SOSC 2350 Lecture Notes - Lgbt Social Movements, The Fruit Machine, Padded Cell
26 Feb 2013
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SOSC 2350 Note 18
Movie about Gay Rights – Stand Together
- There’s no room for the state in the bedroom of the nation
- Gays were a big part of the youth culture, as opposed to most traditional
protests of older
o They were younger so they didn’t have much to lose.
- Most people didn’t know that gay rights would be achieved so quickly
through protest
- In Canada, there were similar quite campaigns because the government
didn’t want to engage in risks
o Homosexuals were risks because they have something to hide and are
therefore dangerous to governments
o Therefore, there was a national security campaign that tried to
blackmail gays into giving up other gays.
- The government tried to find or presume gays – it was however hard to find
gays.
o The RCMP was out of record in terms of procedures and guidance and
what the police tried to do, there was limited knowledge of what was
going on
- In 1958-9 homosexuality was a bigger concern in Canada in terms of security
than communism
- Thousands of people lost their jobs in the military and social service, as well
as demotions and ending careers due to homosexuality.
- The RCMP developed a research project to detect gays amongst civil service
o It proceeded in secrecy– The fruit machine
It was a psychological test – list of words and questionnaires
used to identify gays
Pupillary response depending on how the subject responded to
images on projectors
The project was harder to establish than expected
- In Ottawa they would do park-sweeps where homosexuals met up.
- The RCMP kept a map of Ottawa where homosexual activity was found, and
was marked with red dots
- David Stutsman was in Ottawa used to go to a tavern (a bar near a hotel).
o The RCMP followed him indiscreetly.
o Being followed didn’t bother him, but the interrogation got to him –
they wanted to interview him on matters of national security.
o The first interview wasn’t bad, but on another occasion they took him
to a padded cell.
o By this point in time there was enough group solidarity in gays and
would turn to individuals and snap pictures
The undercover agents got a feeling that gays weren’t scared of
them.
o There was a report where some gays demonstrated their
homosexuality at any opportunity – there were certain lesbian crimes
as a common cause
- The gays were always aware that they were under surveillance.
- In a free country, they took it for granted that the police would be there,
constantly watching them – for their protection.
- There was a demonstration where there were several hundred individuals
who stood up with gay slogans
o The majority of demonstrators then dispersed for a beer, not being
aware that most of them would be fired.
- There were attempts to identify key individuals to silence the gay movement.
- The government used national security as an excuse to hide behind their
hatred and fear of homosexuality.
o If you were on display then you embraced your possibility of
blackmailing the government
o However, if you were in hiding, then you were also possibly
blackmailing them
o Either way, the government had a win-win situation.
- All homosexual activity made people vulnerable and characterized to have a
risk
- In 1971 August homosexuals made a demonstration from all over the
country – this was the first major demonstration of lesbian and gay pride and
demonstration.
o Homosexuals have been assaulted on the streets for no reason – what
did they do to deserve it?
o The organizers had a list of demands that included human rights, civil
rights, immigration, no longer being considered national security
risks, that have taken a long time to be met
Some of them have only been recent.
o This led to a very partial decriminalization over homosexuality
o The list of demands was developed to remind homosexuals that they
still had some rights in Canada
- They had 30-40 couples that would go to specific societies and find people to
transform and inform them in universities to acknowledge the presence of
homosexuals.
- Homosexuals tried to recruit most of Canadian society to their cause
- Two men who were part of an alternative education published an article
about homophobia
o It depicted two gay men kissing in a public area, and being arrested by
the police.
- Some people still thought that homosexuality was disgusting – they even
thought that homosexuals should be arrested for their conduct.
- There weren’t many gay bars or clubs in Toronto causing people to being
very secluded and forced into the closet
- One of the objectives of the gays were to reach other gays to let them know
that they weren’t alone.
- The gay community would write letters to editors and kept their gay-line
working
Document Summary
There"s no room for the state in the bedroom of the nation. Gays were a big part of the youth culture, as opposed to most traditional protests of older: they were younger so they didn"t have much to lose. Most people didn"t know that gay rights would be achieved so quickly through protest. In 1958-9 homosexuality was a bigger concern in canada in terms of security than communism. Thousands of people lost their jobs in the military and social service, as well as demotions and ending careers due to homosexuality. The rcmp developed a research project to detect gays amongst civil service: it proceeded in secrecy the fruit machine. It was a psychological test list of words and questionnaires used to identify gays. Pupillary response depending on how the subject responded to images on projectors. The project was harder to establish than expected. In ottawa they would do park-sweeps where homosexuals met up.
