The Controversial History Behind Sexuality

Influential people prompted the creation of movements and organizations. Beginning in 1950, with the Mattachine Society by Harry Hay and Chuck Rowland, groups and activists began pushing for equality for the gay community (Staff). Following Hay and Rowland’s work came the Daughters of Bilitis, “The Advocate,” and the Gay Activists Alliance. Organizations like The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Parents, Families, and Friends of

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

Unlike sex, the history of sexuality is dependant upon society and limited by its language in order to be defined and understood.

The history of the gay rights movement goes as far back as the late 19th century. More accurately, the quest by gays to search out others like themselves and foster a feeling of identity has been around since then. It is an innovative movement that seeks to change existing norms and gain acceptance within our culture. By 1915, one gay person said that the gay world was a "community, distinctly organized" (Milestones 1991), but kept mostly out of view because of social hostility. According to the Milestones article, after World War II, around 1940, many cities saw their first gay bars open as many homosexuals began to start a networking system. However, their newfound visibility only backfired on them, as

Ideas about sex, gender and homosexuality have been changing rapidly over the past several decades in the United States. There are several obvious reasons for this. The primary one is legal: various legal decisions by the United States Supreme Court have altered existing law on the subject of sex and homosexuality, and substantially affected matters of gender as expressed in law. But there has also been a social shift driven by medicine, largely based on response to the AIDS epidemic at its height in the 1980s and 1990s, but also in terms of other medical matters such as contraception and abortion.

It was not until the twelfth century that homosexuality started to be condemned. This condemnation proved to live through then until now. Due to the fact that America incorporated these early views into its early laws, even the most bland of today's sex acts were seen as unlawful (“Homosexuality and Mental Health”). Since then, these laws have changed, however, there is still a primarily negative connotation on homosexuals when coming from a church or legal standpoint concerning the masses of America.

“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

George Chauncey’s Gay New York Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World 1890-1940, goes where no other historian had gone before, and that is into the world of homosexuality before World War II. Chauncey’s 1994 critically acclaimed book was a gender history breakthrough that gave light to a homosexual subculture in New York City. The author argues against the idea that homosexual men lived hidden away from the world. Chauncey’s book exposes an abundant culture throughout the United States, especially in New York. In this book Chauncey not only shows how the gay population existed, but “uncovers three widespread myths about the history of gay life before the rise of the gay movement which was isolation, invisibility, and internalization.” Chauncey argues against these theories that in the years 1890-1940, America had in fact a large gay culture. Chauncey book is impactful in the uncovering of a lost culture, but also works as an urban pre-World War II history giving an inside view of life in the city through sexuality and class.

In the past decades, the struggle for gay rights in the Unites States has taken many forms. Previously, homosexuality was viewed as immoral. Many people also viewed it as pathologic because the American Psychiatric Association classified it as a psychiatric disorder. As a result, many people remained in ‘the closet’ because they were afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the society. According to David Allyn, though most gays could pass in the heterosexual world, they tended to live in fear and lies because they could not look towards their families for support. At the same time, openly gay establishments were often shut down to keep openly gay people under close scrutiny (Allyn 146). But since the 1960s, people

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.

Throughout history, definitions of sexuality within a culture are created and then changed time after time. During these changes, we have seen the impact and power one individual or group can have over others. In the Late Nineteenth Century into the Early Twentieth Century, we see multiple groups of people and or authorities taking control over the idea of sex and how they believe society is being impacted by sex. At this point in time, society had groups of people who believed they had the power to control how society as whole viewed and acted upon sex. Those particular groups and ideas changed many lives and the overall definition of sexuality within that culture.

Married Love was an unprecedented book, which inadvertently redefined female sexuality. Often regarded as the precursor of sex-manuals, Married Love launched Stopes’ enormously successful career as a writer. Published in 1918, Married Love reviewed the intertwining relationship of marriage, sex and contraception, which in Stopes’ view were the fundamental components of a fulfilling and rewarding marriage. Like all discourse, Married Love is heavily embedded within a distinct historical and cultural context. Darwinian theory and the development of eugenics had a phenomenal impact on Stopes. Recognising the equal sexual desire of women would make Married Love greatly influential in the shaping of modern perceptions into female sexuality.

Just as the television industry began advancing their views on the subject, politicians also began changing their stance on the subject. In 1991, the year that L.A. Law broadcast the first lesbian kiss, James Hormel endowed the Gay and Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library (Franke-Ruta, par. 1). Hormel was a leader in creating gay institutions in his hometown, San Francisco. Hormel was also a politician. While in the spotlight for being gay, he was also nominated in 1997 to be the ambassador of Luxemburg (Franke-Ruta, par. 1). Backtrack to 1994 when several colleagues challenged his work ethic due his sexual identity (Franke-Ruta, par. 3). To give us some examples of the way politicians degraded homosexuals, Franke-Ruta states “some politicians cited the Bible as to why they were appalled by homosexuality, while others compare it to a condition such as alcoholism” (Franke-Ruta, par. 3). Despite the bad publicity due to these individuals, the political aspect of homosexuality is still continually changing.

During the late 1940’s, early 1950’s Americans were dealing with numerous historical events. Soldiers are settling back into the states, becoming accumulated with their families and friends yet again after the end of World War 2. The difference now was the resurgence of homosexuality that was somewhat unchecked while the U.S was at war. Since the main focus was mainly on the war itself, the author describes how the evangelicals believed that now “a new type of man threatened the cultural dominance of strong fathers: gay men” (Author, 2017)

Some kids look forward to that special day when they will be married. But they picture a man and wife, not individuals of the same gender. The constant battle for gay marriage is changing the foundation of society. "We, as a society, are concerned about adapting to a new social norm and legalizing gay marriage in America. The Obergefell vs. Hodges case showed that 57% of Americans favored same-sex marriage over the past decades, up from 30% in 2005, and 72% felt that legal recognition was “inevitable” (Pew 2015). The gay freedom movement began after World War II. It was waved from society's margins; its most outspoken proponents sought to overturn social convention, not join it. It was not at all inevitable that the movement would one day coalesce around marriage. In 1972, an activist wrote in a lesbian newspaper that she and her comrades “stand as the greatest threat to this society, far more than gun-carrying revolutionaries or bomb-scare groups blowing up the White House or the Chase Manhattan Bank”.The AIDS crisis of the 1980's devastated the gay community, but also mobilized it. Until recently, most gay victories were won at the local or state level; the federal government lagged. After Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage, in 2003, a backlash of ballot initiatives and referendums banning such unions swept much of the country, In a long-sought victory for the gay rights movement, the