NYPD coming to raid the place. At the time homosexual acts were illegal, therefore usually when police raided gay bars people didn 't fight back. This time was different, they were sick of being pushed around. They fought back, throwing stools, bottles, and punches. A special unit had to be called in to break up the riot. From then on nothing…

The Matrix of Domination as described by Patricia Hill Collins, is the interlocking system of oppression based on race, class, gender, and sexuality. The Matrix of Domination was initiated as a concept to represent the truth that in order to actually understand oppression we must understand its counter position of privilege. Moving beyond the decades old tradition of focusing only on the oppressed (African Americans, women, the poor, LGBTQ), the notion of the Matrix of Domination forces us to…

night, would be start of change. According to Lucian Truscott IV, the author of, Gay Power Comes To Sheridan Square, “The forces of faggotry, spurred by a Friday night raid on one of the city 's largest, most popular, and longest lived gay bars, the Stonewall Inn, rallied Saturday night in an unprecedented protest against the raid and continued Sunday night to assert presence, possibility, and pride until the early hours of Monday morning.” I’m a faggot, and I 'm proud of it! ““Gay power!" "I…

Imitation and Transformation On a regular weekday, I was in class listening to a group of women presenting on some topic I couldn’t recall. After their presentation, the instructor, also a woman, told the presenters to stop “uptalking” in the future because their speech pattern can make them sound high-pitched, unconfident, and unprofessional. The class, including myself, silently accepted the instructor’s advice; however, I thought the instructor was trying to tell presenters that they need to…

Marriage is defined as “any of the diverse forms of interpersonal union established in various parts of the world to form a familial bond that is recognized legally, religiously, or socially, granting the participating partners mutual conjugal rights and responsibilities”. (“Marriage”) In Oklahoma, we think of it as some form for only a male and female to become unified. We Oklahomans are the 9th in the Top Conservative States in the United States. Being so conservative and being in the heart of…

In the documentary Before Stonewall the experiences of the LGBTQ community throughout the 20th century are highlighted and discussed. The documentary begins in the early 1900’s. Many speakers at the beginning of the film set the stage, stating that during the early 1900’s getting caught as a gay individual meant being arrested, thrown in an asylum, beaten, or even resorting to suicide. The word “homosexual” was thought to be dirty, and individuals who were called homosexual were thought to be…

Activists Alliance (GAA). “IN AMERICAN GLBT (gay/lesbian/bisexual/trans) popular memory, the Stonewall Riot of June 1969 is more than a major incident. It is a foundational myth, and it has been the subject of countless commemorative speeches and articles, of television shows, films, artworks, and even full-length books. In nearly all of these accounts, whether naive or sophisticated, the meaning of the riot is the same: This is when we GLBT Americans first fought back physically against our…

Before Stonewall gives an accurate overview of the progression and regression of gays in society throughout the 20th century by utilizing primary sources who witnessed and were involved in some of the most important historical events surrounding gay rights. By tracing back these key events, we can see how society influenced the position of unconventional groups and prevent a prejudiced repeat of history. In the early 1900’s and 1910’s, homosexuality was believed to be a mental illness that…

In these recent years, supporters of same-sex marriage got the advantage to win almost 80 percents of United States today. That is thirty-seven states out of the fifty states here in the USA. Moreover, just as last month, the issue has been brought up to the Supreme Court to consider whether it is time for nationwide same-sex marriage. On April 28, 2015, the nine justices had heard the oral arguments regarding the issue that whether or not the Constitution we have now guarantees the rights to…