40 Years After Stonewall

I think sometimes we forget just how good we have it.

Half a century ago, homosexuals were classified as subversives by the US Department of State; we were officially recognized as security risks to the country. The FBI kept lists of known homosexuals, as did the US Postal Service. The names of people arrested for public indecency and lewd behavior (ie, two men holding hands, women wearing suits) were published regularly in newspapers. Being queer was officially recognized as a psychopathic condition, and was a valid reason to be fired from your job. The number of gay men and women forced out of the military and government positions was in the thousands each year. If gay people regularly congregated together, the police department’s “Public Morals Squad” would be called in to intervene. Police brutality was commonplace. Hope for the future was pretty bleak; there were no substantial gay rights organizations. The only real “community” gay people had was in underground establishments, often maintained with help from criminal organizations like the Mafia, or by bribing the police.

Exactly 40 years ago today, things began to change. Prompted by one feisty lesbian’s shout of “Why don’t you guys DO something?”, queer people fought back (literally) against institutionalized discrimination and cultural genocide.

At Stonewall, a Mafia-run gay dance club and bar, police had barricaded the gay clientele inside so that their names could be collected and distributed to the local newspapers. Those who were drinking were arrested, and anyone dressing as a woman (including those who actually were women) were forced to prove their gender by removing their clothes. Anyone seen cross-dressing was also arrested. Reportedly, police brutally assaulted a number of the bar’s patrons, including sexually harassing butch lesbians. Eventually, as some men and women were allowed to leave, a crowd gathered outside the bar. When one lesbian was dragged out of the club, police hitting her to try to force her into a caged car filled with cuffed gays, she shouted at the crowd of hundreds to do something… this prompted what we now refer to as the Stonewall Riots, and marked the beginning of the American Gay Rights Movement.

A LOT has changed since Stonewall. First of all, I NEVER would have come out if I lived in a society as violent towards gays as did the people in the 1960s and 1970s… we now live in a culture where many people feel they can safely express their true identity. I haven’t been hit by a police officer to date (unless my Dad counts), and gay people have almost the same rights as straight people in the workplace. With a few exceptions, I am no longer considered a threat to US national security, and there are so many gay organizations that I can’t possibly participate in as many as I would like.

Not enough credit is given to the brave queer pioneers who stood up to mainstream society when it was intent on stamping out the perversion of non-heterosexual identities. People like Evelyn Hooker, the founders of the Mattachine Society, and later leaders like Harvey Milk are underappreciated for the contribution they’ve made to our world. We have a tendency to take our liberties for granted, as if they were ours all along. Its way too easy to forget that just a generation ago people risked their lives and livelihoods in order to make the advances toward equality that we enjoy today.

The idea that the gay rights movement can now declare victory is a bunch of bullshit.

The list of rights that are still not granted to our community is substantial. Defense of Marriage Act, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, ENDA, hate crimes legislation… those are just the high profile ones. We still have a long way to go; cleansing the imbedded discrimination from US laws is going to be a long process. And institutionalized discrimination is just the beginning… changing laws are one thing, but changing society is another. Its very easy to board ourselves up in WeHo or Castro and pretend that everything is glittery goodness, but it’s a lie… we shouldn’t have to live at the sidelines of mainstream society just to feel accepted.

Maybe our generation of queers needs a hero? Maybe we need a lezzie in handcuffs encouraging us to “DO something,” or a young politician trying to “recruit” us? But honestly, I’d like to think we could each individually, both gay and straight, take responsibility for the wellbeing of our own society. The temptation of apathy shouldn’t be so strong that it stifles a movement that is still very much in its infancy. A lot has been done in 40 years, but that doesn’t mean that America has reached its full potential.

And you know what? There is a world beyond American borders where there is no such thing as a “gay community,” and gay rights are just a strange and vague pipedream. There are still plenty of places in the world where gays are regularly executed, where little queer boys and girls wonder what’s wrong with them, and if they’re the only ones… and we think our job is done?

Nope.