Although the history of the people in the lgbtq+ community goes back to history itself
The story we have to tell has to start somewhere
Even though there is no clear beginning, the roots of the movement can be found in every time period. It was in America's adolescence
that we begin to look at how the modern gay rights movement began to take form.
Post-World War One America saw a nice rise in the economy because that's usually what happens post-war
if your America. The 20s brought an age of what a lot of people like to call a sort of sexual liberation.
There are ways to analyze the various sociological theories at play here.
however
in a few words things changed
Civil rights attitudes were becoming apparent to white people though, and I say this because people of color have been aware of the terrible situation
since ever
Marcus Garvey and the pan-african movement were gaining rapid traction around the country
But World War One was his time where queer people started realizing that other queer people existed.
Blue discharges were given to the soldiers who were believed to be homosexual or generally unfit and
often were disproportionately
given to people of color
People who received these charges did not receive benefits from the VA, as the GI Bill prohibited people who had blue
discharges from receiving benefits
It was often difficult to find a work or a place in society as there was a negative connotation of having a blue discharge.
Being LGBTQ was a crime and was seen as a mental illness,
So it was not uncommon for LGBTQ people to be sent to mental institutions. As many men went off to war,
many women took a factory work and contributed to the effort.
Women's increased visibility in the workplace changed how society viewed them.
In 1920, women in America were victorious in fighting for the right to vote.
Over time women in the 20s experimented with traditionally masculine gender roles
They enjoyed flapper culture, and sexual liberation, and shorter hair. Lesbian subculture was beginning to form
Cities were gaining people in the millions, and diversity in the American population was as present as ever
Mass culture through media was on the rise, and queer identities and its presence in American culture was on the rise as well.
Hollywood, since this is before the Hays Code or the censoring Motion Picture Code of America,
looked for shocking ways to get the general audiences to watch films
They tried to use queerness as the gimmick to get people to watch. The effeminate man was here for laughs the butch woman for snickers
However, queer viewers were attracted in some ways to cinema for the chance to see themselves on screen. Queer people fought in the war and
came to a world that rejected them queer people worked in their countries and faced backlash every day
Sometimes they found solace in gay bars that remained secret and unnamed. One of the only places that
explicitly mentioned queer people around this era was the many psychological studies that try to analyze them
Henry Gerber
Henry Gerber was a German immigrant to the United States
He was sent to a mental institution for being gay and after leaving fought in World War 1 for the United States
Working in Berlin during the war he discovered the thriving queer subculture
He decided to start the Society for Human Rights here in America, the first homophile institution in the United States
Although it was exclusionary to bisexuals, which I am quite sad about, it is important to note for being the
first queer organization in the United States
Alan L Hart
Alan L. Hart was a doctor who led the way for x-ray being used for tuberculosis
detection. It's a really great thing because if you haven't noticed,
everyone in that time period died from TB, like everyone. He was one of the first trans men to medically transition
and had a successful medical practice. His medical transition is the first documented medical transition in America
William Haines
Haines was a prominent actors during the 20s and started in wildly successful films
He was open about his relationship with Jimmy Shields
despite being a male heartthrob of sorts
Even though most people lived in half denial that Haines was just living platonically with another man,
most knew Haines and Shields relationship. When the secret became too open Haines lost his job
Queer history never began around during this time period. The Great Depression hit around
1929, and people began to lose track of LGBTQ rights
Religion spread to keep public morale and the Hays Code
Acted as a brutal censor on the motion picture industry in America
The queer movement was silenced for decades, but as America entered the second world and found a place on the world stage
We'll find where the post-war boom takes the culture and how mass culture and conformity
prompted thousands of youth to rebel tune in next time for another
LGBTQ by the decades