Gay rights

History of Gay Rights History of Gay Rights Gender-related issues are constantly present through the of human history. In recent years, gay rights and homosexuality had been in public spotlight. One of the main questions in terms of the study of gay rights is the origin of the movement aiming for equal legal, political and social rights for the gay people.
According to Andryszewski in the book entitled Gay Rights, the movement to promote gay rights did not happen in a single night. It is a long process since it can be considered to be present even in the earlier part of the human history (2000). The main difference most probably is the treatment of the society towards the issue specifically since through the course of the movement’s history it had evolved in stages of prohibition, being trivial, being hated and being accepted and even legal (Andryszewski, 2000). Prior to openly promoting and fighting for gay rights, the gay people are also active promoting and fighting for other related civil issues. It can then be considered that their own situations inspired them (Clendinen & Nagourney, 2013).
Based on another author, there are already initiatives toward gay civil rights fifty years before it had been given attention in the United States. The Scientific Humanitarian Committee which is considered as the forerunner of the rights of gay people was established in Germany with the visions of actively promoting gay civil rights, abolition of laws against gay people and information dissemination and education regarding gay people. It was then suppressed and halted during the period of the Nazis. In 1950, the Mattachine Society started the move in the United States although in 1924 the Society for Human Rights was established by Henry Gerber and in 1940 the Veterans Benevolent Association was established in New York City (Marcus, 2009).
One of the most evident rise of the gay rights movement occurred in the middle of 1960s through the Stonewall event following the trend for the black civil right movement. The said group focused on ceasing the homosexual discrimination. It can be considered that during that year, there had been an epiphany and the gay population cannot wait to stand their ground and achieve their own rights. In the 70s, different institutions and mainstream organizations supported the fight by being against all forms of discriminations targeting the gay men and lesbians. Through the year 1969-70, gay liberation or “ gay pride” became a highly popular and talked about social concept with active appearances in all forms of media and activities (Andryszewski, 2000). Another important milestone is the expression and use of the term homosexual even in different forms of media which can be considered as a commitment to the promotion of gay rights. One example is the book by Donald Webster Cory entitled Homosexual in America (Clendinen & Nagourney, 2013).
From the 60s, there is a continuous rise in the acceptance of the gay population. One example is the signing of gay rights ordinance in April 1978 by San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk. But it was not a smooth endeavor since they were assassinated the same year (Andryszewski, 2000). From this period to the present time, it can be considered that major changes can be observed. Gay people can be observed to excel and be accepted in different professions and marriage between homosexuals is allowed in a lot of state and even countries. Although antagonism can be considered inevitable, as that of any civic and gender issues, progress in relation to gay civil rights had been monumental.
References
Andryszewski, T. (2000). Gay Rights. Twenty-First Century Books.
Clendinen, D. and Nagourney, A. (2013). Out For Good: The Struggle to Build a Gay Rights Movement in Ame. Simon and Schuster.
Marcus, E. (2009). Making Gay History. HarperCollins.