In the 21st century, Canada is in the forefront of LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) rights in the world. Struggles over the last twenty years centred on equality rights such as same sex marriage and homosexual practices have instilled new understandings of policy change and drive for improvements in social institutions of legal recognition and protection of LGBT citizens. In Toronto specifically, LGBT zones have become increasingly visible and popular with the success of civil right movements advocating equality, prohibition of discrimination, and rights to operating LGBT commercial spaces. This trend resulted in several changes within the city giving rise to a booming market in regard to tourism and new ideas of recognizing LGBT …show more content…
Events such as Pride Week and commercialization of gay/lesbian bars, baths, and nude beaches have flourished and expanded as a result of ostensibly support from the government and police officials claiming to promoting the city as cosmopolitan and multicultural place within the globalized world. In spite of the city promoting itself as a major global centre of LGBT community life, governance of spaces and urban politics have revealed alternative desideratum of the government in seeking to neutralize individual transgressiveness of queer identities by assimilating them into the hegemonic state, promoting a peaceful, white-collar, well-behaved gay/lesbian community (Bain, 2007: 17). Stemming from bathhouse raids to security of LGBT events in self-policing and commercializing of specify zones, shifts to neoliberalism give rise to a new relationship between LGBT communities, non-LGBT individuals, the market, and the state. In this paper, I argue …show more content…
The Bijou, a gay men’s pro theatre, The Barn, a gay men’s club, and several other bathhouses were all raided preceding the raid on the “Pussy Palace” bathhouse (Bain, 2007: 24). These establishments are all similar in which they provide asylums for various LGBT communities across the city but also challenges hegemonic notions of traditional gendered practices and identities. When put on to the spotlight, I argue, that these business were perceived by the city and police as “dark areas” of city, promoting sexual deviance and illegal practices. These societies were certainly not areas where family tourists could bring their kids in comparison to the centre of Pride Week such as Church and Wellesley village in downtown Toronto. In contrast to day-time clothing shops, museums, and parks where one could see brightly coloured rainbow flags and cheerful homosexual couples holding hands walking down the street of Church and Wellesley, bathhouse events, specifically the “Pussy Palace” is held during the night, in shady, downtown, entertainment sectors of downtown Toronto, promoting perverse, kinky, and devious activity such as sexual practices in closed doors. Rather then attracting tourists and citizens of Toronto, I argue, that perceptions of
Historian David Carter, provides an intriguing in-depth look into the historical impact of the Stonewall Riots in Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution. This engaging book adds to the genre of sexual orientation discrimination. Carter extensively analyzes the various factors that played a role in igniting the Stonewall riots and the historical impact that the riots had on the Gay Revolution and movement for gay equality. Through the use of interviews, newspapers, and maps, Carter argues that the riots were a product of many geographical, social, political, and cultural factors. Carter further argues that the riots ultimately led to the forming of the Gay Revolution and caused sexual orientation to be a protected category in the growing movement for civil rights. Carter’s book provides a well-structured argument, supported mainly by primary evidence, into the different factors that contributed to the riots as well as a detailed account of the events that transpired during the riots and the political attitudes towards homosexuality in America during this time.
...e social changes brought about this period. He cites the growing sensationalism of sex covered in the media as a prime driver behind the sexual orthodoxy in American culture (Chauncey 1994, 359). During this witch hunt, he draws a silver lining. Using the scholarship of others such as John D’Emilio, he cites that this period brought a greater bond to the gay community by forging brotherhood of adversity which would then come back into play in the 1960’s as an experiential touchstone for the Civil Rights era (Chauncey 1994, 360). Chauncey nestles his own narrative of the gay community in New York within the larger narrative of gay life in America filling in the gaps of secondary sources through his own primary work.
In relation to how sexual minorities like lesbians are marginalized by the power elite in society, Judith Butler explains the politicization of sexuality through the performance of sexual identity by constantly rearticulating and re-establishing heterosexuality as the norm. Ironically, the term “heterosexual” cannot claim authority as ...
The media considers the1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City the spark of the modern gay rights movement. This occurred after the police raided the Stonewall bar, a popular gay bar in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. Allyn argues that the new energy and militancy generated by the riot played a crucial role in creating the gay liberation movement. Arguably, the Stonewall Riots have come to resemble the pivotal moment in gay rights history largely because it provided ways for the gay community to resist the social norms. In fact, the riots increased public awareness of gay rights activism (Allyn 157). Gay life after the Stonewall riots, however, was just as varied and complex as it was before. In the following era, ho...
The focus of the book helps understand the true importance of books like Gay New York, Coming Out Under Fire, and Men Like That by explaining the progress made in the United States regarding the acceptance of the gay community into society. Consisting of six chapters that cover many issues regarding the government, including the military, welfare, and immigration. Much like in Coming Out Under Fire, Canaday points out issues gay men and women faced following World War II. From the mid-1940s into the late 1960s, the state crafted tools to overtly target homosexuality (Canaday, 2009). Policies were enacted that explicitly used homosexuality to define who could serve in the military (Canaday, 2009). Much has changed since then, considering the infamous “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was repealed. Canaday’s main argument in the book is that sexual citizenship was built into the federal bureaucracy as it was being created, and this needs to be more attended to by historians (Canaday, 2009). According to Canaday, the foundations of sexual citizenship are the reason the United States has such an issue with securing universal gay rights. Issues in the South are also addressed, much like in Men Like That. Religion and the power it has in the country limits many initiatives that support gay
The Stonewall riots opened the doors to the rise and fall of numerous different homosexual actions groups. The differences in the groups were like night and day and the theories behind them changed with the times. In the 1990’s a group made its debut by coming out strong and forceful. Their handbook stated, “We need you. Because we are not waiting for the rapture. We are the apocalypse.” This became part of a dyke manifesto. A manifesto that changed lesbian views, a manifesto that brought with it a ‘fierce lesbian movement’, it brought confrontation to lesbian politics. They proudly announce their slogan “We are the Lesbian Avengers and We Recruit!”
Prior to the 1970’s, members of the LGBTQ community, and especially those who also identified as people of color, were forced to stay silent despite constant discrimination because of their minority statuses. They did not have a voice or means to speak out against the oppression. During the 1960’s, the few safe spaces established for QPOC in urban communities had disappeared, since this particular era was being overshadowed by the Civ...
In every walk of life, people seek refuge from the judgmental perception of their contemporaries. Thus, many people live in secrecy. For them, secrecy is an absolute necessity in dodging undesired scrutiny and maintaining normalcy in public. When it comes to gender and the expression of it, lines are often blurred. While some hide, others brazenly parade their sexuality in public and their alternative perspectives on gender roles. In “The Bowery as Haven and Spectacle” from Gay New York, by George Chauncey, explores the emergence of the Bowery “fairy” bars, and how they became a sanctuary for the queer and working-class of New York City. He discusses in great length the tension that arises between the middle-class and working-class, the bars as a spectacle and a place to be entertained, the solicitation of sex work, and the makings of gay culture in the bar scene. The lines of gender were blurred when men took up cross dressing and the mannerisms normally associated with women. On the other hand, Merril Mushroom, writer of "How to Engage in Courting Rituals 1950's Butch-Style in the Bar", complies a laundry list of rules for butch lesbians on methods of attracting other women. Here, females cross gender boundaries and take on masculine personas. With this said, both pieces show the development of alternative gender identities. However, this switch in gender roles seldom occur outside the bar scene. Despite the semi-public gender blurring, those who identify with this lifestyle still feel the need to express themselves in an environment most accommodating to their blatant disregard of gender norms. The aforementioned pieces answer questions in regards to why one must live in secrecy, and how this secrecy gives way to the developme...
Tatchell, Peter (1992). Europe in the Pink: Lesbian and Gay Equality in the New Europe. London: GMP.
As New York City was waking up on Saturday, June 28, 1969, the New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. The raid led to riots and protests that lasted several days. Such police harassment was hardly uncommon at the time, but this particular raid proved to be the last straw. What could have been a quickly forgotten brawl instead became “the beginning of the modern struggle for gay civil rights” (Teal). The Stonewall Riots pushed the gay rights movement to the forefront of hot-button topics in the United States, where it has remained ever since (Teal).
While attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a journalism student, Mr. Landon noticed a lack of night life venues catering to students and triangle area residents identifying as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and Queer (LGBTQ). “As a self-identified homosexual, it frustrated me that there weren’t any LGBTQ clubs in Chapel Hill. Despite having a large LGBTQ population there was nowhere for us to go out at night and party in an atmosphere that was acceptive; so I decided to do something about it” (Landon). However, as a student, Mr. Landon lacked the financial capital and the time needed to start his own LGBTQ nightclub in Chapel Hill. What was feasible for Mr. Landon, though, were takeover nights at typically straight bars in Chapel Hill. Takeover nights are when a club allows a third party to use their location and services to host themed parties which are atypical to what the club normally offers. This led to the incorporation of Jermaine Landon Events, which would be dedicated to providing LGBTQ club and bar nights for those who identify as LGBTQ and their allies.
In the face of a homophobic society we need creative and critical processes that draw out the complexity of lesbian lives and same sex choices, not a retreat into the comforting myths of heroines and unfractured, impeachable identities
Throughout Western civilization, culturally hegemonic views on gender and sexuality have upheld a rigid and monolithic societal structure, resulting in the marginalization and dehumanization of millions of individuals who differ from the expected norm. Whether they are ridiculed as freaks, persecuted as blasphemers, or discriminated as sub-human, these individuals have been historically treated as invisible and pushed into vulnerable positions, resulting in cycles of poverty and oppression that remain prevalent even in modern times. Today, while many of these individuals are not publicly displayed as freaks or persecuted under Western law, women, queer, and intersexed persons within our society still nonetheless find themselves under constant
When one hears the words “LGBT” and “Homosexuality” it often conjures up a mental picture of people fighting for their rights, which were unjustly taken away or even the social emergence of gay culture in the world in the1980s and the discovery of AIDS. However, many people do not know that the history of LGBT people stretches as far back in humanity’s history, and continues in this day and age. Nevertheless, the LGBT community today faces much discrimination and adversity. Many think the problem lies within society itself, and often enough that may be the case. Society holds preconceptions and prejudice of the LGBT community, though not always due to actual hatred of the LGBT community, but rather through lack of knowledge and poor media portrayal.
According to Lawrence (n.d.) adult LGBT community has a potential spending power of over $600 billion per year. As a result, gay people are perceived as a ‘dream market’, with the mind of the general public being more open and growing in the acceptance of gay lifestyles, this market will bound to become more desired (Hughes, Monterrubio, & Miller, 2010). Therefore, more tourists’ agents are showing interest due to its obvious economic benefits,...