Alex and Andy: Stonewall

Showing posts with label Stonewall. Show all posts

Monday, June 29, 2009

Rainbow Lounge Riots

As we posted yesterday, June 28th marked the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which many credit as the start of the gay-rights movement. Forty years have passed since we gay folks had to fear for our professional careers and our general safety just by having a drink and identifying as homosexual in public.

As Alex said,"what a different world we live in."

Or do we.

It so happens that the same night many gay and lesbian Americans were celebrating this anniversary, and being thankful for how far we've come, that a little gay bar called The Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, Texas was raided by local police. June 28th, gay bar, police raid, paddy wagons, multiple arrests, injuries --- sounds a bit too familiar, doesn't it?

Like with the Stonewall raid, this lead to protests, but luckily more peaceful ones. Later on Sunday, several hundred protestors met on the steps of the county courthouse, protesting the raid and demanding an investigation.

So, now the police find themselves in a pickle, as more city officials are questioning their motives, and more and more newspapers are picking up the story. Their response: those gays were not only intoxicated and resisting arrest, but they hit on us while we were doing our job. This is playing on one of the most negative stereotypes out there: that all gay men are sex fiends, and even while being arrested all we can think about is sex.

Although what happened in Fort Worth is inexcusable, I have to focus on the changes of the last 40 years that DO make this different. Joel Burns, Fort Worth’s first openly gay City Council member, put in nicely stating “Unlike 40 years ago, though, the people of this community have elective representation that will make sure our government is accountable and that the rights of all its citizens are protected.”

Heck, the very fact that a town in Texas has an openly gay City Council member speaks wonders to the progress made in the past 40 years.

So, what now? As yet more states are contemplating the passage of laws that allow same-sex marriage (Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey), as the federal government slowly begins to grant rights, and as more people come out we need to recognize that we HAVE come a long way, while at the same time acknowledge that we still have to be on guard, and still have lots to fight for. As Alex said in a previous post, we'll be at that March on Washington in October. Not just to thank those who were at Stonewall 40 years ago, but for those that still face discrimination everyday.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Forty Years Ago Today...

After the announcement that the 2010 Census would be collecting data from gay couples, Andy and I were talking about, well, the gays. How many are there, really? Not just committed, self-identifying couples, but all of us; single, coupled, out, not out. Estimates vary wildly, and one should always consider the source of such claims, so no one really knows. The Census can’t tell us. It won’t poll single gay people, and closeted gays probably won’t identify themselves to a census taker, anyway.

Besides hard numbers, it would be interesting to see a true demographic breakdown of the gay population, across age, race, income levels, etc. The media tends to rely on stock images of us, and perceptions skew white, young and male. Well, unless the topic is marriage, in which case two middle-aged lesbians represent us. Or two middle-aged men. In Hawaiian shirts, usually.

Not that there’s anything wrong with being middle-aged; I turned 40 this year, and the gay rights movement is celebrating its fortieth birthday today. Exactly forty years ago, a bunch of drag queens, dykes and sissies fought back against a world that wouldn’t allow them to live openly. The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village was raided by the police in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969. It was an era when someone could be locked up just for looking gay, let alone actually acting on it; sodomy laws were still on the books, and the American Psychiatric Association considered homosexuality a mental illness.

Bars like the Stonewall were virtual speakeasies; Mafia-run, often lacking liquor licenses, or even basic amenities (the Stonewall had no running water behind the bar; glasses were sloshed around in a tub of water before being reused). Patrons needed a password to enter. Raids were frequent, even if the owners had paid their bribes to the right officials that month. Bartenders would often get a tip-off, and signal when a police raid was imminent, shutting off the trippy black lights around the dance floor. The house lights would come on, allowing couples dancing close to separate. “Transvestites,” as drag queens, transsexuals, and anyone else who didn’t conform to gender norms were known then, might have a minute to ditch their wig or otherwise “straighten up” their appearance. Along with butch lesbians, effeminate men would usually be the prime targets of police harassment, and could be jailed for cross-dressing. Under-aged drinkers were also usually present; homeless gay teenagers often slept in nearby Sheridan Square.

That night, things went differently than usual. Many bar-goers refused to cooperate, and police wagons were called in. A crowd gathered

outside. People resisted arrest; as the crowd grew larger, those being arrested urged them on. First pennies, then bottles, then bricks were thrown; the police were outnumbered, and barricaded in the Stonewall. A riot was underway, which soon gave birth to a movement.

What a different world we live in. I was born at a time when just being gay was enough to get you thrown in jail. People like us couldn’t even enter a gay bar without fear of harassment, blackmail, or arrest. The way one dressed, or danced, or had sex in the privacy of their own home with another consenting adult; all were matters governed by the state, judged by the authorities, and subject to harsh punishment. Although bigots persist, and there are many areas of society that don’t allow us to live openly, and we have a long way to go until we achieve full equality, we’ve come a long way, baby. We’re grateful for everyone who paved the way for us; the activists and the organizers, and the dykes and drag queens, too. At a time when we're prone to being defined by stock images of cheerful domesticity, it's important to remember it was a bunch of radical queers in a bar who set things in motion. We think it’s only fitting, to mark this anniversary, to raise a glass in salute! Happy fortieth birthday, gay rights movement!