ia_2011_b_williams

=**B. Summary of Evidence (500-600 words)** =

__ Gay Rights Pre-Stonewall. __
Until the mid nineteeth century "the love that dare not speak its name"[i] had no name. Therefore gay rights are relatively new in terms of History. The term "Homosexuality" was only invented in 1969 by an anonymous source in West Germany [ii]. It appeared on a pamphlet that was attempting to revoke the countries sodomy law. In New York, America it was becoming increasingly difficult to live life as a homosexual. The gay bars were run by the mafia who often mistreated the customers. The customers were subject to regular police raids and pay offs[iii]. There were no gay rights. Homosexual acts were classed as “Sodomy”. And homosexuality was either disregarded, punished or unheard of, until 1951. During 1951 the first homophile movement and gay rights group was created: The Mattechine Society.[iv] On the other side of the Atlantic, in the United Kingdom, steps by movements such as the Homosexual Law Reform Societies had already made steps towards the legalisation of homosexuality, and by 1967 Britain had legalised homosexual acts between men in private. [v]

__The Night of Stonewall__
The significance of the Stonewall Inn club is described by William Henderson "It was a community house, as of course there were no gay community centres"[vi] Yet, June 27th 1969 should have been a usual night at the Stone Wall Inn gay club. The gay community were locked in under supervision of the mafia. Little did they realise they were in the company of two plaincloth policewomen, who were about to trigger a raid to shut the club down. Deputy Inspector Pine, outside, was ready to storm the place. Unfortunately, there was a changeover of staff at the bar, one Mafia mad was swapping shifts. This put a delay to the plan. The plain cloth policewomen had to remain in the club, to ensure they could see who the staff were. This wasn’t communicated to the outside where Pine was awaiting with his men, four plaincloth police officers,[vii] two patrolmen and detective Smythe. It got to a situation where Pine was worried for his officers inside. Had they been discovered? He decided to storm the place regardless of the signal. Upon entering the bar staff did not return to the bar and mingled with the crowds. The policemen then ordered the customers of the bar into groups. "They had people line up...and they kept certain people there...the youngest and the gayest."[viii] Sending the transvestites and transsexuals to the bathroom with a police woman to have the regular check. It was illegal for any person to wear more than three items of clothing of the opposite sex. If they were post-op they were fine, if they were still men, they were arrested. The raid slowly spiral out of control. As the police i.d’d everybody and sent them out, rather than walking home, the many people began to gather outside the Stonewall, awaiting for their friends to appear. A paddy wagon pulled up ready for the arrested people. The crowd soon started cheering as each of their friends struck poses and strutted through the doors into the crowd. Inside Pine was having trouble with getting ID from everybody, and the transvestites were refusing to be checked. According to accounts of the evening, the true riots weren’t started until a particular lesbian kicked up a fuss while being dragged forcefully into a paddy wagon. According to an account by Leo Laurence she yelled out "Why don’t you guys do something" [ix] Some way or another, the calls of the lesbian triggered violence among the crowds, who launched cobblestones at the stonewall, slashed the tires of the police cars.[x] The violence began to escalate. The police, in such fear locked themselves within the Stonewall. Before long there were squad lines of squat teams, charging down the streets towards dance lines of queens and transvestites, kicking their legs up in jest, reportedly singing:

// “We are the Stonewall Girls, // // We wear our hair in curls, // // We wear no underwear // // We show our pubic hair // // We wear our dungarees // //Above our Nelly knees”// [xi]

They would dance as close as they dared, then would back off and sprint round the block, to re-form their line, behind the squadrons. The police vans were stoned. Each end of the street was blocked off. There was never seen before mayhem enveloping the streets, until now, police raids had remained docile events, this, on the other hand was complete chaos on Christopher street. The violence rose and fell over they next six days, with straight members joining the fights, people from the east side travelled over for a fight, and general hippies turned up just to be “anti” something, seeking a reason for protest.

__Following Stonewall__
Following Stonewall there was a drastic change in attitude for the LGBTQ community around America, and the world. "The drop of a hairpin, heard around the world" "When Middle America finally discovered the homosexual, he died...with a whimper to make way for the new homosexual of the seventies....unfettered, guiltless, who couldn’t careless for Establishment approval."[xii] Gay, Lesbian and Trans rights groups sprang out throughout New York and gradually spread across America, born with a new militancy that the pre-Stonewall campaigners lacked. Such groups as:

The GLF: (The Gay Liberation Front) Arguably, without this organisation, the riots would have been insignificant, useless on the LGBT History timeline. Yet, on the other hand, we could not have created the GLF without the riots. [xiii] // “Who are the GLF? // // We are a revolutionary homosexual group of men and women formed with the realization that complete sexual liberation for all people cannot come about unless existing social institutions are abolished. We reject society’s attempt to impose sexual roles and definitions on our nature.....Babylon has forced us to commit ourselves to one thing....revolution”[ // xiv]

There were also similar instituses such as the Gay Activists Aliance and Ercho born, yet more extensively, born from the revoloutionary evening 1969, is the Stonewall Foundation. The Stonewall Foundation is still around today, as a place for the LGBTQ community and its supporters to come together to discuss and fight for LGBTQ rights and issues. The foundation have already fought for numerous laws, having many over turned. They have helped legalise homosexual adoption in several countries, they have helped push for gay marriage/civil partnership. All of these acts were directly born from the change in attitude that happened on June 27th 1969.

[i] "Two Loves" by [|Lord Alfred Douglas]  [ii] Neil Miller (2006). //Out of the past//. New York: Alyson Books (ISBN: 1555838707). [iii] Michael Flood (2007).//International encyclopedia of men and masculinities//. London; Routledge (ISBN: 0415333431). [iv]  Stephen M. Engel (2001). // The unfinished revolution // . Cambridge, U.K.; Cambridge University Press (ISBN: 0521802873). Page 30. [v] David Carter, (2005). //Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution//. St. Martin's Griffin (ISBN: 0312342691). [vi] BBC World Service Podcast, "Witness: Stonewall" A quote by William Henderson. [vii] Established from photograph by Joseph Ambrosini [viii] BBC World Service Podcast, "Witness: Stonewall" A quote by William Henderson.  [ix] David Carter, (2005). Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution. St. Martin's Griffin (ISBN: 0312342691).  [x] Morty Manford 1978 "Slashed tires of the Paddy Wagon" / New York Gay Press no1. pg 5. "the cops werent going anywhere with slahed tires"  [xi]. David Carter, (2005). //Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution//. St. Martin's Griffin (ISBN: 0312342691).  [xii] Out Of The Past, Tim Burke  [xiii] David Carter, (2005). //Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution//. St. Martin's Griffin (ISBN: 0312342691).  [xiv] Rat Magazine August 12-16 1969.