A Struggle for Acceptance of Gays Essay -- Homosexuality Religion Marr

A Struggle for Acceptance of Gays "When the dust settles and the pages of history are written, it will not be the angry defenders of intolerance who have made the difference, that reward will go to those who dared to step outside the safety of their privacy in order to expose and rout the prevailing prejudice." - John Shelby Spong Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Newark, NJ November 21, 1996 During World War II and especially the twenty years after brought great political and social changes to the U.S.. Undoubtedly, one of the major changes was the new awareness of homosexuality. If this new awareness was to the advantage or if it was really wanted by the gay and lesbian population is a question that arises; if they really had a choice in the matter is another. I think gays' relentless struggle for acceptance into mainstream society came from the American constitution itself. After all, the gay liberation movement started in America, the land of the free, where all men are created equal and with an inalienable right to pursue their own happiness. No one should be able to take these rights away from anyone. Also, in the 1950s, the civil rights movement became active and words like desegregation and equal rights for all became synonymous with the American way of life. Stand up and fight against those who have done you wrong! This is what gave homosexuals such a conviction to start fighting for their own cause. This paper will follow the progress of gay and lesbians in the twentieth century before, during and after World War II. What was their position in the armed forces during the war and what was government and military policy during and after the war on gays in the army and in government positions? How did gay and lesbians respond to the new policies after the war and why were organizations like the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis founded? On December 7, 1941 at 7:55 a.m. local time, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The Unites States declared war on Japan and was suddenly a participant in the largest war in the history of mankind. A massive military force of 12 million men was assembled. American soldiers were sent to Europe and Japan to participate and win the Big One. The military bureaucracy grew accordingly and thousands of new jobs were created. With the military's enormous demand for personnel... ...os Angeles newspaper in March 1953 linking "sexual deviates" with "security risks" who were banding together to wield "tremendous political power". The Mattachine Society was restructured, with a more transparent organization, and its leadership replaced. It also changed its aims to the assimilation of homosexuals into general society, which reflected its rejection of the notion of a homosexual minority. However the Society declined, and at its convention in May 1954 only forty-two members attended. The Mattachine Society produced the monthly periodical ONE Magazine , starting in January 1953 and eventually achieving a circulation of 5000 copies. The regular publication of the magazine ceased in 1968, but its publisher, ONE Inc., still exists. In January, 1955 the San Francisco branch of the Mattachine Society began a more scholarly journal, Mattachine Review , which lasted for ten years. The periodicals reached previously isolated individuals and helped Mattachine to become better known nationally. Chapters functioned in a number of USA cities through the 1960s. However, they failed to adapt to the radical militantism after the Stonewall Rebellion and faded away.