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In the late 1960s and early 1970s following decades of societal abuse against sexual minorities, LGBT advocacy, formerly centered around the homophile movement, became more active, political, and aggressive; it surged again in the 1980s and 1990s in response to perceived shortcomings in society's response to the then-nascent AIDS epidemic.

Early history

In 1965, the New York chapter of the Mattachine Society elected pro-demonstration leaders, throwing out earlier reactionary leaders who opposed a statement that homosexuality was not an illness, and began to organize annual picketing, which "created the necessary mind-set for gays demonstrating in public," according to historic leader Frank Kameny. Kameny, who had been fired from a government job for homosexuality, engaged in "a Herculean struggle with the American establishment" seeking to "spearhead a new period of militancy in the homosexual rights movement". Kameny encouraged the homophile movement to adopt the tactics of the civil rights movement.

On the west coast circa 1969-1970, Society for Individual Rights (SIR) leader Leo Laurence encouraged gay groups to form partnerships with radical organizations such as the Black Panthers, an opinion that was shared by Panthers leader Huey Newton. Laurence, who was openly gay and who had clashed with fellow activists he described as "timid ... middle-aged uptight conservatives" in a Vector magazine piece, would eventually be expelled from SIR and go on to found the Committee for Homosexual Freedom (CHF) along with his partner, Gale Whittington. When CHF took on Whittington's employer in a dispute over anti-gay employment discrimination, Laurence said, "militant homosexuals will show that company what Gay Power really means."

The Stonewall riots, a violent clash in June, 1969 between gays and police in Greenwich Village that culminated years of police harassment against gays gathering in bars and other public places, were the catalyst for the formation of radical activist groups. The name of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), formed just days later, demonstrated proud self-identification as gay (rather than "homosexual" with its medical connotations or "homophile" with its associations with more conservative movements), its emphasis on a broad agenda of justice and equality, and its goal of leading a revolutionary movement. A GLF splinter group, the Gay Activists Alliance, was made up of GLF members who believed that a gay and lesbian organization should focus exclusively on gay and lesbian issues, rather than forming partnerships with other groups as part of a broader radical campaign.

1970s

In the early 1970s, the proliferation of highly vocal activist groups began to attract national media attention. A story in Newsweek magazine said, "Today's militant homosexuals are demanding not merely acceptance, with the full legal, social and economic equality that goes with it; they want approval as well." Life magazine published a photo essay consisting largely of photos from a GAA protest in New York City that was termed "a direct assault on laws and customs."

Singer Anita Bryant's highly public 1977 campaign against gay rights legislation in Dade County, Florida, and elsewhere across the country, brought even wider media attention, reaching some Americans for the first time. Bryant, an evangelical Christian, was joined by Southern Baptist televangelist Jerry Falwell, who would go on to found the Moral Majority. Although the gay response to Bryant's Save Our Children campaign did not carry the day in Dade County (the anti-discrimination ordinance Bryant campaigned against was overwhelmingly defeated), Bryant paid for the victory with her career. A boycott organized by gay activists cost Bryant her spokesperson arrangement with the Florida Citrus Commission, and across the country Bryant's public appearances were greeted by protests.

1980s

The onset of the AIDS epidemic radicalized LGBT movements against government inaction. Direct action group ACT-UP was formed in 1987 to function as "the shock troops of AIDS activism." "Quickly becoming the movement's radical cutting edge," ACT-UP staged numerous protests and employed theatrics, militance and persistence, and sometimes used tactics such as blocking traffic, disrupting church services or defacing church buildings to capture public attention. ACT-UP was a deliberately unstructured organization, in part because "we didn’t want anything to do with the government," according on one closely involved member. ACT-UP splintered in 1991 over disagreements about the scope and mission of the group, and a successor organization continues today as the Treatment Action Group.

1990s

Another spin-off of ACT-UP, Queer Nation was formed in 1990 and drew attention to itself with the highly controversial tactic of outing gays in positions of power or prominence who preferred to keep their sexual identity private. Queer Nation was seen as divisive by some gays, both because of its involuntary outings and also because of it's embrace of terms generally seen as pejorative, such as "queer" and "faggot". Members of Queer Nation also sought to increase awareness of gays by coordinating public displays of affection en masse in places where gays did not usually predominate.

See also

• Civil disobedience
• Demonstration (people)
• Homosexual agenda
• Identity politics
• LGBT movements in the United States
• Propaganda of the deed
• Protest

References

1. Kaiser, Charles (2007). The Gay Metropolis: The Landmark History of Gay Life in America. Grove Press. p. 142. ISBN 9780802143174.
2. Chibbaro Jr., Lou (2006-10-04). "Kameny's work finds new home" (PDF). Washington Blade. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
3. ^ Johnson, David K. (2002). "Franklin E. Kameny (1925-)". In Bullough, Vern L. (ed.). Before Stonewall: Activists for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context. New York: The Haworth Press. pp. 209–218. ISBN 1560231939Template:Inconsistent citations{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
4. ^ Carter, David (2005). Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution. Macmillan. p. 117. ISBN 9780312671938.
5. ^ Zimmerman, Bonnie (1999). ENCYCLOPEDIA GAY & LESBIAN. Taylor & Francis. p. 545. ISBN 9780815333548. Cite error: The named reference "egl" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
6. ^ Stein, Marc (2012). Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement. Routledge. p. 100. ISBN 9780415874106.
7. ^ Fejes, Fred (2008). Gay Rights and Moral Panic: A History of the Early National Gay Rights Debate. MacMillan. pp. 41–42. ISBN 9781403980694.
8. ""The Militant Homosexual"". August 23, 1971. pp. 45–48.
9. ""Homosexuals in Revolt: The Year That One Liberation Movement Turned Militant"". Life Magazine. Time-Life. December 31, 1971. pp. 62–72. Retrieved August 03, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
10. "1977 Year in Review - Miami Demonstrations". United Press International. Retrieved August 03, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
11. ^ Rimmerman, Craig A. (2002). From Identity to Politics: The Lesbian and Gay Movements in the United States. Temple University Press. pp. 127–131. ISBN 9781566399050.
12. Stone, Amy L. (2012). Gay Rights At The Ballot Box. University of Minnesota Press. pp. 14–15. ISBN 9780816675470.
13. Stein, Marc (2012). Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement. Routledge. p. 140. ISBN 9780415874106.
14. Sheumaker, Helen; Wajda, Shirley Teresa (2008). Material Culture in America: Understanding Everyday Life. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576076477.
15. Stein, Marc (2012). Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement. Routledge. p. 150. ISBN 9780415874106.
16. Martin, Bradford (2011). The Other Eighties: A Secret History of America in the Age of Reagan. MacMillan. p. 172. ISBN 9780809074617.
17. Allen, Peter Lewis (2000). The Wages of Sin: Sex and Disease, Past and Present. University of Chicago Press. p. 143. ISBN 9780226014616.
18. Stein, Marc (2012). Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement. Routledge. p. 163. ISBN 9780415874106.
19. "Interviewee: Maria Maggenti" (PDF). ACT-UP Oral History Project. The New York Lesbian & Gay Experimental Film Festival, Inc. 2003. p. 7. Retrieved August 04, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
20. "Interviewee: Mark Harrington" (PDF). ACT-UP Oral History Project. The New York Lesbian & Gay Experimental Film Festival, Inc. 2003. p. 58. Retrieved August 04, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
21. "Interviewee: Maxine Wolfe" (PDF). ACT-UP Oral History Project. The New York Lesbian & Gay Experimental Film Festival, Inc. 2003. p. 98. Retrieved August 04, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
22. ^ Rimmerman, Craig A. (2002). From Identity to Politics: The Lesbian and Gay Movements in the United States. Temple University Press. p. 109. ISBN 9781566399050.
23. Stanley, Alessandra (April 06, 1991). "Militants Back 'Queer,' Shoving 'Gay' the Way of 'Negro'". The New York Times. Retrieved August 04, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
24. Cunningham, Michael (1992). "Queer/Straight". Mother Jones Magazine: 60–68. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
25. Zimmerman, Bonnie (1999). ENCYCLOPEDIA GAY & LESBIAN. Taylor & Francis. p. 231. ISBN 9780815333548.

Further reading

• Carter, David (2004). Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked The Gay Revolution. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 031234269.
• Duberman, Martin (1993). Stonewall Dutton, New York. ISBN 0-452-27206-8.
• Loughery, John (1998). The Other Side of Silence – Men's Lives and Gay Identities: A Twentieth-Century History. New York, Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0-8050-3896-5.
• Marotta, Toby (1981). The Politics of Homosexuality. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-395-31338-4.
• Teal, Donn (1971). The Gay Militants. New York, Stein and Day. ISBN 0-8128-1373-1.

• LGBT rights movement
• Civil rights and liberties
• LGBT history