Movie Release : The Hay 's Code

Living in a world where you’re scrutinized for being yourself is difficult, but living in a world where it’s illegal to be yourself is overwhelming and dehumanizing. Intolerance towards homosexuality had been very common in our society up until a point in time where LGBT+ people began to realize they were being denied basic civil rights that they should have had. The Stonewall riots took place when queer people had taken enough of discrimination and violence and began to band together to start the Gay Liberation Movement, a vital step towards equality for the LGBT+ community in their journey for civil rights.

Life for most homosexuals during the first half of the Twentieth century was one of hiding, being ever so careful to not give away their true feelings and predilections. Although the 1920s saw a brief moment of openness in American society, that was quickly destroyed with the progress of the Cold War, and by default, that of McCarthyism. The homosexuals of the 50s “felt the heavy weight of medical prejudice, police harassment and church condemnation … [and] were not able to challenge these authorities.” They were constantly battered, both physically and emotionally, by the society that surrounded them. The very mention or rumor of one’s homosexuality could lead to the loss of their family, their livelihood and, in some cases, their

John D’Emilio’s “Capitalism and Gay Identity” contracts what life was like for gay men and lesbians throughout the 1970s and 1980s. During the 1970s, gay men and lesbians were able to come out freely, and eventually started to get accepted by everyone in society. They were able to express themselves without any regards, and started to become the person they were destined to be. People within the gay community have always expressed tendencies of liking the same sex, but societal norms did not allow them to express themselves. However, during the 1980s, as more people decided to openly come out, it started to take a toll on their identity. Society then started to question the importance of people who were brave enough to come out to the world.

I think a lot of the ideology from radical feminism is still used by feminist today and Gay highlights this problem in Bad Feminist. “Feminists” denounce other feminists for wanting to engage in activities that radical feminists would not approve of. Which tears down the movement, in my opinion. Anything that is woman like, or typical behavior for women, gets disapproval. There are women who like to do “woman” things, like cook for the husband, or even get married to a man. These women should not have to choose between being a feminist or not, if they believe in the equality of the

Stonewall: the Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution, was written by David Carter in New York, and published in 2004. This book serves the purpose of identifying Stonewall as the starting point for the modern gay revolution as a whole. It argues that the riots set a spark that ignited America in favor of homosexual rights as well as political and social opportunity. This book is valuable because it not only acknowledges the riots at Stonewall as important, but shows how they transformed homosexual life and the movement entirely. Carter persuades readers to see New York as a venue for revolution, and acknowledges the challenges faced throughout the beginning of the movement,

“Sex was something mysterious which happened to married couples and Homosexuality was never mentioned; my mother told me my father did not believe it existed at all ‘until he joined the army’. As a child, I was warned about talking to ‘strange men’, without any real idea what this meant. I was left to find out for myself what it was all about.” Mike Newman, who was a child during the 1950s America recalls how homosexuality was perceived during the post-World War II era (F). This sexual oppression was not only in Newman’s household, but in almost everyone’s. While the civil rights movement began in the mid-1950s and ended late 1960s, the LGBT community started to come out of the closet slowly. The gay rights movement stemmed from the civil rights movement

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Queer community also referred to as LGBTQQ is no stranger to oppression. “In 1600-1800, colonists discovered buggery (sex between men or between women) among Native Americans. In 1869, Dr. Karoly Benkert coined the term “homosexuality” to describe same-sex acts. In 1870-1910, homosexuals

Minorities have always been underrepresented by every media outlet, whether that be film, literature, pop culture, etc., and that furthers stereotypes. Something that has always and will continue to be a device of discord in human nature is that of wanting to be heard, no matter how disastrous that might become. This has been shown by multiple events throughout the entire Gay Rights movement, most notably the birth of the movement which are, the Stonewall Riots, “These riots were highly influential to establishing a foothold, however it was a peaceful protest, despite the name. Stonewall Riots was the forerunner for LGBT movements and begin gay rights groups June 28, 1969, In the early hours of June 28, 1969, a group of gay customers at a

Stonewall Riots: the Events that Sparked the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement When most think of the gay rights movement of today, most realize that it is all very progressive, and many people, regardless of gender or sexuality, fully support the movement. Although this is the case now, things for the LGBTQ+ community have not always this accepting. According to a popular news website, "[The LGBTQ+ community] were viewed as some kind of freak show," said Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt. "Something to be avoided." (cbsnews.com) Around the mid 20th century and before, anyone who did not identify, or was suspected of not identifying as straight was highly discriminated against, and, in most cases, persecuted.

From a psychological perspective, Plato's notion of friendship and personal identity also links with his apparent civil and sexual insecurities. In understanding that the picture in Plato's locker suggests his lack of a definitive father figure, it may be assumed that he is unaware of the basic societal conventions with which he is expected to uphold. Essentially, he is inept in terms of social customs, making

However society 's perspective on sexual identity has changed tremendously over the years. It used to almost be a disease that no one wanted to admit to having or have to deal with because that 's not what society viewed as “normal”. It was even said that only homosexuals can contract HIV/AIDS. In some cities, people got attacked physically because of the disagreement on homosexuality. Homosexual denied it their homosexuality because they didn 't want to be judged, but more and more people are admitting to it. Historical perspectives have changed too, especially in the U.S military service when homosexuals were banned from serving until 1993 when the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy was passed which allowed homosexual to serve in the military but not admit to it if they were asked. After World War II gay life flourished in urban areas such as Greenwich village and Harlem.

The sexual revolution of the 1960's was a time of great importance to modern America. The changes that occurred across America changed our country as a whole, its influence spread from LA to New York to the 'Heartland of America', Lawrence Kansas. This revolution occurred at a critical point in world history as well. A new type of society formed with soldiers returning from WWII and people began to incorporate themselves with those who matched their identity and not just those geographically near them. People were frustrated and they wanted their voice to be heard, and now they had a group of citizens who would back them up and help them in their revolution. American ideals changed drastically in the twenty years that followed World War two

The climate of the 1960s was turbulent. This decade was marked by many political movements, which reflected support for non-establishment themes. During this time the “sexual liberation movement” became a popular cause. This intensified social and political interest helped many disadvantaged groups to receive support and attention that previously had never been received. As part of the nation’s desire for sexual political liberation, gay liberation became visible.

The expectations for gendered behavior do not just fall on society at large; gay and lesbian communities also have their own gender roles to which they feel they need to conform. Within the gay community, it was traditionally tolerable to see female impersonators as long as their performances were clearly constrained to a certain place and time. However, people from outside of the gay community felt that gender variance was the best indication of homosexuality. This resulted in many gay and lesbian activists differentiating themselves from gender variance to gender normality after the 1969 Stonewall riots (Doan). Gender variant women and men were forced to change their dress and behaviors so that they were acceptable to mainstream society. Effeminate men were considered as deviant, weak, and wrong if they did not conform to the masculine identity, and they were marginalized from the gay community.

An article in the New York Times claims that all those feminist messages were lost to the audience that was just too consumed with the actress beauty to get the message. None the less Liz Taylor’s film kept pushing the envelope of socially acceptable topics and in movie Suddenly, Last Summer, the major taboo was ripped wide open on homosexuality and possibly delinquent/criminal behavior because most likely the male escorts were minor poor young boys. This movie portraits how far will the established social norm will go to keep containment , the clear message that a men was better off dead than be homosexual was not lost in this very turbulent movie.