Standing up to the authorities, marching, chanting, using different mediums of art to voice displeasure, and riots make an impact. Marginalized groups have long carried out protests in the face of frustration and anger. Check out this article to learn more about Kay and Barbara, and their long fight for LGBTQ+ rights.įamous LGBTQ+ Protests and Demonstrations Throughout the Years Together their fight for LGBTQ+ equality etched a permanent mark on LGBTQ storytelling in the world. Considered the first out photojournalist, Kay worked with her life partner Barbara Gittings, who is considered the mother of the gay rights movement in the USA. Photojournalist Kay Tobin Lahusen captured queer history at an unbelievable magnitude, and her contributions can’t be understated. The historical importance of documenting LGBTQ+ rights is vital.
Editorial Image by Everett Collection / Shutterstock. Gay rights demonstration at the Democratic National Convention New York City on July 11 1976. Trans women and drag queens resisted an attempted arrest, as cross-dressing was illegal at the time, and patrons pelted the authorities with donuts and coffee to give the detainees a chance to escape. Cooper’s Do-nuts Riot of 1 959 in Los Angeles was one of the first queer demonstrations in modern history. The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), the first lesbian civil and political rights organization in the United States, was established in 1955 by Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon. The LGBTQ community, battling police harassment on a daily basis, also began to take a stand in the name of their rights. Toward the latter end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, demonstrations became the norm for protesters against the Vietnam War and for civil rights in the Black community. These organizations also existed during when various scientific fields and the United States government considered homosexuality a disease. The Society for Human Rights, formed in 1924, and the Mattachine Society, formed in 1950, were among the earliest societies created to promote gay rights and decry discrimination brought on by mainstream society. While the 1969 Stonewall riots were a major turning point in the fight for LGBTQ rights, organizations dedicated to promoting rights within the community began as far back as the 1920s. How the Fight for LGBTQ Rights Movement Began Editorial Image by Photofusion / Shutterstock. Women’s Liberation and Gay Liberation in London, 1971. In a time when protesting and demonstrating for beloved causes and awareness is common, let’s take a look back at some of the numerous public displays of activism held in the name of LGBTQ equality over the last six decades. Realizing this boggles the mind when one also realizes equality for the community has only just started to fall in place on a governmental level in the 2010s. Men, women, transgender, and nonbinary persons have fought for the last sixty years to be seen and treated just as straight, cisgender men and women. Editorial image by Photofusion/ Shutterstock. Only just this month (yes, in 2020) were LGBTQ employees granted rights of protection against discrimination in the workplace.
The United Nations Human Rights Council only recognized rights for the LGBTQ community in 2011, and same-sex marriage wasn’t legal until 2015. The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act” wasn’t passed until 2010.
The 21st century, however, hasn’t ushered away the feelings of inequality still commonly felt by the LGBTQ community. Attendees and participants revel in the joy of being unapologetically queer in a public space while also remembering the fight to do in decades past. Pride parades are a staple of the celebratory month in cities across the globe ever since the first gathering in New York in 1970. June is Pride Month in many countries around the world, a time to reflect on the feelings of joy and liberation that run concurrently with the feelings of unstoppable determination within the LGBTQ community. This article has been approved by Prism, a Shutterstock ERG (Employee Resource Group) committed to creating a supportive, diverse, and inclusive company culture for LGBTQ+ people globally. Take a walk through the history of the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement and discover the powerful editorial imagery that documented these moments in history.