Origins of Gay Rights

• Gay Rights- good example of the domination of conservatism & consensus- 1950's & the impact of the rights revolution- 1960's
• American culture had long been homophobic

  • Post WW2 ear- same-sex sexual activity was illegal & homosexuals were considered perverted & commonly expelled from universities or fired from jobs+
  • The American Psychiatric Institute classified homosexuality as a mental illness until 1974
• Gay men had been involved in nationwide community building, lobbying, publishing & networking since WW2 but had struggle to gain acceptance
• • 1951- group of homosexual men in LA established the first Mattachine Societies to promote greater tolerance
  • Mattachine Societies in several cities in- 1960's- much discussion of emulating the black civil rights movement & the Black Power Movement
  • The authorities remained intolerant