Arts and Humanities 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Lowkey, Blood Transfusion, Act Up
24 Mar 2018
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Few places to be openly gay: laws against homosexuality in public. Police raids were standard at gay bars, and crowds generally dispersed. Stonewall inn saw a group of gay and trans (drag queens and crossdressers, per the language of the era) customers take a stand. Led to the formation of various advocacy groups, pride parades, and the gay civil rights movements. Stonewall legacy is often white-washed (i. e. 2015 film stonewall ) Club-goers were majority black and latina/o, including trans women of colour. Marsha p. johnson and sylvia rivera who are credited with really starting the riots. Bathhouses offered a space for men many of whom were not out to meet for sex and intimacy; also offered spaces in which gay male culture and queer political organizing could occur. Police raids of gay-frequented locations common in toronto in the late 1970s; Feb 5, 1981 undercover officers initiated a coordinated and violent raid on 4 bathhouses.
