HOW THE GAY LIBERATION MOVEMENT POSED AS A SIGNIFICANT CAUSE OF THE STONEWALL RIOTS- INFLUENCING THE GREATER TREND OF ADVANCING U.S LGBT CIVIL RIGHTS
GAY LIBERATION MOVEMENT
The key force that influenced the trend of improving LBGT civil rights was the social force of the Gay Liberation Movement (GLM) that emerged out of the Stonewall uprising and challenged the gay rights movement to adopt a new set of aims and strategies. The Gay Liberation Movement (GLM) influenced the trend of improving LGBT civil rights and emerged out of the stonewall uprising, which challenged the gay rights movement to adopt a new set of aims and strategies. The Gay Liberation Movement wanted full equality in society. It wanted to change societies viewpoints and used the tactic of visibility, and encourage people to “come out”, and this became a key force in order to change the publics opinion of acceptance of homosexual people. The GLM challenged the ideas that society had and promoted a new and open view that being gay was not an illness and that it was a natural, normal and good preference for a section of society. The movement targeted the issues of homophobia and homosexism, and carried out public education to spread awareness. They were very and fully prepared to be confrontational in their protest action. The Gay Liberation Manifesto in 1971 linked itself to many other movements and allies, particulary with the feminist movements. It had a radical agenda for non-violent revolution in cultural values and social institutions. The first protest marches began later in 1969. The gay liberation movement saw political organizations spring up, often at odds with one another. Frustrated with the male leadership of most gay liberation groups, lesbians formed their own collectives, record labels, music festivals, newspapers, bookstores, and publishing houses and called for lesbian rights in mainstream feminist groups like the National Organization for Women (NOW). Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), formed in 1972, offered family members greater support roles in the gay rights movement. And political action exploded through the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Human Rights Campaign, the election of openly gay and lesbian representatives like Elaine Noble and Barney Frank, and, in 1979, the first march on Washington for gay rights.