Category: Gay

Introduction

The representation of the gay man in music has a relatively short history in the United Kingdom in the genre of popular music. The portrayal of such a character during the 1970s voiced the harassment and unjust behaviour towards the many individuals suffering under the laws against homosexuality. Even though the United Kingdom legalized homosexual relations between adults over the age of 21 in 1967, it still gave rise to a colossal wave of hate and violence against the LGBT community which resulted in the criminalization of homosexuality nationwide. This outspur of hate and violence was a catalyst which sparked a decade of protests in the 1970s which became a famous and renowned decade for change. The people used their voices in the streets and the musicians used their fame to start a conversation which inspired the world to take a stand against hate.

In this essay I will be analyzing the use of language in songs to help analyze the representation of the gay man in music and how the aspects of the culture at the time influenced the lyrics. My research question is as follows; “How did the representation of gay men in British popular music of the 1970s reflect/influence changing social attitudes?” In the beginning, I will be discussing the song “Glad to be Gay” by the Tom Robinson Band and its choice of anecdotes as lyrics. After, I will discuss the song “Smalltown Boy” by Bronski Beat which is a narrative about a gay boy forced to leave his home to be himself. I will then discuss the song “Lady Stardust” by David Bowie and how his message of gender fluidity impacted culture. Lastly, I will be analyzing ‘The Killing of Georgie” by Rod Stewart and how a song about a gay man was written from the perspective of a straight man.

I will be referring to sources such as “Establishing Identity: LGBT Studies & Music Education” by DeNordo et Al to supplement my analysis which examined the complex ways queer identities influenced the people and processes of music making and cultural life. While a certain progress was made in the music industry involving the representation of sexuality, it was still a financial institution that had and still has many conservative views which limited the creative power of certain artists. This however did not stop some artists who still used their platform to start a conversation and try to fight against all the violence and hate.

Glad to be Gay by Tom Robinson Band

There were many artists at the time who used their platform to make large political statements and to bring awareness to the suffering brought upon the LGBT community at the time in a genre alongside Popular music called Political Rock. An example of this genre was in a song called “Glad to be Gay” by Tom Robinson Band which was one of their most defining songs in their career. Originally written by Tom Robinson for the London Gay Pride parade in 1976, “Glad to Be Gay” became a LGBT anthem in the UK. The song was a sharp critique of the British hostile stance towards homosexuality; at the time same-sex relations in the UK had been legal for only nine years, with the Sexual Offences Act in 1967 that decriminalized homosexual acts performed in private between men over 21 years (Vale, Silvie). Tom Robinson, the singer of the band once said, “I had a nervous breakdown when I was 16, largely due to the stress of growing up gay, which was illegal back then. I was sent to a sort of retreat, where I was taught to accept myself. It also exposed me to all sorts of music.” This oppression he felt when he was young led to him wanting to create music to inspire and help others feeling stressed about their sexuality.

The first verse begins in a sarcastic tone using anti-patriotic language that aims to mislead the listener, “the British Police are the best in the world,” but is then contradicted with, “I don’t believe one of these stories I’ve heard,” when discussing police brutality against the gay community. The lyrics continue to separate this community from the mainstream but with a sense of pride when referring to “our pubs. The gay community is portrayed as innocent as the raids on their pubs had ‘no reason at all’ and led to further victimisation with the police ‘picking out people and knocking them down.’ The last line of the verse then refers back to the sense of sarcasm of the unjust treatment by the police saying, “I don’t believe that sort of thing happens here.”

The song then shifts to the chorus which forms an anthem, “Sing if you’re glad to be gay, sing if you’re happy that way.” This creates a positive contrast to the first verse and a rallying call to the general public to join ‘the cause’ of gay liberation by singing along and becoming part of a movement.

The second verse discusses the the still prevalent attitudes that homosexuality is obscene and linked to paedophilia. It mentions how in the media ‘Pictures of naked young women are fun’ but that pictures naked men is still banned yet their magazine Gay News is still deemed ‘obscene’. The portrayal then moves onto the right-wing press describing gay men as ‘Molesters of children, corruptors of youth’ ad therefore a danger to society. Thus the song has returned to its bitter and angry tone.

The second chorus is repeated with the small but significant change of one word ‘Try and sing if you’re glad to be gay’ recognising the dangers of coming out as graphically described in the previous verses.

The third verse returns to the theme of violence committed against gay men but now uses a personal anecdote to add a sense of reality to the experiences of gay men. He talks of his ‘friend who was gentle and short,’ accentuating his goodness and his vulnerability, who was grabbed by ‘Queerbashers’ who ‘kicked in his teeth.’ ‘Queerbashing’ was a popular sport at this time with groups of straight men looking for a gay man to beat up for fun. He ends his description with ‘He was only hospitalized for a week’ but ‘he still bears the scars’ deliberately trivialising the physical damage (which is still severe) as compared to the psychological trauma that is permanent, caused simply by walking alone in the street.

The fourth verse moves back into the gay community itself and talks directly to gay men and implies that being a bystander is not an option and the community should not just ‘sit back and watch’ as the oppression continues. It mocks the idea of selfishness with the lines ‘Make sure your boyfriend’s at least twenty-one so only your friends and your brothers get done’ putting pressure on the gay listener to be active and stand up for others within the community. This tone is continued in the final verse sarcastically encouraging gay men to deny their sexuality to lie and mock their own kind.

Robinson has cleverly used a sarcastic and negative tone throughout the verses that strongly contrasts with the chorus that is joyful and simple, washing away all the negativity by everyone joining together in one loud voice creating a new unity of straight and gay communities and therefore much greater strength in combating the homophobic police (agents of government and societal oppression) and the queerbashers (violent homophobic men). It is an anthemic call to action with a focus on love rather than the hate he has chronicled.

Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat

Another song during the 1970s that discussed the representation of the gay man in the 1970s was a song called “Smalltown Boy” by Bronski Beat. “Not only did it highlight the plight and shared experiences of hundreds of thousands of gay people, but it also provoked serious debate over these issues nationwide.’ This song was featured on their album “The Age of Consent” which was in direct response to the creation of the 1967 Sexual Offence Act. “Many western countries had reduced the age of consent to 16, but not Britain. And part of this regressive culture was the problem of young men and women feeling stigmatised by the inability of their peers to accept them as they were (The People’s Songs – Smalltown Boy).”

The song’s title “Smalltown Boy” using the term ‘smalltown’ in British English has connotations of narrow-mindedness and mono-culture as compared to metropolitan and multicultural cities. The use of “boy” communicates a sense of innocence and vulnerability. The song is a narrative of one boy who is leaving his family and it begins with a cry to the soul to run away, the soul being the deepest and most profound part within you, demonstrating the extent of the pain. The repetition of cry accentuates the length and degree of suffering. “You leave in the morning with everything you own in a little black case” is a metaphor as he has so little of value in his current life making him seem small and vulnerable. The use of “black” creates a feeling of gloom and sadness. The phrase, “Alone on a platform,” highlights his isolation experienced by many gay boys and young men and “a platform” is a symbol of leaving, a place unnamed, a character lost. The use of pathetic fallacy in, “the wind and the rain on a sad and lonely face,” begins to explain the pain he is experiencing. It allows the listener focus on his expression as there is no physical description of the character. “Mother will never understand” activates the maternal instincts of the audience and thus the sense of loss. It is clear this youth in his mind has no choice as he “had to” leave but he is not simply leaving but rather on a journey of self-discovery and growth when the singer says to the boy that the “answers you seek” which are based on love “will never be found at home.”

The chorus then begins and repeats the phrase “run away, turn away” which acts as a command from the singer to the gay community. It is a warning to be careful which is heartbreaking and is used to stir panic.

The second verse discusses the troubles the character would experience in his home town which catalyzed his need to leave. “You were the one that they’d talk about around town.” shows that he was referred to as a freak and “they put you down” demonstrates the physical violence that was acted upon him. They would try very hard to “make you cry” but “you never cried to them, just to your soul” which shows that the character was a helpless victim but had the courage to put on a brave face during those hard times. It tries to showcase the secret life of a gay boy due to the fact that he did not show physical weakness but he was experiencing deep emotional weakness. Even though the pain cannot be seen, it is still there and will leave a deeper scar.

Lady Stardust by David Bowie

With the beginnings of glam rock’s so-called “gender-bending” in pop music, cross dressing became more normalised and particularly very popular among male artists who wore female clothing and makeup. Out of this trend came songs that directly dealt with sexual orientation and the idea of sexuality being fluid.

David Bowie was a prime example of this kind of musician and was the leader in promoting sexual fluidity through his lyrics and lifestyle. “Throughout the ’70s, he was perceived as gay… Jon Savage wrote in a 1980 article for The Face that ‘just as Bowie’s massive contribution to fashion was in the fact that you can still see the glam uniform of baggies, tank-top and platforms on provincial streets, so the spice in his image was gayness’, and Bowie did little to dispel that impression. (O’Leary, Chris)” In 1972, five after the implication of the Sexual Offence Act, David Bowie released his album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” which discussed the character of Ziggy Stardust. This character was a a bisexual, androgynous alien rockstar who sang songs on stage in drag attire. A song on the album that directly discusses Ziggy Stardust and the life of a drag queen was a song called “Lady Stardust.”

The first line began with “people stared at the makeup on his face” which shows that men wearing makeup at the time was a spectacle and different. The word “stared” adds a sense of misunderstanding to the character due to the hard gaze from the audience. The character was performing in drag so they had “long black hair” but they were being “laughed” at and judged for their appearance. The person was described with having an “animal grace” which compares the character to a dangerous and unpredictable creature which strips away their sense of humanity. The song then introduces a new character, “the boy in the bright blue jeans,” who had “jumped up on stage” to sing songs of “darkness and disgrace” along with Lady Stardust. This character could be interpreted as Lady Stardust but as a he when they are not performing in drag. A very deep and important aspect of drag is the idea of duality and the concept of there being one person on stage, but there are two people performing. Lady Stardust and the “he” are the same person and are singing the songs of “darkness and disgrace” together to voice the feelings they are experiencing about being a gay man during the 1970s.

The chorus then begins to sing, ‘And he was alright, the band was altogether” which shows that when the character is going drag, “he was alright” and felt apart of a group which aided him with feeling loved and secure. When he was dressed up in drag as Lady Stardust, he was “quite out of sight” which shows that drag was a mask for him and allowed him to feel invisible. “The song went on forever” shows that he wanted to feel the feeling of being “out of sight” forever because he felt happy and protected which led to him singing “all night long.”

The second verse then begins to describe the transformation of the character when he becomes Lady Stardust. “Femme fatales emerged from shadows” and “Boys stood upon their chairs” to watch them perform. People came from all around to watch Lady Stardust which shows that when the character became Lady Stardust, he was no longer laughed at and was actually admired. The next lyrics introduce the love the narrator feels for Lady Stardust using the lyrics “I smiled sadly for a love I could not obey”, because their love was at the time forbidden due to the Sexual Offences Act. After there is a line that states “Oh how I sighed when they asked if I knew his name”, which is again an allusion to the feelings the narrator has for Lady Stardust. The love the narrator feels is trying to express and normalize transgender and homosexual love to make it seem natural and not strange.

The song is trying to show that drag queens are not aliens or outsiders like how people perceived them to be but are human beings. This song aims to show that when drag queens perform they feel at peace and that they are just like any other group seeking acceptance.

The Killing of Georgie by Rod Stewart

Another important song that was released during the 1970’s was “The Killing of Georgie” by Rod Stewart. “It was the first major pop song to tell the tale of a gay man who died, in part, because of his sexual identity. The song is based off a true story but the scene was slightly embellished. The story is a narrative that follows a gay kid from a small town who’s rejected by his parents, causing him to flee to New York City. The tale ends tragically when, after leaving the theater one night, Georgie runs into a gang of kids who target him for being gay and murder him (Farber, Jim).”

The song begins with, “In these days of changing ways, so-called liberated days,” which refers to how the 1970s were a decade of change involving sexuality due to the Sexual offences Act in 1967, it then introduces “a story” that “comes to mind of a friend.” The story was about “Georgie boy” who was “gay, nothin’ more or nothin’ less.” He was the “kindest guy” but he was not accepted by his family. “His mother’s tears fell in vain” describes Georgie’s mother’s reaction to the news which made her very upset and confused. He had told his mother that he wanted to “love like the rest” but she went on to say ‘There must be a mistake, how can my son not be straight, after all I’ve said and done for him?’ This unfortunate event that occured between him and his mother lead to him “leavin’ home on a Greyhound bus” because he was “cast out by the ones he loves.” He had no choice but to leave so he could live his life the way he deserved and free to love whoever he wanted. In the end, he was “a victim of these gay days.”

The next verse begins to explore Georgie’s new home in New York and how he had “quickly settled down.” He very rapidly “became the toast of the great white way” and “accepted by the Manhattan’s elite.” He had finally found a crowd and group that had accepted him. He would go out partying and “no party was complete without Georgie” due to the fact that he was a massive hit and acquired many friends. The verse ends with an ironic mood with the lyrics “everybody loved Georgie boy” which is ironic due to the fact that he was forced to leave his home to be able to find people to love because his own family did not care for him enough to accept his sexuality.

The next verse however introduces a sad and somber tone when discussing the last time the narrator “saw Georgie alive.” It was “in the summer of ‘75” and he had said that Georgie “was in love.” This shows character progression due to the fact that he left his home to find love and eventually found it. George was attending “the opening night of another Broadway hype” but he “split before the final curtain fell.” The next three lines introduces two important stylistic devices: dramatic irony and a pathetic fallacy. Georgie had decided to “take a shortcut home” and “meant no wrong” which is an example of dramatic irony because the audience is aware of the fact that Georgie is about to be killed but the character does not and remains clueless. “A gentle breeze blew down Fifth Avenue” is a pathetic fallacy that is introducing the tension about to build up surrounding the murder/death of Georgie.

The last verse brings the story to a conclusion by stating “Georgie’s life ended there.” It then leads to a personal anecdote from Georgie himself sharing ‘Never wait or hesitate, Get in kid, before it’s too late, You may never get another chance, ‘Cause youth’s a mask but it don’t last, Live it long and live it fast.’ This is a very powerful and deep quote aimed to the audience to gain a sense of sympathy and sadness for the loss of such an amazing and strong willed individual. He took a risk to be able to live his life the way he wanted, and in the end he had a great life and found people who loved and supported him which in life is all that matters.

Conclusion

In summary, the use of popular music in the 1970s to voice out against the discrimination acted upon members of the LGBT community was a very important and well received initiative. It was an act of self expression and acceptance that touched the heart of millions across the globe. “Musiciologists examine the complex ways queer identities influence people and processes of music making and cultural life. Although numerous disciplines have examined the influence of the LGBT community, conventional music education has yet to consider it fully in education and musicology relevant research, theory, and practice from a LGBT perspective (DeNordo, Gregory F.).” Music has been used as a platform of change for years

Songs such as “Glad to be Gay” by Tom Robinson helped many youth around the world help feel accepted and loved. Tom Robinson tells a story about an American fan he once received a letter from and how the song saved his life, “I received a letter from a US teenager who had been disowned by his Christian parents. He’d just taken an overdose when Glad to Be Gay came on his college radio station. He put his fingers down his throat, threw up, and moved to San Francisco, where he was now living happily. It would have been worth writing the song for him alone (Simpson, Dave).” This was a song that brought everyone together no matter if they were straight or gay to sing together as one against discrimination and homophobia. This was during a time where homosexuals were being queer bashed and rejected by their families so political rock songs such as “Glad to be Gay” by the Tom Robinson band helped those feeling oppressed be strong.

David Bowie had an immense influence on the culture at the time and his coming out as bisexual in 1974 very much had an effect on the world. “The ambiguity attached to his sexuality served to make him only more alluring and desirable to the general public. In turn, sexual ambiguity and deviance itself become more desirable to the general public, which greatly aided gay activists in their fight for equality, whether Bowie intended to advance their cause or not (Ziggy Stardust…).”

Rod Stewart, even though he was a straight man, wrote a song that affected many “Though the death of Georgie conforms to an old stereotype of gay lives ending badly, the empathy in the song proved stirring to a generation of gay people starving for public portrayals of any kind. ‘I’ve had gay people thank me for the song many, many times,’ Stewart said. ‘Recently, the boyfriend of a big-time British Olympic champion came up to me and said he heard it when he was 17 and he said it gave him some identity and independence, which is wonderful (Farber).”

Abstract

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) youth experience bullying and are targeted with more intensity and frequency. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of existing studies or information regarding protective factors or risks for these youth. In this quantitative study, staff and faculty at Helix Charter High School in San Diego, California, were examined on their perceptions regarding Gay/Straight Alliance and the impact the club has on school climate and bullying. Gay Straight Alliance is known as “a student-run club in high school that brings together LGBTQ and straight students to support each other, provide a safe place to socialize, and create a platform for activism to fight homophobia and transphobia.” The study had 72 participants answer a 24-item, online survey that consisted of six areas including; Gay/Straight Alliances, Demographics, Bullying of LGBTQ Youth, LGBTQ Youth, Personal Experiences, and Closing. The findings of this study suggest that a majority of the participants lack a true understanding of the particular needs of LGBTQ youth, however, they are supportive of the Gay/Straight Alliance. In addition, the findings of this study suggest that although many participants felt confident about discussing LGBTQ issues in their classroom, 60% of them did not regularly do so. Future research might include expansion of the survey to other high schools in addition to surveying students to provide a side-by-side comparison of the student’s and faculty’s responses. (McGrath, 2013)

Introduction

Statement of the Problem

Our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) adolescents are viewed to be the most likely to suffer from discrimination and bullying and to be the most vulnerable population. The Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network suggests that Gay Straight Alliances have important benefits to our LGBTQ youth such as providing access to allies, providing a sense of belonging as well as a safer atmosphere. However, studies found that Gay Straight Alliances only exist in one sixth of all school districts. Gay Straight Alliance is known as “a student-run club in high school that brings together LGBTQ and straight students to support each other, provide a safe place to socialize, and create a platform for activism to fight homophobia and transphobia.” (McGrath, 2013)

Overview of Relevant Research (Literature Review)

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) youth are raised in a society that is distinguished by heterosexism and homophobia thus they are a population that is considered to be “at-risk”. As early as elementary school, LGBTQ youth believe that “being anything but heterosexual places them at risk for victimization and humiliation.” (McGrath, 2013) Due to several factors, there is little information to be found regarding LGBTQ youth. These factors include the difficulty in obtaining parental permission to carry out research, the difficulty in locating LGBTQ youth who have been willing to come “out” for research purposes, and the heterosexism that has prevented the expansion of knowledge by researchers. Moreover, there is existing research that portrays LGBTQ populations in a lens of deficit-based instead of a strengths-based perspective. Some research suggests that there are more risk factors than protective factors to report for LGBTQ youth. In fact, “LGBTQ youth scored significantly higher on the scale of depressive symptomatology. They were also more likely than heterosexual, non-transgendered youth to report suicidal ideation (30% vs. 6%) and self-harm (21% vs. 6%).” (McGrath, 2013) GLSEN, a group founded in 1990 advocating for LGBTQ students, developed and conducts a survey each year since 1999. Moreover, in 2005, GLSEN found that LGBTQ students were three times more likely as non-LGBTQ students to state that they did not feel safe at school. In addition, GLSEN found that 90% of LGBTQ students had been assaulted or harassed within the last year. (McGrath, 2013)

Research Questions and Hypotheses

To understand the impact Gay Straight Alliances can have on the climate of a high school and bullying, the study explored and examined the perceptions of staff and faculty at Helix Charter High School in San Diego, California. There is limited research and gaps in current findings. Therefore, this study attempts to further display the need for a clearer understanding of whether or not Gay Straight Alliances are perceived to have an impact on school climate and bullying, how to be more successful utilizing the alliance, and whether or not they are effective. (McGrath, 2013)

Methods

Participants

Participants were recruited from and within one school, Helix Charter High School. The inclusion criteria for each participant included: 1) being 18 years of age, 2) a staff or faculty member at Helix Charter High School, 3) speaking English. This sampling did not involve a random selection of participants, instead a non-probability availability sampling method was used. The final sampling size of this study included 72 Helix Charter High School staff and faculty members. The age range of participants was between 21 and 70-years-old. Just over 50% of the participants were between 30 and 49-years-old. Female participants made up 72% of the sample, while males were 28% of the sample. Moreover, 98% of the participants identified as straight and 3.8% as gay or other. Lastly, 94% of the participants hold a position at Helix Charter High School that requires them to supervise their students. (McGrath, 2013)

Instruments or Measures

The 24-item, online survey consisted of six sections including; Gay/Straight Alliances, Demographics, Bullying of LGBTQ Youth, LGBTQ Youth, Personal Experiences, and Closing. The survey used in the study took an average 15-20 minutes to complete. There were no standardized instruments that specifically matched to the particular study topic; therefore, the researcher developed all six sections of the survey. (McGrath, 2013)

Research Design

This is a quantitative study that used a cross-sectional design to receive more information on Gay Straight Alliances and the impact the club has on bullying and the school climate. Moreover, the study was descriptive and not intentionally designed to create connections or causality between variables. (McGrath, 2013)

Procedures

Prior to recruitment of participants at Helix Charter School, verbal and written permission was obtained from the executive director, Gay Straight Alliance liaison, and the social worker at the charter school. The Gay Straight Alliance liaison then presented the study during a staff meeting and provided flyers. In addition, the liaison provided a brief explanation of the study and provided the school staff directions to access the online survey through Survey Monkey along with a follow up and reminder email. The online survey was available to participants for 3 weeks. To look at the characteristics of the sample, the data from the survey was analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics. The data that was gathered created the characteristics through demographic data (nominal measurements) and remaining questions through the use of rating scales (ordinal measurements). Lastly, to organize the response into three qualitative questions, theme analysis was used. (McGrath, 2013)

References

1. American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
2. McGrath, Meghan E., “Perceptions: a quantitative look at the impacts of GSAs on bullying and overall school climate” (2013). Theses, Dissertations, and Projects. 625
3. Sheperis, C. J., Young, J. S., & Daniels, M. H. (2016). Counseling Research: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods. (2nd edition). Pearson.

The fight for equality…If we give up fighting for equality now, then people will continue to abuse minority groups while acting like nothing is wrong. But something is wrong. Very, very wrong. 80% of homophobic bullying occurs at school, affecting Australia’s youth and raising depression rates to three times the previous statistics. 11% of Australians may have a diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex. LGBT+ teens are five times more likely to attempt suicide, and transgender young adults are eleven times more likely. 61% of queer young people reported verbal abuse from family, peers, teachers, and even strangers, and the reported number of same-sex couples has tripled between 1996 and 2011.

Homosexuality is more common than it appears, and if you think you don’t know any gay people, it’s probably because they’re all in the closet, afraid of being abused. This issue only affects LGBT+ people. It has no impact on heterosexual cisgender people whatsoever. Think of it like this. Your sibling gets married. They are in love with their spouse, and their spouse is in love with them. Does that marriage have any impact on you? Does it hurt you in any way? Whether or not someone gets married is the choice of them and whomever they’re planning to marry. You have no right to get involved in their wedding unless they invite you to get involved.

For years, people who love the same gender have been persecuted, abused, kicked out of their homes, and abandoned. Now that Australia has legalized same-sex marriage, many people seem to think that just because marriage is legal, LGBT+ people have won their rights and can stop fighting. But if we look at statistics, the amount of sexuality-based abuse is still quite high.

But the Bible says that homosexuality is a sin! Well, no. The Bible was mistranslated from “Do not lie with a boy as one lies with a woman” to “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman”. So really, it’s against pedophiles. And even if it was correct, the Bible also said not to eat prawns, to gouge a man’s eyes out if he looks at a woman in an inappropriate way, and to stone any woman who requested a divorce. If we don’t follow those passages, why should we follow others?

In conclusion, I believe that gay rights are human rights, and even if you don’t like gay people, you still have to treat them like actual human beings, instead of objects to be walked over, mocked, insulted, fetishized, abused, and killed. But stereotyping people based on things they can’t control, like race, sexuality, gender, or appearance, is wrong. Very wrong.

Many long-time lgbtq+ advocates tell us how they are being asked this question. As the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage approaches. Homosexual behavior is illegal in some countries all over the world. The death penalty for gay behavior is still used in at least countries. Same-sex getting married is the standard of the world’s social history, a very rare experience. The Nation’s highest high court rejected a declaration to let same-sex marriage, hearing the case that indeed ‘the applicant doesn’t have a partner and therefore can’t claim to be a victim of existing laws’.Although same-sex marriage has been regulated by law, religious ideology, and custom in most countries around the world, legal and social responses have varied widely from commemoration to criminalization.

The media continues to report incidents in which gay, lesbian, and transgender people are humiliated in places. When people in their neighborhood mistreat lesbian and gay couples, they are forced to relocate. A growing number of organizations are legislating same-sex marriage amid a steady advance in rights for LGBTQ+ people, but opposition remains strong in many countries. However the global expansion of LGBTQ+ rights has been uneven, but human rights groups claim that these institutions have restricted enforcement power. When same-sex couples have the same legal right to marry as different-sex couples, a country is said to have marriage equality. Wherever there are restrictions on individuals’ human rights, expression, or assembly, there is an insistence on LGBT rights.’That same-sex marriage won’t work for us. We’re Catholics,’ Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said in a speech to the Filipino community in Burma. ‘And there’s the Civil Code, which says that a man can only marry a woman, even though we are a Catholic majority country, the Bible should never be taken literally to back claims of why sex marriage is not allowed. Also, Pope Francis, a priest, has previously suggested state-approved civil unions for same-sex relationships,’ the pope said in the 2020 documentary on his life, Francesco. ‘They are God’s children, and they have a right to a family.’ Nobody should be thrown out or made unhappy as a result of it. We are all equal, and same-sex couples should be entitled to the same benefits as heterosexual married couples. Furthermore, everyone strives for equality in all aspects of life, which, in my opinion, promotes peace and harmony.

In conclusion, I’d like to see positive change in this country, and I don’t see any harm in allowing people, particularly LGBTQIA++ people, to choose who they want to love and for the government to recognize their union. Most gay people are aware of their sexual orientation from an early age. It is not a disease; it is simply the way they are born. Grow up and stop passing judgment on others just to make your own life easier. I don’t think you’re against gay marriage because of the Bible. I believe it simply creeps you out, and you aren’t brave or have enough integrity to be honest about it, so you use religion as a cover. I’m not sure if God appreciates it, but I certainly don’t, and I don’t respect it. Simply look within yourself, be honest about why you oppose it, and recognize that whatever is bothering you is something you must deal with within yourself. Something creeping you out does not justify denying others their right.

We all associate marriages with ceremonies, dressing up, good food, and rituals, but what is the actual meaning of a marriage? Everyone has a different definition of this word. Since I grew up in India, marriage is just not the union of two people, instead, it is a union of two families. It is a lifelong commitment. Even today it is recognizable that men exercise more power than women in a marriage relationship. The essay elaborates it further.

In violent marriages, it has always been that men are the ones who are violent because they hold power whereas women are the ones who are abused in most cases and are considered less powerful. “He argues that our journey of Western patriarchy begins with seeing how it works and what it does to us, how we participate in it, and how we might choose differently. For example, in explaining the high levels of violence against women, Johnson argues that in a patriarchal system, women’s place is to help contain men’s resentment over being controlled by other men… men are allowed to dominate women as a kind of compensation for their being subordinated to other men because of social class, race or other forms of inequality”. (Denis 23) In Asian countries, marriages are mostly accompanied by transfers, in the form of money or expensive gifts between the families of the bride and the groom. This dowry practice has led to a reinforcement of stereotypes about male domination and female subordination in marriage.

Gender roles play an important role in marital satisfaction and it’s important that these gender roles should change to make marriage a success. I grew up in a country that follows traditional gender roles. The gender roles of men in a traditional society have associated with words such as “breadwinner”, “master of the house” etc. whereas women’s gender roles are all about “homemaker”, “mother”, “cook” etc. Such words for men are used because they are supposed to earn money and provide for the family. They are responsible for the financial security of the family, whereas women are supposed to stay at home, look after the house, and cook for the family and she is responsible for the upbringing of the children, basically, they have to do everything that pleases their man. “Women bore, suckled and raised children, while men had the time and opportunity to develop social institutions – including the family – through which they were able to appropriate power and control over women and children”. (Hamilton 18) Even if a woman does a full-time job she still has to do all the household chores along with her job outside her house, which means she has to do double work. Moreover, traditionally it could be seen that she always has to leave her career behind to raise her kids. Thus, the involvement of women in the economic workforce and public life has not been replaced by men’s involvement into domestic work. Women are expected to assume numerous responsibilities as wives, mothers, daughters, workers, etc. On the contrary, men are expected to assume only one role and that is of a breadwinner, with least obligations towards responsibilities. The more flexible the gender roles will be the more happiness it will create in a marriage. Thus, there should be a proper division of labor for marital happiness. Moreover, the stereotype of men as breadwinners has led to the prioritization of boys’ education whereas the stereotype of women as confined to the house and family has led to obstacles in their equal access to education. Gender stereotype has occurred in the social roles of men and women both at home and at work. There isn’t a proper division of labor, in the domestic sphere women are supposed to do the majority of the domestic routine work and at workplace women are mostly offered people oriented jobs rather than competitive jobs that can lead to growth in their careers.

Same-sex marriage is a really delicate topic in today’s world. Same-sex marriage occurs between two people that have the same gender. Everyone has their own views and beliefs about same-sex marriage’ or ‘gay marriage’. With time these beliefs are changing and they are becoming more complaisant towards such marriages but not everyone views these couples as normal. Marriage is a basic human right and a person’s individual choice, so the legal process shouldn’t interfere with it. When the same-sex marriage will be approved socially, that means the quality of life and health benefits will increase. “If gays are ready to get married and have children, the AIDS crisis must be over!”(MJ Kaufman and Katie Miles 78).

If you are widowed in India, then you merely exist in the shadows of the society, banished ignored, and miserable. Historically, inhuman traditions like ‘widow burning’ existed in India. Widowed women had to face a lot of discrimination. Though this ritual was stopped in India during British rule still practices such as a widow with no son had to marry her husband’s brother prevailed. “In India, early law codes provided that a widow with no son had to marry her husband’s brother, in order to produce a male child to carry on his lineage”. (Coontz 46). Marriage was merely a primary vehicle for transmitting status and property. In India, women were forced to marry men chosen by their parents. The concept of child marriage existed in ancient times in India. Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that somehow girls are inferior to boys. Moreover, marriage was used to safeguard the purity of girls as soon as they reached juvenescence because people placed a high premium on virginity. “But because women could bear a child with an impure bloodline, introducing a foreign interest into a family, their sexual behavior tended to be more strictly supervised and females were subject to severe penalties for adultery or pre-marital sex. The laws and moral codes of ancient states exhorted men to watch carefully over their wives lest the seed of others be sown on your soil”. (Coontz 46) one of the negative effects of this includes the low rate of women inheriting property. The traditional gender roles state that women will be married at a certain age and move to their new household and this leads to many women not getting property from their families which they have the right to inherit by law.

When I grew up, fathers were employed out of the home and mothers were the caretakers of the household but now things are different most of the women or mothers work. Therefore, the responsibilities and duties of the household should be shared and divided equally but they aren’t divided equally. So, to overcome this difficulty one should always remember that household chores have no gender. Whenever it comes to household responsibilities, we assign the tasks unconsciously in a very traditional way. The women have to do things like washing the dishes and mopping the floor whereas man has to do more physical activities such as mowing the lawn and changing the light bulbs. Use a rotating schedule, so that everyone tries to get their hand at everything. This will prove that there is no such thing as men’s work or women’s – “it’s just all work!” Stereotyped gender roles and the construction of femininity and masculinity are the main causes of gender-based violence in most parts of the world. To get rid of this gender-based violence it is crucial that we break the shackles of gender norms and stereotypes and promote nonviolent and equal gender relations between men, women, and non-binary persons. Such change could be facilitated through various measures, such as gender-responsive early childhood education, the integration of gender equality content into the curriculum at various levels of education and scientifically based and age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education, promoting equal sharing of responsibilities in unpaid care and domestic work, including through parental leave policies and flexible working arrangements; and dismantling discriminatory stereotypes in sexual and reproductive health. It’s not easy to challenge stereotypes, but society doesn’t change if you don’t start changing yourself first.”

This case study will argue that the Gay LIberation Front (GLF) between 1969 and 1973 challenged gay people to become known publicly and in society, as well as exploring the different ways they were oppressed by society. The GLF wanted to make a large change in society not just change how the legal system worked. This study will further examine other supporrting social movement organisations (SMO’s) as a form of their protest which significally contributed to the solution of their problems and spreading more awarness for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer+ (LGBTQ+) society. The repooritres and logics of action within the GLF and what solutions they came up with towards the problems faced will also be examined.Even though by the end of 1973 GLF had stopped being a group, their developments through the organisation has stayed alive. This is seen tfhrough vardious gay rights organisations that evolved in the 1980/90s which have the GLF’s devolpments as part of their work in their organsiations.

Context

The GLF has a very broad background which began in the USA. They represented gays, gay was a term for both gay and lesbians and tried to voice them to be visible and come out. The GLF evolved from the Stonewall Riots which was to do with a illegal but popular gay club. New York City police raided the stonewall inn, so as a consequence of this, the LGBT’s were fed up of the harassment and started a protest that lasted for five days. This created uprising for the LGBT society and a new revolutionary era. Even though the GLf could be seen as evolving from the Stonewall riots, the power and uprising of this movement might of arose from the rise of radicalism in the late 1960 towards gays.

This then became wider across other countries including the UK through a range of protests which started to occur. The GLF was firstly maid up of 19 people meeting in a basement in the London School of Economics. The GLF wanted to put together a group of men to join urban communites ‘Fort HILL FAGGOTS: We are creatuing a radicalized faggot community in Boston. Interested?’. These advertisements started appearing more and more in various magazines to advertise this social organization movement to everyone in the USA which then began to grow wider through protests into the UK.

The term gay was not accatable in schools, on the streets, anywhere. Children would get bullied and beaten up if they considered themselves as gay untill they have left school. The world health organisation seen being gay as a physical disease and a phycological disorsed. However ebing a lesbian was not illegal and was accepted compared to being gay which was in theory sexism. Therefore when the GLF came in to force it was their target to focus on reform of tolerance of gay people. This has dramatically changed nowadays and homophobia is not seen as abnormal as there is greater acceptance from society for gays but also the LGBTQ+ society. There is an idea of equality for everyone as before there was either lesbian or gay but now this society has broadened and there is a feeling for everyone of being the same as others.

Ideology and framing

The GLF had ideological differences to say the least. Those differences included a divide between the revolutionary ideologies, resistruibituce political ideologies and single interest politics. These differences mean that the group faced various inssues including whether or not to support black panther activites as well as facing disuptes of whether to include the transsexual and drag queens communtiy. As they did not include diversity within the organisation, it would be seen as a limitation to the GLF as their emphasis was to promote ‘unity through diversity’ This mean that many lesbains did not join the GLF and decided to join other lesbian organizations such as the Gay Women’s LIberation in San Francisco. However, by the end of the 1970s some lesbians decided to join the GLF in order to push more diversity within the community.

The GLF had many frameworks within their community. Firstly one of them was that ‘gay is good’, this was a great promotion for gays and let homosexuals find it appealing and let them join a community that represented equality for them. Gays identified themselves as people of equality and diversity. They weren’t afraid to show who they are are to be visible to everyone. However, everyone else saw gays as a disease and something that should not be allowed. The idea of the stonewall riots meant that the state did not want gays to evolve and wanted to stop this process from uprising and not given any support towards it by throwing riots and giving harassment to those people. However, the riots did fail which meant that the GLF was formed and many people started to join to help this organisation evolve and spread awareness of the word and show the visibility of gays.

Seuxal liberation was the second framing of the GLF. They believed that everyone should be more aware of diversity and that social institutions should not only believe in defining sexual roles. In order for this the GLf wanted to transform the idea of a nuclear family and make it more broad without the biological ideas to it. This meant that gays could come out and share who they are and what their families are to everyone including social institutions. This meant that the GLf could explore the oppression that society puts on them and find solutions for it.

Heterosexism which is ofcourse homophobia. GLF challenged homophobia through their organization, by simply making this organization they contribute to stepping up to others and openly sharing who they are. Their message was “innovate, don’t assimilate”, this clearly states that they wanted to create a new sexual democracy for their people, they wanted to end homophobia as well as racism, class privilege and misogyny.

External sources of oppression was not located solely in the state. Instead the movement targeted dominant culrute as a location of sexual repression, discrimination, hostitlity and invisibility.

Forms of action

The GLF have used various different forms of action in order for them to show their invisibility and the state oppression towards them. The repertoires of action was given by Porto and Diani(2006) will be used to understand this. Firstly is the logic of damage which is trying to get attention from the media, through material effects of damaging property for example costs. Trying to convince not just the general public but also the opponents. The GLF did not cause damage or material damage to things in order to get media’s attention so this repertoire of action would not apply to this organisation. This would suggest that even though they are passionate about their organisation they do not want to cause physical damage to properties and avoid any costs or any harm to people which suggest that they are thinking about others too.

The second is the logic of numbers which means the more numbers there are the more effective, the more people the better. This means that there will be more publicity, and therefore, good media coverage. Logic of numbers was key to the GLF because their organisation started growing and growing. Also in the stonewall riot after several nights the crown would return in increasing numbers and handing out leaflets to promote themselves and fight for the equality of the gay community. However the logic of numbers was not just through people joining their organisations but also other organisations for gays and the LGBTQ+ community which started to evolve. This meant that many people were backing this movement.

Lastly is the logic of bearing witness which shows the seriousness of an issue for example putting life and liberty at risk, this demonstrates a strong objective. This was present throughout the organisation as they were all strongly committed towards their goals and managed to seek their goals as we can see in today’s world were gays, lesbian and the LGBTQ+ community are now accepted by the vast majority of people. Also, once again in the stonewall riots the organisation was ready to fight and help free people which meant they were risking their lives by risking of being arrested by the police.

Forms of organisation

The GLF doesn’t many a formal form of organisation as it only lasted a few years. Even though many other SMO’s have supported it thoiughout and it has developed the gay community and encouragd gays to come out, as well as making the lgbtq+ society more apprarent it does not have a formal organsation.

Allies/adversaries

The gay liberation front was supported throguout it’s years through various other social movement organsiations (SMO’s) and groups such as the lgbtq+ community but also from other similar SMO’s. This included queer movements which was developed by aid activism, queer identity and queer theory. This started to break down the barriers that had been put up in the lgbtq+ movement as well as including transgender in things like the London pride banner in 1996. As well as this other SMO’s such as women’s liberation movement, the black panther party and the new left meant that the GLF was supported through other wider organisations.

The women’s liberatin movement means the GLF were supported by women through a differemt women and feminist organisations that started near the 1970s and continued into the 1980s. Though this movement the GLF found they orientated towards a community unionism. These women did not simply want to receive legal equality, those participating in the movement believed that the moral and social climate which perceived women as second-class citizens needed to change. This meant that they were challenging patriarchy and the line between men and women of society. This caused women to have a definition by society of being in the lower hierarchy in the public. Liberationists believed that women should be free to define their own individual identity as part of human society.(reference) Even though GLF had its own struggles it relied on many organisations mainly feminist ones and the feminist movement.

They also relied on the Black Panther Party. This SMO tried to uphold a male-dominated image that often contradicted the fact that even though how much violence they have recied from the police tfhey did keep tfhe part in tackt. The Panthers had many branches: a social-services wing, providing breakfasts and a literacy program for poor black kids; a publishing and propaganda branch to publish Panther papers and manifestos; a military branch that planned armed rebellions against the police and the U.S. government; and a political branch that organized conferences and meetings. It is difficult to imagine in this time of social networking and, too often, cosmetics-deep “celebrity” politics, any organization as dedicated to complete rebellion as the Panthers, or for that matter the Gay Liberation Front.

The New Left was also a movement which was an allie for the GLF. It was mainly in between the 1960s and 70s which cosnisted of campaigning for a range of social issues such as civil and political rights, feminism, gay rights, abortion rights, gender roles and drug policy reforms. This is way the GLF was prone to this organisation as it was very versatile.

The ones who self-identified as New Left refused to participate with the labor movement and Marxism’s historical theory of class struggle. However, others were more attracted to their own takes on established forms of Marxism, such as the New Communist movement in the United States which included freedom of speech.

Adversaries

Although there were successes in the 1970s, there was also adversaries which the GLF faces which was the beginning of an antigay backlash. Dade County Commissioners passed a local nondiscrimination law whicch included protections for discrimination based on ‘sexual preference,’ this caused the first antigay backlash and various discussions around tfhe nation about gay rights. This referendum in 1977 was the beginning of the first wave of antigay activism, a series of referendum campaigns that spread to cities across the country Anita Bryant was a former Miss America contestant and spokesperson for Florida orange juice. Bryant had a campaign were she tried to persuade voters who were concerned with religious rights and the influence on children, that all gay men were pedophiles and looking to recruit children. .

The antigay and antifeminist led to the entry of evangelicals into the public life, creating a agressive countermoevemtn in the form of the Religious Right that would fight with the gay and lesbian movement for several decades. In the mid-1970s, these organized antigay activism developed from small local social networks into many christain churches, radio and television shows. This became a massive adversarie for the GLF as it meant that as it developed it grew wider and wider, which meant it became more public rather than private.

State responses

The main state response to the GLF was repressive. Repression can be defined as a process carried to eliminate unwanted rebellious actions by restraining collective action and providing fewer benefits for their forms of action (Boykoff, 2007). The specific repressive measures applied against GLF can be understood in terms of Boykoff’s model which identifies four main mechanisms of repression; resource depletion, stigmatisation, diverse disruption and intimidation.

Emergent of HIV/AIDS were viewed as a gay plague. This brought gay politics out of its commercialisation and back to into community activism. The news attempted to say sex is a bad thing and that the gay identity was so called dangerous group of people. However evem though this backlash happened the gay people reacted by saying to care and love each other and produce safer sex guides and turn this into something positive. This caused resource depletion and divisive disruption. This was demonstrated by Butler who sees how there is no essence to sexuality, no biological essence to gender, so it problematizes all fixed identities. Especially the ‘drag’ bringing it to public attention.

The use of intimidation by the state caused huge diverse disruption amongst the GLF. as the police were on the move this meant that they were occupying villages all over england in order to isolate gays. As well as the use of direct violence for example the stonewall riots, happening because of the police. Intimidation through the police created exasperation for the GLF movement and others participating or part of this organisation. This intimidation through the pushback of the police caused punishdment to be a rfegular thing for the gay commuity. This meant that policing, punishment and crime was a very important part in the idea of sexuality.

Diverse disruption

The stigmatisation of the GLF caused by the state meant that they were receiving less support through public and private sectors due to the media influence. Howveer ever thought, the biggest higlht of the mass media ingluence was the uprising of gay riots, there was a lot of discrimination and offense from the public and police. There were many news stories portraying the movement in pessimistic ways, such as reported (The Washington Post) the quote “She sat there with her legs crossed, the lashes of her mascara-coated eyes beating like the wings of a hummingbird. She was angry. She was so upset she hadn’t bothered to shave. A day old stubble was beginning to push through the pancake makeup. She was a he. A queen of Christopher Street.” Nowadays there is growing understanding of the difference between transgender women,and gay rigfhts but before it was unacctable. The most significant thing about stonewall riots is that they created the GLF and stood up to those who did not accept it even though it caused a lot of disturbance and offence. The next year, with other groups including the Gay Activists Alliance, the GLF organized the first pride march on the anniversary of the riots.