Gay liberation

Gay liberation is a movement that emerged in the late 1960s to challenge the criminalization, stigma, and social exclusion of gay people.

Stonewall riots: A series of confrontations between police and patrons of the Stonewall Inn in New York City in June 1969. The uprising became a catalyst and enduring symbol for the movement.
Gay pride: An affirmation of gay identity that rejects shame and supports public visibility and self-acceptance. Pride turned rejection of stigma into a public political practice.
Sylvia Rivera: A Latina transgender activist who fought for the rights of poor and homeless queer people in New York City. Rivera connected liberation politics to the exclusion faced by transgender and poor people.
Gay rights movement: A broad movement seeking equal legal and social rights for gay people. The rights framework often emphasized legal inclusion more than liberation’s wider social transformation.
Pride parade: A public procession celebrating LGBTQ identities and advocating for equal rights. Annual marches carried liberation’s demand for visibility into public streets.
Homophile movement: A mid-twentieth-century movement that sought acceptance and legal rights for homosexual people, often through cautious public advocacy. Gay liberation grew from, and often rejected the strategies of, earlier homophile groups.
Coming out: The process of disclosing or acknowledging one’s sexual orientation to oneself or others. Activists treated openness as a way to challenge invisibility and prejudice.
Marsha P. Johnson: A Black transgender activist and drag performer who helped build support for homeless LGBTQ youth in New York City. Johnson’s activism embodied the movement’s grassroots community work.
Assimilationism: A strategy that seeks acceptance by adopting the norms of a dominant group. Many liberation activists rejected respectability and conformity as conditions for freedom.
LGBTQ community: People connected by diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and shared histories of marginalization and advocacy. Gay liberation helped foster institutions and identities within a wider community.

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