Evan Cafiero
Professor Mohammed
MGT 110
Dec 2nd, 2015 Dan Savage Throughout the years, the LGBT community has made numerous strides in equality, recognition, and respect. Every rights movement has its origins, and the push for the LGBT community is no different. Beginning with the Stonewall Riots in New York 40-something years ago, to the protests against Proposition 8 on the west coast, leaders have emerged; countless Americans that believe LGBT persons can become fully vested in the American dream stand behind them. One such leader is Dan Savage—an author, journalist, and primarily, an advocate for the LGBT community. He demonstrates multiple traits of a leader,
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But these accomplishments are only secondary to his greatest feat—the “It Gets Better Project”. On September 21st 2010, Savage, along with his husband Terry Miller, put into motion the “It Gets Better Project” because of the suicide of Billy Lucas, 15 year-old who was perceived to be gay. It encourages adults, both LGBT or otherwise, to submit videos assuring gay teenagers that life can improve after bullying in early life. The movement gathered motion instantly and by November of 2013, it had more than 50,000 user created videos, and each testimonial was viewed over 50 million times. Savage gained a following and was recognized amongst the LGBT leaders of the decade, and he demonstrated the qualities of being a leader.
First off, he has aspects of the emotional intelligence—traits that allow him to interpret the emotions of those he is fighting for—and against. He knows the struggle of the LGBT person because he, himself, is gay. His multiple channels of communication to his audience reinforce his ability to recognize and meet their needs. Savage’s “It Gets Better Project” inspired millions with the compelling vision of equality amongst sexual orientations. But, by far, is Savage’s most defining trait—his aggressiveness. Savage is a catalyst for change because he stands up to conservative politicians, and even though he may be harsh, he proves his point.
Dan
The history of LGBTQ+ rights in the United States is long and complicated. LGBTQ+ identities that are accepted by people outside that community change with time, as some identities establish themselves as commonplace while others are just being introduced to non-LGBTQ+ people. However, rights and acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community are nearly always tied to legal recognition. Lawrence v. Texas questions whether or not a Texas statute that bans homosexual sodomy is constitutional. Although LGBTQ+ rights issues are controversial, everyone deserves to be equally protected under law regardless of sexual orientation. Likewise, the Fourteenth Amendment’s
People in countries all over the world are fighting for LGBTQ+ rights, and it is important to honor and remember what sparked the riot that started the gay rights movement off running. Stonewall is a detailed and complete explanation of how and why things boiled over to begin the United State’s battle for LGBTQ+ rights, making it an optimal contender on the list of things to use to expand one’s knowledge and respect for the community and it’s history.
The LGBTQ community has struggled for decades to receive equal treatment but despite many advancements, this group of people is still not treated justly. The prevalent discrimination and prejudice enacted against the LGBTQ community can be witnessed on accounts of the Stonewall Riots and laws that affect the community such as not allowing gay men to donate blood, sexual orientation in connection to the military, et cetera. The gay rights movement has united to eradicate these issues through support of the LBGTQ community and to help people understand the process, timing, advantages, dangers, and pitfalls of coming out, as well as recent local and international rulings of the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage and the methods, laws, and attitudes of having children.
One’s gender identity represents who they are, whether they were born with male or female genitalia. Back in the 1900’s, “for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) folks in America, the efflorescence of sexual expression did not begin until the waning months of that decade in the heart of the nation’s then-largest bohemian enclave and gay ghetto, New York’s Greenwich Village” (Wolf). In the 60’s, being able to express who you were freely was pushed aside much too often. But because of the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village, their fight has helped people today be who they want to be without any discrimination. Over “four decades after the Stonewall riots, political leaders are now beginning to recognize the influence of the LGBT community, knocking down barriers to gay and lesbian participation in the military and nominating at least two transgender officials, for the first time in history, to senior posts in the federal government under the Obama administration” (Teal). Whether someone identifies as a man, woman, or neither, they are able to participate in any group regardless. Due to the Stonewall riots, no matter what no one can turn you down based off of your gender identity, which is causing political leaders to now think differently because of this monumental time in history where everyone can be accepted for who they want to
The demands of the American people being met demonstrates the great democracy and progressiveness that many people want to be a part of. However, each group thus far that has chosen to fight for their rights in America, has initially gone through a struggle, in which hope was kept alive only by the strongest of believers. The recognition of these group’s importance and worthiness has especially been important to the people who faced discrimination all of their lives, or fought to death for change. Recognition of their values, beliefs, and traditions by the law, meant greater acceptance from the majority they were, -and still are-, a part of. Once African Americans paved the way beginning in 1865, women and the LGBT community followed suit to
LGBT history has changed the way society works in the United States and has had an impact around the world. The homosexual community came as an impact to the world during the early 1900’s. They were considered different; odd, ill, and weak, but little did we know the effects it would have in today’s society and politics. The war, queer, and AIDs movements seem to relatively impact members of the gay and lesbian community the most. In an series of interviews in “Word is Out” conducted by Nancy Adair and Casey Adair, the reader is introduced into the lives of Pam, Rusty, and Pat; lesbian women living within their true identity during the mid-1900’s. Their stories consist of broken family relationships, marriage failure, and gender roles. To help one understand the dynamics of their relationships and lives, John D’Emilo talks about the effects of war and how it structures and damages the gay community and their opportunity for equality. Elizabeth Davis speaks about the Lesbian experience in public spaces that exposes many to find their character by associating with those that fit best to their community in “Lesbian Bar Culture in the 1930’s and 1940’s”. The LGBT community for centuries has won the spotlight in the news and many articles published in well know newspapers, but what many never get to hear or see are the struggle that many homosexuals face. Both gays and lesbians in the United States have received backlash because of their race, gender, and social class. The
The LGBTQ community are living a life in danger in America. Regardless of the acceptance of same-sex marriage, there are a number problems the LGBTQ community have to face, like the many obstacles to acceptance and equality. In The New York Times article, “The Challenges That Remain for L.G.B.T. People After Marriage Ruling” by Liam Stack, he goes by talking about info that can be reliable with sources that work, with quotes that match with what he needs to say, and usefully using emotional appeals to persuade his audience that the LGBTQ community are in danger. Stack sets about his work of persuading his audience about what is going on in the world is by using strong logical and ethical appeals. In his writing he points out that the LGBTQ community faces discrimination, lack of transgender rights, health care and Immigration and Criminal equity reform.
The topic that the proposed book focuses on considers the contentious impact of the 1969 Stonewall Riots upon the struggle for LGBT+ rights. This potential monograph, entitled “Riots for Rights: the Debatable Influence of Stonewall,” pursues to furthermore enhance the argument concerning whether the 1969 Stonewall Riots began the public LGBT+ movement for further rights, or if the converse occurred, wherein this momentous protest instead the culminated the LGBT+ efforts of the previous years, merely pushing it further into public discussion. In the modern era, LGBT+ rights still undergo fierce argument and debate, and so the proposed book’s topic certainly holds relevance in both a historical and political context that continues into the present day. Furthermore, another key importance for the publication of this monograph stands that while the voluminous documentation of the progression in LGBT+ rights Post-Stonewall exists, serious evaluation and comparison of the rights already developing before the 1969 Riots became widely publicized. “Riots for Rights: the Debatable Influence of Stonewall” would expand upon these facets and further the historical understanding of the still-evolving history of the modern-day LGBT+ movement.
When you think of gay rights, you probably think of parades and rainbows. The 21st century LGBT movement has become known for its message of equality for all, and other human liberties such as same-sex marriage. This progress has been very important, and has been fought for over 40 years with a lot of blood sweat and tears. But often this fight is overlooked, or dismissed as being unimportant. Gay marriage was just legalized on a national level in June 26 2015. This means that gay people have been able to only marry for 10 months, while marriage has existed between heteroseuxal couples for hundreds and thousands of years- which Is ridiculous. My book, Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution, by David Carter offers a detailed explanation of what helped cause all of this progress to be made. Everything starts somewhere, and Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution offers an excellent description of where the LGBT movement originated.
The Gay Rights Movement has been able to face and tackle oppression regarding sexual orientation overtime. This movement has also initiated change to the way society views this type of oppression. The start of the Gay Rights Movement is most known to be on June 28, 1969, when riots broke out at a gay bar known as the Stonewall inn, in New York City Greenwich Village, because police raided and harassed the patrons of the bar. These riots continued to last for about three days. Andrew Freeman, an Associate Producer at TakePart, explains how this event and the people who took part in it were substantial for this movement’s future, “Gay people physically fought back against government persecution. The so-called Stonewall riots were a flashpoint in the gay rights movement. Many of the protesters may go unnamed in history books, but they staked it all to fight for the rights of future LGBT people.” Before, this affair occurred, in 1924, what is known to be the first gay rights organization, The Society of Human Rights, was
Professor Johnson’s lecture sparked conversation about whether or not the Supreme Court ruling accomplished enough for the LGBT community. At the time, I was unaware of how the ruling could be something that wasn’t an all-around win for the community, but after being introduced to queer politics
LGBT rights have been a controversial issue for decades now and they’ve always sparked heated discussions between those who believe in fighting for LGBT rights and those who strongly oppose them. LGBT stands for, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender; this term is heard quite often when discussing discrimination and harassment because the agonising truth is that LGBT people face a disturbingly greater amount of it than those who don’t identify as LGBT, and it has been this way for decades now in the United States of America. The struggle for LGBT people in the U.S. has been long and largely oppressive but in the recent years the acceptance of LGBT people has been slowly but notably improving, this is a hope for the future. The LGBT movement has been successful in obtaining the rights for same-sex couples to get married, changing hate crime laws, and many other notable achievements, but it took a long time to get to where the United States is today, and the U.S. still has a long way to go, but to understand why LGBT people deserve to be equal, it first needs to be understood what an unfortunately dark era LGBT people were forced to endure decades ago and still experience to some degree today.
“We’re here, we’re queer, get over it.” In 1990, these words, shouted and displayed proudly on signs waved by the activist group, Queer Nation, were revolutionary. Never, not since the Stonewall Riots, had non-straight, non-cis people been so vocal about their existence and demanded acceptance – something that straight people take for granted on a daily basis. However, in the years since the Riots, LGBT activism has become much more mainstream, no longer whispered about behind closet doors or something to be wholly ashamed of. Gay marriage is legal in all 50 United States, something that has been fought for since the conception of the LGBT movement. In fact, gay couples are routinely being featured on popular television and other forms of media. Some might say that in 2016, the dreams of the rioters in Stonewall have been realized. Marriage rights and the spotlight on nighttime television; equality seems to truly be right on the horizon.
For the past 50 years or so, gay and lesbian organizations have tried to forge a politically active gay and lesbian minority group. The gay and lesbian community have also tried to claim the liberal rights of privacy and formal equality on their behalf. The gay community wanted to align lesbian and gay rights with those of racial, ethnic, religious minority and women in the quest for full economic, political, and cultural participation in the United States. When successfully this move helps open up avenues of political and legal recourse forged by the Civil Rights and feminist movements to lesbian and gay action. Just as the Civil Rights movement had a Martin Luther King Jr, the gay and lesbian community will need a spokesman of its own. Due to the overlapping of the distinguished positions of militant nationalism and radical constructionism challenges have appeared. The structure of this country was built based on masculinity, and these organizations were testing that structure. Gays and lesbians wanted to end the secrecy of homosexuality, to challenge the notion that gay life is somehow shameful, and to show the world that numerous of highly respected men and women are gay.
What is far more important than the movement for marriage equality is the Queer community’s right to be guaranteed protection from hate crimes and discrimination. Before all of this may begin, the state must protect Queer people, especially Trans* and Intersex- identified people from physical harm and violence. From here, efforts to provide accurate and encompassing healthcare for the needs of Queer people, to address the needs of the thousands of homeless Queer youth, and to demand equal employment opportunities may ensue.