This is the blog for History 128, U.S. Gay and Lesbian History, Claremont McKenna College, spring 2017. It is open only to members of the class. Please post items relevant to the themes of our course, and please comment on other posts as well. Check back regularly for updates!
Abby posted earlier on Gilbert Baker, the creator of the LGBT rainbow flag, in an earlier post you can find here titled "The Origins of the Rainbow Flag." Headlining the news today is the death of Gilbert Baker at age 65. To commemorate his death, there was a gathering at the giant rainbow flag at the junction of Castro and Market streets in San Francisco, near Harvey Milk Plaza.
A beautiful quote mentioned in this article by Jerome Goldstein said, “HIV disease may someday be forgotten, all of the ugly political and religious fights that we’ve had, they may be forgotten,” Goldstein said. “But the rainbow flag will endure forever.”
I have attached some photos from the vigil that were posted on social media.
Today's Google Doodle features the work of a young artist from a 10th-12th grade group in Connecticut. The theme was to doodle what they see for the future. It is cool to see kids understand the importance of representation and, perhaps, identity intersectionality. There is the first rainbow "G" that probably represents the Pride Flag and the second "G" that has the transgender symbol. It's encouraging to see that kids know these concepts, and hope to see their presence and increased recognition in our future.
"Doodle 4 Google Winner" by Sarah Harrison from Connecticut
This is a really sweet article about Patricia Davies, a WWII veteran, who has recently come out as transgender at the age of 90. I find this article not only relevant because of the tie between WWII and lesbian and gay (and transgender) identities, but also because it brings up discourse about age, particularly the elderly, and sexual/gender identity. Cary Davidson and Nancy discussed how they didn't "come out" until their late adult years for particular reasons, and I wish I could ask Patricia, why 90? Our society doesn't tend to sexualize, or make much of the sexual identity of the elderly, and Patricia's story challenges this. I find it amazing that she has started to begin hormone treatments, and that she decided to keep her gender identity secret (except from her wife) for 30 odd years. Take a look-very sweet story!
After watching The Times of Harvey Milk, I realized how important the Castro is as a place of gathering for LGBTQ+ populations in San Francisco. Here is a video of celebrations in the Castro following the legalization of same-sex marriage, and I couldn't help but draw parallels between this and when Milk was elected supervisor. Definitely hope to revisit the Castro with a renewed understanding of its significance in LGBTQ+ history.
"North Carolina Governor Expected to Sign Repeal of Bathroom Law": Earlier today, the NC General Assembly voted to pass a bill that "repeals House Bill 2, creates a moratorium on local discrimination ordinances through 2020 and leaves regulation of bathrooms to state lawmakers." This NYT article discusses responses by lawmakers on all sides of the discussion and highlights the frustrations of many at this compromise. In particular, though repealing the bathroom bill may seem like a step in the right direction, many argue that the LGBT community will be left without nondiscrimination policies. Some examples from the article include the following three quotes:
In a brief statement on Wednesday, Mr. Cooper — whose razor-thin victory over Mr. McCrory in November was due in large part to voter frustration over the national backlash over House Bill 2 — said that the measure was “not a perfect deal, but it repeals House Bill 2 and begins to repair our reputation.”
In the House, Representative Deb Butler, one of the state’s few openly gay legislators, was among those who said the compromise would not ameliorate “the stigma and suffering” associated with House Bill 2. “We would rather suffer HB2 than to have this body, one more time, deny us the full and unfettered protection of the law,” she said.
Representative Bert Jones, a Republican, also opposed the compromise, noting his belief that God “created us male and female,” and said that it was not discriminatory for him to hold that belief.
Ever wondered how the rainbow flag became a symbol for the gay community? This article shares the story of its origins when Milk asked Gilbert Baker to create a symbol for the gay community.
I had not realized that each color on the flag symbolized something which I found very cool. Pink: sex Red: life Orange: healing Yellow: sun Green: nature Turquoise: magic Blue: serenity Purple: spirit Watching the video, I found it really surprising how young Baker seemed. I always manage to forget how recent this history is.
I came across this article from the Center for American Progress. It points to some of the subtle ways Trump's SCOTUS nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, indicated that he would not defend the equal rights of LGBT Americans. In particular, he wouldn't classify LGBT discrimination as discrimination against members of a protected class. Not too much concrete evidence, but a good "reading between the lines" piece. Here's the article! https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/news/2017/03/24/429180/gorsuch-signals-extreme-threat-lgbt-rights/
Last week, Germany’s Cabinet approved a bill that, if approved by Parliament, will overturn the post-WWII convictions of thousands of gay men and provide financial compensation for convictions and jail time served. Here's an article with more information.
As we learn in class about queer history in the US, I have enjoyed learning a bit more about queer history in other countries as well, and it's interesting to see how those histories can mirror what has happened in our country’s past and present. I found it particularly powerful, in this article, to read about the experience of Fritz Schmehling and his desire not to die with a criminal record -- it reminded me of the American veteran in “Coming Out Under Fire” who was still struggling to upgrade his blue discharge 50 years later. Both examples raise the question of how countries/groups/individuals go about trying to right past wrongs and highlight how painfully long that process can take.
I actually saw this article on Tuesday but haven't had a chance to post it until today. Basically, the Trump administration deleted questions on sexuality from two federal surveys, which has people worried. The first survey was intended to gather information for programs funded by the Older Americans Act. The second survey, also by the Department of Health and Human Services, was to gather feedback for counseling, skills training, and other services for the disabled. The article can be read here and I think it can generate a lot of discussion about the new president and administration.
This Buzzfeed story was really interesting for multiple reasons. Not only is a 1970s "profile" of lesbians interesting because it includes verbiage such as, "Even though there's strong scientific theory that says none of them has actually been born that way," as in born gay, but it is interesting because the reporter interviewed lesbians and attended a meeting of the Australasian Lesbian Movement. We have been learning about the rise of different lesbian feminist groups in the 1970s so I thought this was fitting! Click here for the story
Chapter 6 of Queer America briefly mentions that in 1973 "transsexual lesbian Beth Elliot was expelled from the West Coast Women's Conference" as part of "conflicts between lesbian feminists and trans people" (an extremely mild way of referring to the vicious transphobia of that strain of radical feminism). Here's a link that goes into much greater detail about that event; I recommend giving it a read if you can stomach it. Content warning for extreme and violent transphobia/transmisogyny and misgendering.
When we read the Bechdel cartoon for last week, it jogged my memory - a few years ago, I listened to a piece on NPR about Alison Bechdel and her relationship with her father. I remember being struck by how candid and funny she was, and I encourage you to listen if you have a second!
In describing the controversial "gay" cinematic moment between protagonist Gaston and sidekick Le Fou, Beauty and the Beast director Bill Condon said, "By representing same-sex attraction in this short but explicitly gay scene, the studio is sending out a message that this is normal and natural.”
Despite being well received by many audience members, it's important to note that this small scene caused a lot of controversies. Russia, for example, reclassified the film to “adults only,” Malaysia refused to screen the movie without editing out the gay moment, Kuwait's censors pulled the film for edits, and one Alabama theater was so shocked by the thought of a gay moment that it decided not to show the movie at all. Just when it seems like we have made a step forward, people/places are still rejecting representations of gays in media.
I also agreed with the reaction from the LGBT community, and I don't believe the representation of a gay character went far enough. Like many members of the LGBT community, I wonder "how long the LGBTQ+ community must wait to see a truly authentic performance of queerness by a main character in a Disney film."
Andrew Ahn is a Korean American filmmaker who has delved into the representation of the queer Asian (Korean) American experience through his short film, "Dol" (2011), and full-length feature, Spa Night (2016). Spa Night recently won the 2017 John Cassavetes Award in the Film Independent Spirit Awards. In his acceptance speech, Ahn emphasized the importance of telling the stories of marginalized communities because "we can't be pushed aside, labeled as 'Other.' We are a part of this great country."
This speech helped me reflect on our course as a whole to think about which stories are continually mis/unrepresented in the greater theme of US (Gay) History. I also reflected on the media's increase towards self-determined representation of marginalized (queer) communities through films like Moonlight and how important it is for these communities to (re)claim their identity and representation in mainstream media. When Ahn visited the Claremont Colleges he mentioned how Korean Americans would comment on and feel comforted by small details such as the way the mother peeled an apple in the film that was reminiscent of their own familial life, and representational of what the Korean American identity entails.
LINKS FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION SPA NIGHT IS CURRENTLY STREAMING ON NETFLIX!! :)
Link to Spa Night Trailerhere
Link to short film "Dol" here
Link to another blog post about Spa Nighthere
Author's Note: I wrote "Asian (Korean) American" with "Korean" in parenthesis to represent the Korean-American identity as falling under the umbrella term Asian-American.
LGBTQ+ YouTube content creators recently noticed that YouTube's platform has been filtering LGBTQ+ content out with its Restricted Mode. This function is meant for parents who want to filter out inappropriate content on YouTube for their kids. YouTube responded saying that videos had been mislabeled and thus caused the restriction to occur.
I think this event is important in our understanding of how LGBTQ+ topics are intertwined with issues that can be deemed 'inappropriate', and therefore endangering its position in media and its access. Would love to hear any similar stories!
This story about Chimamanda Adichie's comments on trans women have been kind of big in the news recently. It raises really interesting question about womanhood and how that relates to various systems of oppression, as well as current issues within feminism. The article I'm attaching does a good job explaining the issue. Would love to hear what you guys think!
I came across this BBC article that, through the exploration of the creation of heterosexuality, indirectly illuminates the construction of homosexuality. The article covers material from around the world and in terms of time, covers 1800s all the way up till the modern-day. Albert Kinsey and David Halperin, authors who we have read for class, are also mentioned.
The writer of this article argues that before heterosexuality was invented and normalized, it was considered abnormal. The writer then discusses the role of language in the 'invention of heterosexuality'. According to the writer, this invention also corresponded with the rise of the middle class in America (incidentally featuring a quick discussion of New York City and the migration of the masses to the city) with the author saying that the middle class saw "sexual misconduct" as a thing of the working class and the poor. The writer ends off the article speculating on the history of heterosexuality and how it seems to be losing its 'high ground'.
Overall, this intellectually provocative article covers many of themes that our class addresses (what defines homosexuality [e.g. gender inversion, acts...], capitalism and LGBT, creation of norms and normality/abnormality,... ) and, in my view, makes for a comprehensive and enlightening read.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
We've been talking a bit about LGBTQ representation in film. Here is the link to the 28th annual NewFest, a celebration of queer film.
I can't find a way to upload the photo directly so go this link I follow a lot of bloggers who post stuff about queer history on Tumblr and came across this image. I can't find a date when I search for this article (it's from 1939 or later based on the text) but had to post it anyway because it is such a gem. I thought it was really relevant to our course because the author addresses the fact that masculine women and women who have sex with women are not as harshly treated legally as feminine men and men who have sex with men. Francis notes that it is incredibly rare for women to be charged and convicted of sodomy. Clearly, gender and sexual transgressions are much more serious when committed by men in this time.
When I read Abby's post about Disney's first gay character, I became interested in how the LGBT is portrayed in the movies, did some google research and found the GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index. http://www.glaad.org/sri/2016 Similar to the famous "Bechdel Test," which examines the representation of female characters in films, the organization developed the Vito Russo Test. To pass the Vito Russo Test, the following must be true: 1. The film contains a character that is identifiably lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender. 2. That character must not be solely or predominantly defined by their sexual orientation or gender identity (i.e. they are comprised of the same sort of unique character traits commonly used to differentiate straight/non-transgender characters from one another). 3. The LGBT character must be tied into the plot in such a way that their removal would have a significant effect, meaning they are not there to simply provide colorful commentary, paint urban authenticity, or (perhaps most commonly) set up a punchline. The character must matter. "The GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) maps the quantity, quality and diversity of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in films released by seven major motion picture studios during the 2015 calendar year. GLAAD researched films released by 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Sony Columbia, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Brothers, as well as films released by four major subsidiary studios. The report is intended to serve as a road map toward increasing fair, accurate and inclusive LGBT film representations."
"While on military training during World War Two, Gilbert Bradley was in love. He exchanged hundreds of letters with his sweetheart - who merely signed with the initial "G". But more than 70 years later, it was discovered that G stood for Gordon, and Gilbert had been in love with a man." I came across this piece and remembered our class discussion about all these destroyed letters and diaries about lives of homosexuals and how these primary sources help historians better understand the LGBT community in the past. We read about all those horrible experiences and repressions, but there were also stories about love and great lives. A gay activist commented that "There is a gay history and it isn't always negative and tearful," he says. "So many stories are about arrests - Oscar Wilde, Reading Gaol and all those awful, awful stories.But despite all the awful circumstances, gay men and lesbians managed to rise above it all and have fascinating and good lives despite everything." By the way, one protagonist of our story moved to California later in his life and became a well-known horse trainer. He hired Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated Robert Kennedy. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-38932955
Here is a link to a news article discussing Sylvia Rivera, an activist for the gay and transgender rights movements. She was present during the Stonewall riots and continued on to become a powerful voice for these movements, and the influence of her activism is still felt today. Her important role is often not discussed, though her own erasure represents exactly what she fought against during her life.
There is a link in this article to a video (here) of Rivera giving a moving speech to a crowd of gay rights protesters in 1973.
I wanted to share this interview I found of Barry Jenkins, director of Moonlight, which recently won the Oscar for Best Film. After watching the film (which I highly recommend!), I came away thinking about our discussions of identity formation. This film is an incredible intersectional depiction of a young black man discovering his sexual identity while trying to survive in a community dependent on often violent displays of masculinity. Jenkins, who states this is not just a 'gay film,' makes the point in this interview to focus on the individual character of Chrion, which is based on the semi-autobiographically play by Tarell McCraney. In this way, Jenkins gives light to a specific experience, and demonstrates the importance of understanding individual stories.
The bill that may replace the ACA will no longer fund money towards medication like PrEP, which is a preventive pill that greatly prevents HIV acquisition. Gay men especially depend on PrEP, so this proposed legislation will greater harm a demographic already at risk. Hopefully the ACA remains in tact...
To Piggyback off of Abby's post about the first outwardly gay disney character, I decided to do a little digging on US lesbian and gay film history. I came across this article about the film The Boys in The Band (1970), which was one of the first US films centered around gay protagonists. The film takes place in New York (very relevant to our recent discussion). I was particularly interested in how the film was received. Gay audiences seemed to be hesitant, as it apparently portrays negative stereotypes about gay people. On the other hand, the film "was still a turning point, not least for suggesting that homophobic oppression, rather than some sort of innate pathology, is responsible for making gay men so miserable" and ultimately condemns the consequences of the closet. I was curious on how the film was received by the rest of society, and where the film was shown!
A friend sent Eliana and me this article and I found it really powerful.
It looks both statistically and through a number of personal accounts about the struggles, particularly with loneliness, that gay men encounter after they come out of the closet.
I found it especially relevant in relation to what we have read about the formation of gay communities. In the past few classes, we have discussed the creation of liberation groups and necessity for unity. Interestingly, this article argues that the gay communities can often be the source depression and lack of self-confidence for many gay men.
The article is quite long but well worth the read.
After watching all of the prop 8 videos this video was recommended for me. It talks a little bit about religion and Prop 8, featuring a bunch of celebrities. Video here.
Hey everybody, since today we were talking about what is similar/useful about comparing Gay liberation to the Black Civil Rights movement, I wanted to find an article by an author who believed the two movements should not be compared. This author articulates some of the reasons I'm not comfortable comparing the two movements.
Also, just on a random note-the author I was referencing in class today was Nora Zeale Hurston!
In response to Donald Trump's decision on transgender students' rights guidelines, activists and protesters gathered to rally against the reversal at the Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village. An important piece of American LGBT history is brought back into the limelight as LGBT rights are put on the chopping block by the current administration.
Click here to read about the 10 bills that Equality California is sponsoring this year.
SB 239 – Modernizing Discriminatory HIV Criminalization Laws SB 179 – Gender Recognition Act of 2017 SB 219 – Seniors Long Term Care Bill of Rights AB 888 – Transparency in Higher Education SB 695 – Tiered System for California Sex Offender Registry AB 800 – Hate Crimes Hotline AB 1161 – Updating Local Hate Crimes Policies SB 310 – Name and Dignity Act AB 677 – Reducing LGBT Disparities in Education and Employment SB 221 – Insurance Coverage for Lipodystrophy
Gavin Grimm, age 17, is the lead plaintiff in a Supreme Court case over whether trans students can use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity. He was featured in the Gender Revolution documentary and in this article from the New York Times. Dozens of companies recently signed a brief in support of his fight. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled to begin at the end of March.
In class, someone brought up the point that the Trans Rights movement is not just about bathrooms the same way that the civil rights movement was not just about water fountains. Here is a short video on exactly that and how one trans individual navigates the bathroom issue in a state where there are not transgender bathroom protections, as well as a couple of relevant statistics. https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei/videos/1669279513377003/
PS: I tried to embed the video but my tech know-how is minimal so the link will have to do :)
Today as I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, I came across this music video titled "Just Pee (Where You Wanna Pee)." It came out in June 2016 but I had never seen it before for some reason.
It is a music video of the cast of the Kinky Boots (highly recommend everyone seeing the actual musical!) singing a rewritten version of the show's finale "Just Be." I decided to share this because in class we've brought up the bathroom debate several times over the past few weeks, and this video demonstrates an effort to support trans rights, in a light-hearted, fun (but still serious) video. Linked here is more about the video in an article published on the Playbill website back when the video was first released.
Also, here is another video Kinky Boots just published on Feb 24, 2017 about how they #StandForLove with the same song playing in the background.
I wanted to share this article that I came across about how an organization called the Glitter Ash Project encouraged church officials to mix glitter in with typical ashes on Ash Wednesday (today) to symbolize inclusion of LGBT Christians. On Ash Wednesday, Catholics and other Christians get a cross on their head in ashes to symbolize the beginning of Lent.
"Clergy who requested glitter ash included Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Mennonites and many more. Many were located in more conservative parts of the country — Madison, Tenn.; Bedford, Tex.; Boone, N.C.; Algona, Iowa; Richmond, Ind.; Jefferson, Ga.; Hayes, Kan.; and many more small towns across the Midwest and the South made the list, as did churches in the United Kingdom and Canada." Pretty awesome!
Check it out: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/03/01/on-ash-wednesday-ashes-to-go-with-a-little-extra-sparkle/?utm_term=.6e3187069bb5
