The LGBT + Community: A Sociological Analysis

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With every coming year, a new set of laws is brought to the American people to vote on what they deem is fit for society to live by. Despite a rich history of blocking gay rights, on June 26th, 2015, same sex marriage was in all fifty states, bringing great controversy, but also great joy. Within the last twenty years, the LGBT+ community has seen great strides socially and have seen great changes at a federal level. However, these changes didn’t occur overnight. The LGBT+ community has challenged the societal perception of those that fall beyond the heterosexual cisgender realm through movements and the work of inspirational leaders. The resistance to these changes can be traced back to the five institutes, and how they related to the 1950s …show more content…

But despite the attempts to keep the LGBT+ community under the thumb of the dominant perception of the moral and immoral, the community did take a stand.
From the creation of The Society for Human Rights and the Mattachine Society, both groups created to strive to improve the lives of the alienated queer community, to the three day riot in Stonewall, which had followed a raid on a gay club, to Harvey Milk’s campaign for San Francisco Board of Supervisors (Milk Foundation, PBS, Leadership Conference) the LGBT+ fought valiantly for their rights as …show more content…

by becoming the first openly gay male politician (MilkFoundation, PBS). Through his work, he was able to battle John Briggs’ proposition to remove gay teachers from schools in California, introduced a gay rights ordinance to serve as protection for the queer community in San Francisco, as well as offer inspirational speeches for those around the country living in fear (MilkFoundation). Some notable quotes include, “Gay people, we will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets. … We are coming out to fight the lies, the myths, the distortions. We are coming out to tell the truths about gays” and more simply, “You must come out” (MilkFoundation). His activism inspired other leaders to take stands and encourage change within the society. Numerous marches within San Francisco and across the country followed his assassination in 1977 (PBS) once again bringing more attention to the problems facing the queer community. Today, politicians reflect the needs and desires of the masses, and as a result including gay rights into their platforms. Presidential candidates like Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein have made it a point to ensure their voters that they will continue to support the queer community (On The

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