The Epidemic Of The Aids Epidemic

Another huge social and cultural change during this time was the gay liberation movement. During the 1960’s, many groups decided to fight for their rights and equality. One of these groups was the gay and lesbian members of society. Many of these individuals were discriminated against and had no rights, but they decided enough was enough. In the 1960’s, gays decided to begin the fight for their own rights. One example of this was made after New York officers decided to raid the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in New York’s very own Greenwich Village on June 27, 1969. This type of raid was not unusual, being that many police officers made it a habit of raiding gay and lesbian bars. This became known as the “Stonewall Riot”, which many view as the starting point of the gay liberation movement. The gay liberation movement was the fight by gays and lesbians for equal rights, one of these rights being the right to not be discriminated against, and most importantly, to be able to openly “come out” to their family and friends. The gay liberation movement helped to impact our current times greatly. Today, a gay person has rights just like anyone else. A gay

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

“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

Throughout the Age of AIDS film many topics that were related to AIDS were brought up that I did not know anything about before. I did not know that there could so many strings attached to a disease and have such an influence in people’s lives whether it was negative or positive.

When the AIDS and HIV virus crept its way into the human-race, it quickly, and without warning, claimed the lives of millions. Then when its destructive wake had finally been abated, it left behind several untold mysteries. Throughout the course of this class, all the new material we have been exposed to has added some unique piece to the puzzle of the AIDS epidemic. Each puzzle pieces have ranged from speculations on how the AIDS epidemic had begun, to what exactly has the epidemic done. We have also tackled the question and how it forced a change in society. Our newest piece of the puzzle is the documentary “The Age of AIDS,” by William Cran. Although this documentary did not surprise me in its content, it did, however, affirm certain types

Johnson wrote: “In 1950 many politicians, journalists, and citizens thought that homosexuals posed more of a threat to national security than Communists…. By November… the “purge of the perverts” resulted in the dismissal of nearly six hundred federal servants. In the state Department alone, security officials boasted that on average they were firing one homesexual per day, more than double the rate of those suspected of political disloyalty.” (Eaklor 87) tells of how this mentality affected the heteronormative society of a war torn world and how that brought about the genocide of federal, minority employees. As seen in the text above, homosexual individuals were seen as worse than their heterosexual counterparts because they were thought to be destroying the American way of life as well as, traditional values given by the society brought about by conservative, warmonger-esque tendencies. Therefore, they were banned from federal employment which, made it difficult to find other work because of the severity of losing federal work.

Shortly after this act, practicing ‘sexual deviants’ enlisted within the U.S Civil Service had been immediately fired after an investigation consisting of 192 suspects, most of which lost their posts after the accusations. These investigations began after a myriad of Republican accusations saying that the “Federal civil service was a hotbed of ‘sex perversion’”, (Belderman, ‘The Observer’), and were initiated by then-President Truman’s administration. During this time, the ownership of an alcohol license was immensely important, and could be revoked upon recognition that the bar was ‘disorderly’. Up until the year 1967, selling alcohol to homosexuals could result in a bar being deemed disorderly, thus closing it down. While the state of New York overturned this law, a multitude of other states such as Miami maintained them, hence prohibiting the liquor licenses to, “knowingly sell to, serve to or allow consumption of alcoholic beverages by a homosexual person, lesbian or pervert … or to knowingly allow two or more persons who are homosexuals, lesbians or perverts to remain in his place of business”. However, the removal of this law in New York did not stop the constant raids on rumoured gay bars and clubs, resulting in the abolishment of these businesses’ alcohol licenses, and the arrest of countless individuals found inside. Those arrested thought to be gay had their names published in reports and newspapers, ensuing a possible job loss the following

Sexual acts between members of the same sex were specifically illegal, and cops would bait homosexuals to see if they were interested in such acts. Professionals who were found to be homosexuals lost their licenses. Homosexuality was a diagnosable psychiatric illness. A consensual homosexual act could get even life imprisonment, and a risk of castration. The book I choose to review is Stonewall: The riots that sparked the gay revolution by David Carter. It was published by St. Martin’s Press, with a copyright date of 2004. I bought the book at Half-price Books for $6.99

History is a complex chain of reactions; everything is the result of one event and the causation of another. Thus, if traced back decades, the Stonewall riots were the result of building social tensions in the United States and the approaches taken towards unearthing the psychology behind homosexuality. Following the upheaval caused during World War II, the people of the United States were eager to restore order in all elements of society. Security became the most valuable asset, making anyone who posed even a remote threat to the “American way” a target. An emphasis on anti-communism spurred by Senator Joseph McCarthy led to the onset of a national state of paranoia and disorder, alongside anarchists, supporters of radical revolution, and communists, the queer population was lumped into a category of people considered a threat to the United States government. Homosexuality was just short of a death sentence for those concealing their sexuality, so much so that during the late 1940s nearly 5,000

During the 1960’s to be gay in the United States was essentially a crime. It was the time of the “Lavender Scare,” in which thousands of people were fired from the federal government for no other reason than their sexuality. The fear stemmed from Cold War concerns that homosexuals would be a “security risk,” exploitable by communists (Sherouse) (Sears). Dozens of anti-gay legislation was in existence, specifically prohibiting employment of “homosexuals and other sex perverts” in civil service positions, and subsequently creating a president of discrimination throughout the country (Sears).

They also kept their sexuality a secret because of fear of not being able to get a job (Wolf, 2004). Social and religious forces caused doctors to try to find a “cure” for homosexuality, this further distressed gays in their everyday life (Wolf, 2004). Many gays abused alcohol and other drugs in other to cope with the emotional strain that society was putting upon them; homosexuals were seen as outsiders and drug addicts after that (Wolf, 2004). It was until 1924 that the first gay rights organization was founded (Adams, 1997). But in the 1950’s gays were barred from serving in the government (Adams, 1997). The 1960’s gays fought back into the stonewall riots and began the first steps in gay rights movement (Adams, 1997). In the 1970’s “homophobia” was coined for the first time and homosexuality was taken off the list of mental illnesses (Adams, 1997). In the 1980’s AIDS hit the scene and society was quick to blame gay men for because it was thought to have started with them (Adams, 1997). They also started to realize that gay teens were 2-3 times more likely to kill themselves proving they were indeed oppressed and suicidal (Adams, 1997). In the 1990’s in the most recent of capitalist events, right wing conservatives blame homosexuals for the breakdown of “traditional” family values (Carlin, 2007). They also started putting gay bans on the military and marriage (Adams, 1997). But in the 2000’s going forward several states began legalizing gay marriage (Carlin, 2007). Even though gays have been through a lot of oppression in last century they have made a lot of progression in recent years with the federal government legalizing gay marriage and gay rights in

In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. Such raids were not unusual in the late 1960s, an era when homosexual sex was illegal in every state but Illinois. That night, however, the street erupted into violent protests and demonstrations that lasted for the next six days. This was the background of Stonewall Uprising, a documentary telling the story of the massive police raid and the riots of Stonewall in June 1969. The Stonewall riots, as they came to be known, marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement in the United States and around the world. (Kanopy) From that moment, homosexual people started to realize that they should fight for their natural rights, spare no effort to achieve American spirit by pursuing equality and freedom and even help push the process of legalizing homosexuality.

Homosexuality in many countries is not recognized. Back in the 1950s-1960’s activities as little as holding hands were illegal in most states for homosexuals (Love). The gay rights movement took flight in the 60’s when civil rights campaigns, woman movements and anti war protests were going on. Also in 1969 the gay rights movement took an important turn when police raided a common gay bar called the Stonewall inn, prior to that police raidings were common except for this one time at the Stonewall inn, Gay activists fought back. The activists rioted and forced the police to retreat. Riots went on for several more days and weeks and lead to the Gay Rights movement (Gay Rights). The Stonewall riots shaped the future for homosexuals sparking the fight for their rights.

Before beginning to analyze the accuracy of the portrayal of the AIDS epidemic throughout Angels in America, the virus must first be looked at in its actual historical context. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome is a collection of symptoms and complications due to a deficient immune system that is the result of HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The AIDS epidemic made its presence in the United States known on June 5, 1981 when five men were diagnosed with a rare lung infection, Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia, amongst other infections. The previously healthy, gay men were on the decline due to a compromised immune system. These cases were

When you are asked if AIDS is still a crisis in America “it does depend on who you are”, As stated by Sarah Schulman in the article “Is There Still an AIDS Crisis in the U.S? It Depends on Who You Are”. “If you are the type of person that is able to afford all of the treatments and are able to live a lifestyle of tolerating a lot of awful side effects”. If you are the type of person that can not afford all the of treatments, then you are in a crisis. The perception of AIDS as a “gay disease” limited the efforts to combats the disease. It limited the efforts because people did not want to do anything or engage with anything that had to do with the issue. And as stated in our text books, by 2000 AIDS had claimed almost 300,000 American lives.