Stonewall Uprising

Abdulla Hassan Ahmaid.

J.Evie Rudy.

WGST 100-L01.

31March 2014.

Stonewall Uprising and the advent of homosexuality activism

Introduction

Stonewall Uprising is a film popular for the revolutionary start of the homosexual activism in 1969. The scene is at Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwhich Village, New York City. Prior to police raiding this bar was wide spread gay and lesbian arrests, and discriminations of the 1950s and 1960s. The raid sparked a six day riot, which was later named the Stonewall riots. This event marked the beginning of homosexual activism and seeking the rights for homosexuals. Homosexual was illegal in the whole of the U.S. except the Illinois State. However, homosexual civil rights movement begun to seek and fight for homosexual rights not only in the US but also in the whole world due to the Stonewall Uprising event. The movie is directed by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner based on David Carter’s “Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution” manuscript. There are several sexuality issues and themes revealed in this movie. This paper seeks to review the heterosexual, homonegativity, stereotyping and discourse themes in this movie. These themes as revealed in the film will prove an understanding about the beginning of the homosexual rights. In addition, the paper will discuss the categorization of men and how gay and non gay men are viewed in the society.

Heterosexism in the 1950 and 60s contribution to homonegativity

Heterosexism is a norm that the opposite sex is culturally accepted status. Those people who advocates for opposite sex relationship and do not recognize same sex intimate relationships are thought to practice heterosexism. For example, people who discriminate gays or lesbians practice heterosexism. On the other hand, gays and lesbians also do not like people who are attractive to opposite sex and have normal relationship. The Stonewall Uprising film directed by Davis can help in drawing a thick line between different groups of sexual orientations. In the 1960s, heterosexism was the norm of the day where lesbians or a gay had a criminal title. Although opposite sex relationship is protected by the law, gays and lesbians dislike these relationships claiming that there was inequality on relationships in the law. Hudson and Ricketts proposed the use of homonegativity to mean the negative attitude towards homosexual people (Mayfield, 53). Although homonegativity came later, the perceptions, treatment and discrimination of homosexuals in the 1960s and earlier year could have been termed as homonegativity. Heterosexism refers to negative perception towards any sexual orientation but homogenegativity would narrow down to refer to hate and discrimination of gay men and lesbians.

Stuart Hall’s definition of stereotypes in “ Stereotyping as Signifying Practice?”

Stereotype is a term used to classify people according to their social behavior. Stuart Hall indicates that stereotyping is a norm used to classify people according to their social statuses. According to him, stereotyping is not all about homosexual discrimination but also with powers in the society (Hall, 17). Presenting Stonewall Uprising as an example, those who do not have power in the society were secluded and their concerns were not heard. In this film, homosexuals were a complete stereotype who did not deserve human dignity. Homosexuals were viewed as people who did not deserve anything as normal human and did not even compare to any animals. In general homosexuals did not have any protection from the law and the law did not recognize them. As if lack of law protection was not enough, homosexuals in the 1950s and 1960s were taken to be a psychiatric patients treated in a psychiatric center. It was a crime against nature. Although there were no laws charging them for this crime, there were no laws protecting them either. In fact, even black people during this time were protected by law but homosexuals were not. The fact that homosexual was a group of few individuals; they were secluded from the rest of the society and named as “other” meaning that, they had no recognized status. Normal people can remain the way they are but homosexuals were more than deviant people and they could be laid off work, denied housing and seen as a curse in the society once discovered. With all this inhuman treatment, homosexual had no one to turn to during this time. Stereotyping can help explain how homosexual ended up excluded from the society during this time. Under normal circumstances, homosexual was not recognized by law. Only gay rights activist’s organizations and their members recognized them and were few with no power. The rest of the people have no word for homosexual. In fact, homosexuals might be having a psychological condition but there is no psychiatric condition that justify they should receive medication. Unfortunately, homosexual were being treated with medication and other psychiatric techniques in the 1950s-1960s. Only in the 1973 did the American Psychological and Psychiatric Community remove homosexuality as a mental disorder from a list of psychiatric disorders.

Stereotypes about homosexuality in the 1950s and 60s connection to a power imbalance

Stuart’s inequality about power imbalance draws attention to the size and nature of homosexuals. Homosexuals were a small group. In addition, they did not have any organization to fight for their rights until the significance of Stonewall event in 1969 that sparked riots brought a green light to this community. Stereotypes in the 1950s and 1960s were authorities who used to discriminate homosexuals. For example, the police were being used by the authority to arrest homosexuals. While some of those arrested could be freed in a few hours after being arrested and nobody want to mention that they paid the cop to release them; the writings was on the walls. The Stonewall Uprising film shows sparingly unmentioned relationship between gay and the “cops” and the mafia. It was primitive for the police to stage operations even into restrooms in anticipation to find and arrest homosexuals. When the homosexuals try to defend themselves in court, they were faced with answer, which signified that they had no law protecting.

Discourse of the 1950s and 60s pathologized homosexuality and constructed it as deviant and the consequences for non-heterosexuals.

Discourse transformed homosexuality in the 1950s and the 1960s. It all begun with the discrimination, increased discrimination, and excessive discrimination of this group in the society. As discrimination increased, the homosexuals got more pressed, got more aroused and got more resistant. By the time it was 1969; homosexualities were a hide and seek business between the gay/lesbian communities and the police or authority. Homosexual was classified as “other” psychiatric condition with no precise definition. During this time, homosexuality was crime just like drugs were. Nevertheless, what was unfolding could be described as a discourse because the more the magnitude of discrimination then more the homosexuals got a reason to speak out. Finally, the Stonewall event in 1969 marked the official beginning of homosexual rights activism. The magnitude of this event attracted even the non guy communities and the quest for rights has never stopped to-da-te. For non-heterosexuals, there is debate as how homosexuals should be accepted in the society, what could be their statuses? Will universal acceptance of homosexuality create a crisis with nature?

Conclusion

Stonewall Uprising film presents the revolution of homosexuals not only in the U.S. but in the whole world. According to unfolding events and evidences, homosexuality is a sexual orientation just like any other sexual orientation. Those fighting for homosexual rights have been able to prove why they want their voices be hard. However, there is no authority, which seemed and which seems to allow homosexuality regardless of the fact behind this behavior is not a normal. Nevertheless, homosexuals began their official communication in the 1969. This event is still the pillar that marks the evolution of homosexual movement and homosexual rights activists around the world. Stonewall Uprising film was able show both sides of the anti-gay and gay society. According to this film, there was and there is still a thick misunderstanding between these two groups in the society. Homosexuality is not a disease neither is it a psychiatric condition with a ready medicine. There would be an undiscovered hypothesis beyond what is known about homosexuals that can serve as ground for accepting homosexuals in the society.

Works Cited

Hall, Stuart (Ed). Representation: Cultural Representations and signifying Practices. 1997. London: Sage Publications.

Stonewall Uprising. Dir. Kate Davis and David Heilbroner. American Experience. 2010. Film

Mayfield, Wayne. The Development of an Internalized Homonegativity Inventory for gay Men. 2001. 41 (2). 53-76. DOI: 10.1300/J082v41n02_04