Greenwich Village, USA
While the Suburban utopia Levittown may have been in the same state the village might as well have been in a different country
In Levittown it was an age of separate beds
cigarettes, Nuclear families, Westerns and mulch ups at least that's what the TV showed us
at least that's what the TV showed us
but here in the Village was the place of poets, writers , black turtlenecks
and smoke-filled lounges while the Media pushed conformity
segments of America pushed for change
Some of these pushers were members of the beat generation
They expressed the power of the individual and worldly pleasures due to their ambition to crush the status quo the beat movement
attracted LGBTQ+ people
a lot of beatniks took pride in their fringe of society attitudes
And that disposition was something queer people could relate to famous Beatnik writers like allen ginsberg
A member of the community in San Francisco talked Openly about sexuality including his own homosexuality
over time Greenwich Village became a hotspot for
LGBTq plus people a place where outsiders could meet other outsiders although the police indulged in their vehement hatred of so-called
perversions often arresting Cruisers and raiding bars shared persecution created community
San Francisco's Beatnik and
LGBTQ+ community grew tremendously in a little corner of silver lake a Los Angeles neighborhood the black cat tavern was haven for
LGBTQ+ people although the government prevented queer people from assembling eventually the black cat tavern won
The right to stay open although when there are provisions that ban physical contact between its patrons
Cooper's doughnuts in Los Angeles was the popular space for lGBTQ+ people especially those from the trans and gender non-conforming
spectrums at the time police raids and entrapment of queer people were normal however in
1959 when trying to arrest the few of its patrons some trans women at the bar began to fight back
throwing food and drinks at officers a riot erupted between the police and the people and this uprising marked another victory for
LGBTQ+ visibility and community
the Mattachine Society was going strong in the west coast where it originated however in 1955
Mattachine New York was established as one of the many gay organizations in New York City some members of the mattachine
Society decided to start Their own
Publication one magazine in print the gay experience could be collected in stories and writings these were the first social
Victories for the community but legal victories were soon to come in 1958 the Magazine was under attack by the United States government
Under the law the post service was prohibited from disturbing so-called obscene items
but one magazine although
Concerning queerness was not very obscene at all in fact it was quite conservative and the case of one Inc versus Olson
after being rejected by lower courts the supreme court ruled that one could continue to be distributed the
LGBTQ+ topics by themselves are not obscene
As the culture evolved very distinct counter cultures also came to the stage rock and roll although not completely counter cultural
Considering its success with the masses instill the spirit of rebellion and youth the teenager was born in the united Kingdom
political leaders and lawmakers had decided to reconsider the current criminalization of homosexuality in
1957 they released the Wolfington report which said that criminalizing homosexual behavior was a violation of
LGBTQ+ people's rights it was highly controversial among lawmakers
but it would eventually lead to legal victories for the LGBTQ+ community in
1967 with the Legalization of sodomy of the United Kingdom around the world Legal Victories for the
LGBTQ+ community were propping up everywhere countries like Jordan Greece and thailand legalized homosexuality throughout the 1950s
although in the west the movement was painted as white middle-class gay and male there were far deeper layers to the fight for
LGBTQ+ rights
Though these groups may be the most visible of the community that does not take away the thousands of fights fought by trans people people
of color women in other groups whose voices were deemed unworthy by Society the
LGBTq+ experience was vast and worldwide and the world was about to see just how diverse it was
James Baldwin James Baldwin was a gay civil rights activist and writer although James Baldwin's work spans several decades it is in
1956 that he published Giovanni's room a book that dealt heavily with
LGBTQ+ themes and portrayed a very poignant gay romance Dalton will become a highly influential person in the civil rights movement
Pointing out the problems of white supremacy and his bites of reality made him one of the most celebrated writers in American history
James Dean James Dean was one of the Superstar actors of the Golden age of Hollywood
Starring in teenage angst films like rebel without a cause many people speculated about Dean's sexuality however
He was rather open about his bisexuality stating that he wasn't gay
But he wasn't straight either he had numerous relationships with famous male and female stars until his untimely death in 1955
Louise Lawrence
Louise Lawrence was a tramp woman and activist for the trans community she helps
sexologist Alfred Kinsey Correspond with trans people to further understand their stories with Virginia prince
She later started a trans publication called Trans Vesta Yukio, Mishima although a lot of yukio
Mishima is controversial to say the least he is still a significant LGBTQ+ figure
It was a writer of novels plays and poems as well as acting in and directing numerous films
He was one of Japan's most significant literary
icons and he was a Same-gender loving man some of his works deal with homosexual themes in fact the work that brought him to
International fame which is especially significant in a time that often shunned these ideas deals with these same themes
He is widely regarded as one of the most significant literary figures in 20th Century Japan
Around the world queer people were gaining an exposure that they had not experienced before all of a sudden
societies and places for acknowledging their existence
laws were starting to accept them literary figures were writing about their
Experiences movie stars are beginning to be open about themselves and rather than being looked upon with a judgemental eye suddenly people were trying to
understand the experiences of queer people
Queer writers and activists were trying to bring out their stories
And some people started to listen the 60s would bring on a new age the sexual revolution without the edge of tipping
Civil Rights marches boomed across the country and soon the community would find its own place in the social revolution
of the 60s