An influential force on the trend of improving civil rights for the LGBT community was the counter-culture movement coinciding with the LGBT protests. The 1960s in America was a time of radical protest and change as groups, especially youth, campaigned for an improvement of civil rights. There was the feminist movement, where young American women campaigned for equal rights with men. There was also the black civil right movement, where African Americans protested and sought equality with the European Americans. As well as these there was the anti-war movement which campaigned for the end of the Vietnam War and other conflicts. Because this was a time of massive change the LGBT community were able to take the opportunity to join in the widespread fight to improve human rights. One famous image of a female protestor outside Weinstein Hall in 1970 held a sign saying “Gay power, black power, women power, student power, power to the people”. This sign conveyed how there was a trend emerging of civilians wanting a massive improvement of human rights and how the LGBT struggle became a part of this widespread struggle in America and across the world for an advancement of civil rights and liberties. People wanted to be equal regardless of their gender, race, age or sexuality. The protestors began to recognise how there needed to be a change or else conservative leaders and politicians would continue to repress what makes every person their own unique individual. In university professor, Brian Cogan’s book ‘Baby Boomers and Popular Culture’ on pg. 43 he states that “Baby-boomers had either witnessed first-hand or took in the civil rights protests occurring around them. They had an increasing awareness of the role capitalism plays in their rights and freedom. The realization- that there was a system that benefited from their lack of organising- resulted in increasing frustration over their own lack of control over their life circumstances…for younger gays the homophile movement was not about the right to be homosexual; it was about the right to be visibly homosexual”. This conveys how at the time there was a revolutionary counter culture movement sweeping the nation, and how through other counter-culture movements helping them realise they need to overcome the system, the gay youths and liberationists were inspired and took action.
Above is an image of the anti-war movement occurring at the time which was gaining momentum in the 1960s when the gay liberation movement was just beginning.
Sourced from: archives.library.illinois.edu/features/UISlideShow/0123.jpg |
Above is an image of the Womens Liberation at a protest, which was another highly influential movement of the Second Wave of feminism coinciding with the Gay Liberation Movement in the 1970s.
Sourced from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-wave_feminism |
Image behind title and key idea sentence is sourced from: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj74rLFju_NAhVKmpQKHRsiD-MQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F512917845037252248%2F&v6u=https%3A%2F%2Fs-v6exp1-ds.metric.gstatic.com%2Fgen_204%3Fip%3D122.62.23.30%26ts%3D1468367300869260%26auth%3Dmk5acelkzl5w7qrgvdkbcag3m2hqdvyn%26rndm%3D0.5386278063524514&v6s=2&v6t=31644&bvm=bv.126993452,d.dGo&psig=AFQjCNF_pAYTJehe5vWzOUj9Q8kE0Gb09w&ust=1468453712930988
Source details for historiography: Cogan &T, Gencarelli. (2015) ‘Baby Boomers and Popular Culture’, Santa Barbara, California, USA, Prager. Pg. 43.
Source details for historiography: Cogan &T, Gencarelli. (2015) ‘Baby Boomers and Popular Culture’, Santa Barbara, California, USA, Prager. Pg. 43.