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!
https://m.townhall.com/columnists/michaelbrown/2013/09/27/comparing-black-civil-rights-to-gay-civil-rights-n1710528
I really enjoyed this piece (and thanks for the followup from class discussion). I definitely agree, or at least see the argument, for many of the points made. I think that the direct comparison of the events, or really any two movements as different as these, is dangerous. It makes sense that one would would feel their struggles are being devalued by being equated to another groups very different struggles. That being said, I also understand that the gay rights movement does not have a solid historical base to work with. Perhaps not directly equated, but there are definitely aspects of similarity, as we discussed in class, and people can learn from what happened in the civil rights movement to try to apply it to the gay rights movement. That said, I think slavery, even without any of the other arguments, is enough of a reason for people to be rightfully offended at the comparison.
ReplyDeleteI think this article does a really nice job of comparing both sides of the debate in relation to the supreme court ruling on gay marriage. If you're interested, it's worth checking out.
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/06/26/thomas-no-link-between-civil-rights-and-gay-rights