For a long time now, the word “homosexual” has been considered highly offensive. For decades, gay men have gay men have referred to themselves as gay while anti-gay forces continued to use the word “homosexual.” GLAAD (The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) explains:
“Because of the clinical history of the word ‘homosexual,’ it is aggressively used by anti-gay extremists to suggest that gay people are somehow diseased or psychologically/emotionally disordered – notions discredited by the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association in the 1970s.”
If you call me homosexual, don’t be surprised if you get a verbal bitchslap. You have been warned.
There were times when lesbians, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer people did not stand united as one group. These will remembered as the darker moments in LGBTQ history.
The most egregious example of this came in 2007. The LGBTQ community was having difficulty getting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (which would protect LGBTQ people at work) act passed, so Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) neutered the bill so that it would only cover gay and lesbian people — and not trans people.
The thinking was that this was the only way to get any kind of bill passed, and some protections would be better than none at all. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) supported this approach as a “tactical decision.”
I remember the huge outcry and divided viewpoints when this happened. LGBTQ people protested Frank and the HRC. This unfair version of the bill passed the House but got nowhere in the Senate.
The trans inclusions were added back to the ENDA proposal later. And then, the provisions of ENDA were folded into a broader bill called the Equality Act, which also covers things like housing.
Just like the gay- and lesbian-only bill, ENDA and the Equality Act have never made it into law despite being reintroduced each year. That means there are STILL no federal protections for LGBTQ employees.
There is one good outcome from this debate: Gay and lesbian people realized that they could no longer ignore the plight of trans people. Today, the alliance between L, G, B, T, and Q is stronger and we work together to advance the rights of everyone.
LGBTQ people across the United States should credit their civil rights and social acceptance to one woman: Marsha P. Johnson. While the history of the Stonewall riots isn’t quite clear, it’s believed that Johnson — an African-American trans woman — is the first one to fight back by throwing “the shot glass heard ’round the world.” LGBTQ people must honor Johnson by remembering that our struggle is intertwined with all other struggles for freedom and dignity — including the push for trans rights and the Black Lives Matter movement. Rest in power, Marsha.
In 1966, three gay men in New York, inspired by the sit-ins in the South, protested anti-gay laws with a “sip-in” at a Manhattan bar. At the time, it was illegal for bartenders to serve LGBTQ people. Of course, this didn’t pose much of a problem, as you can’t conclusively determine someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity just by looking at them. So Dick Leitsch, Craig Rodwell, and Randy Wicker went to a bar called Julius’ in the West Village, told the bartender they were gay, and ordered drinks. They were refused, which set the wheels in motion by legal organizations (including my favorite, the ACLU) to challenge the New York liquor authority.
This is one of many examples of LGBTQ protest before Stonewall, and it’s clear that Dick, Craig, and Randy — who were members of the Mattachine Society — were influenced by the Civil Rights Movement.
Fun fact: Julius’ wasn’t chosen at random. At the time, it was well known as a gay hangout. However, it has just been raided by police, so the bartenders were being more stringent as usual. Of course, knowing the law, even at place like Julius’, no one would have announced their sexual orientation before ordering a drink.
Another fun fact: Julius’ is still in business and it’s celebrated as NYC’s oldest gay bar.
The term “homosexual” was created in 1868 by journalist Karl-Maria Kertbeny. Before that, there wasn’t really a nonjudgmental word (at least in the Western world) that described gay people, which meant we couldn’t define ourselves or create communities. (Consider how hard it would be to identify or understand yourself if there were no accurate terminology that describes who you are.) Kertbeny, who was straight, recognized homosexuality was an unchangable identity and not a behavior. He was one of the first people to advocate for LGBT equality.
June is the most rainbow-tactic, glitteriffic, fabulous month of the year! It’s when we in the LGBTQ community celebrate Pride.
Every year, I post daily LGBTQ History Lessons all month long on Facebook. This year, I’ll be doing it on the Daily Dave — it will take the place of the Four Questions all month long. Look for the Gayskool1 posts with the Pride flags in the title. 🏳️🌈
Sit back, relax, and read about the people and events that shaped LGBTQ life worldwide.
1 I’m making fun of Playskool, the company that claims to make educational toys but can’t even spell the word “school” correctly.
