The 1981 Hiv / Aids Epidemic

There is debate over to what extent lesbians, gays, people who are sexually attracted to both sexes, related to not identifying with the sex you were at birth people, intersexes people and others share common interests and a need to work together. Leaders of the lesbian and gay movement of the 1970s, 80s and 90s often tried to hide masculine lesbians, feminine gay men, and people who are sexually attracted to both sexes from the public eye, creating internal divisions within LGBT communities. Bernstein, Mary (2002). Identities and Politics: Toward a Historical Understanding of the Lesbian and Gay Movement. Social Science History 26:3 (fall 2002).

The LGBT community has been silently suffering through generations. But in this generation, they are finally showing the world their voice. There have been many instances where young adults were denied their right to be who they are and now they are speaking out about the mistreatment. Even though the united states have begun to be more open about the LGBT community here is still more change it come. These changes can be explained through many sociological perspectives including: functionalist, conflict, symbolic interactionism and interactionism. Along with these perspective religion, norms and deviance all impact these individuals who are striving to be open about who they really are inside and out.

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

With reference to the Stonewall riots of 1969, it is important to understand that the riot by the Lesbian and Gay Rights Movement came at a time when the civil rights movement was in its high peak. The riots for equality by the Gay and Lesbian groups and activists came at a time when Americans minority groups were fighting for identity in the typical American culture. Then again, it is significant to note that the trends that surround the Stonewall riots were the intense hatred towards the homosexual individuals that had hit the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. The Gay and Lesbian people had to seek solace in Homosexual perceived bars and night clubs as they feared for their life due to their ‘awkward’ sexual orientation at the time (Ruta, 2013). Similarly, another trend that characterized the Stonewall riot was the Cold War policies that had earmarked Homosexual individuals and organization as security threats. With the rising tension due to the cold war, the United States government had blacklisted Gay and Lesbian groups and individuals as an easy target for blackmail by the Communist groups. As a result, they faced constant harassment from police in the 1940s all through to the Stonewall riot in 1969. The uprising is as a result of the civil rights movement that allowed for many minorities and interest groups to come out and fight for their rights.

The present essay aims to analyse and discuss how social actions related to gender and sexuality have given rise to social change. Particular attention will be given to how views and opinions on gender and sexuality have positively evolved throughout the years as a result of decades of social activism led by the members and allies of the LGBT community. In order to do so, the current paper will firstly provide a concise account of how gender and sexuality were seen in the former times, which will be then compared to more current perspectives. Secondly, the paper will present a brief overview of the history of the LGBT movement, and highlight its main milestones. Significant emphasis will be given to how these salient occurrences have significantly affected today’s perception and attitudes towards the LGBT community in the majority of the world countries. In conclusion, the current essay will introduce and explore the recent ongoing activism that has been occurring globally within the LGBT community.

“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

Gay liberation throughout the United States had a purpose for lesbians and gay men to have gay lifestyles be normal. Gay liberation affected politics because gay men and lesbians wanted to inform their peers and family, which changed how citizens would view their sexual orientation. The gay liberation took place during the 1960’s through the 1980’s in which changed many cultures. The culture in the United States changed dramatically because during the 1960s through 1980s , there was an AIDS outbreak. AIDS was a sickness after HIV that would cause an individual’s body to weaken, therefore United States citizens would link AIDS to people who were gay or lesbian. For instance, David Rayside compares the United States to Britain, “After World War II, however, Britain once again stood out in the extent to public anxieties about sexuality were fanned and legal regulation of homosexual activity policed”(40) and “British authorities were especially preoccupied with the condemnation and strict containment of homsexuality.”(40). Homosexuality affected politics because authorities would prioritize the gays and lesbians before anything else. There were clear observations that governments from Britain and United States were not in favor for homosexuality, therefore attempting to change people's views on homosexuality so gays and lesbians would not be accepted into the society. Being accepted into a society requires majority of citizens to approve of other’s decisions. For example, citizens viewing gays or lesbians in public without attempting to discriminate their sexuality. The women’s movement was similar to the gay liberation because it affected politics greatly by hierarchies being

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

The 1960’s was a decade of great change in America, from civil rights for African Americans to equal rights for women, the American people were rising up and discovering that their voice in the political discourse was just as important as those they elected to office. One other such group that awakened and challenged the existing status quo that kept them silent and scared were the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities across the country. From the first large-scale associations of LGBT individuals that formed in San Francisco in the 1950’s to the political and social groups that came to be following the Stonewall Riots of 1969, they would speak out and not allow themselves to be kept down anymore. The aim of this paper is to establish the events and opinions that led up to the uprising at the Stonewall Inn such as perceived and real discrimination by police, medical professionals, and society itself, what actually happened at Stonewall, and how they sparked the modern LGBT movement in the United States over the next half century to the present day.

The dawn of the AIDS crisis in the early 1980’s prompted delayed waves of responses sweeping out across America. First impacting a scattering of gay men in San Francisco, the disease gained the stigma of being a “gay disease” that fascinated the nation as health systems and communities struggled to cope with its rapid spread. However, one man, seemingly unaffected by the mix of panic and curiosity, did not react. The Ronald Reagan administration has historically been criticized for its lack of response to the AIDS crisis. Many different aspects of society were instead forced to step up and carry the burden of slowing and responding to the crisis, in a reactionary shift. The Reagan administration’s lackluster response to the AIDS crisis of the

When people think of the 1980’s the first thoughts that many have in mind is that of music, movies, and technology that has helped shaped the present. Unfortunately, just like this longing for the 1980’s as something remarkable is limited to those that did not have to struggle through the AIDS epidemic or those that did not had to watch their friends, family, or loved ones die. The LGBTQ+ community faced struggles once it became apparent that AIDS was killing people, which runs counter to the ideology that the 1980's were full of nostalgia.

According to a report published in the February 1998 edition of “Nature”, scientists identified what they believe is the earliest case of AIDs in a man from the Congo in 1959. (Lerner and Hombs 39) By the end of the year 1980, 80 men would have been diagnosed with at least of the opportunistic infections that are a characteristic of AIDs. (Lerner and Hombs 40) AIDs cases in the 1980s increased dramatically not only around the world but in the United States, primarily in larger cities like Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco. The numbers of AIDs diagnoses and deaths spiraled out of control throughout the 1980s and towards the end of 1989 there were 117,500 cases of AIDS reported and 89,000 related deaths.(Lerner and Hombs 54) In the

Along these lines, most importantly, Hawa’s story displays the inability of African societies to target “key populations” of the HIV epidemic due to social stigmas. Being in the margins of society, prostitutions, male and female, are not frequently targeted by HIV prevention campaigns. Part of the reason for this lack of preventative care come from the stigmatization of their behavior, shown through its illegality. The problem is then exacerbated because women or men are unable to ask the police for assistance. Policemen abuse their position of power to exploit women or men’s sexually in return for the dismal of their law violation. Police actions further reinforce the idea of sex being a forefront of relationships for Africans, in order to negotiation and manage relationships. Once women feel comfortable they are willing to learn about HIV and how to prevent their personal contraction, “It’s not that the women didn’t want help — it was a matter of who to trust.” Stigmatization is thus proven because without the fear of society, women truly desire help and assistance. Therefore, when a group of individual’s behavior is stigmatized the are more unlikely to seek out treatment, leaving those groups fully unprotected against the disease. Since Africans that partake in sexual relationships with those in the margins of society also keep their actions secret in fear of societal disapproval the effects are disastrous in terms of HIV contraction. Men unwilling to express their

The first cases of AIDS that were reported in the United States began in the early 1980s. Today, more than 1.1 million people are living with HIV. In response to this HIV epidemic, at least 35 states have implemented HIV-specific criminal laws that penalize HIV-positive people for exposing others to the virus. These laws impose criminal penalties to HIV positive people that knowingly and potentially expose others to the virus. The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, also known as the CARE Act, provides states with funds for AIDS treatment and care. In 1990, the CARE Act required every state to certify that its “criminal laws were adequate to prosecute any HIV-infected individual who knowingly exposed another person to HIV.” Criminal laws regarding potential HIV exposure vary largely from state to state. Some federal legislation addresses the criminal penalties for intentional exposure such as through blood donation. CDC and Department of Justice researches found that, “ by 2011, a total of 67 laws explicitly focused on persons living with HIV had been enacted in 33 states… In 24 states, laws require persons who are aware that they have HIV disclose their status to sexual partners and 14 states require disclosure to needle-sharing partners.” The criminal laws vary as to what behaviors are criminalized or result in additional penalties. The criminal statutes regarding intentional exposure to AIDS for Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama ,Georgia, and

Gender and sexual orientation is a topic that has been and still today is not talked about in such a way it should be because of how society has chosen to structure and control it. Social stratification is a system in which groups of people are divided up into layers according to their relative privileges (power, property, and prestige). It’s a way of ranking large groups of people into a hierarchy according to their relative privileges (Vela-McConnell 2016). People, who deviate from the norm of the “accepted” gender and sexual orientation that society has placed upon us, are stratified below the norm of a dominating binary gender and sexual orientation. People who are queer face the struggle of mistreatment and an unaccepting society that has been socialized to see and act on gender and sexual orientation to being a dualistic system.