The Revolution of Gender Diversity - Research Paper Example

Sociology Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Social and Cultural Contexts of the Gay Movement III. Dissent Grievances That Were Legitimate IV. Actions Taken V. Present Significance VI. Comparison and Contrast with the Feminist Movement, Anti-Segregation Movement Works Cited 1 I. Introduction 2 The gender revolution is one that is characterized not just by the feminist movement, but also by the beginnings of the gay movement and the gradual evolution of the voice of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and those others who define their gender outside of the mainstream heterosexual dichotomies of men and women. The book discusses Duberman’s account of what has come to be known as the Stonewall Inn riots, and how that gave birth to the gay movement in America. This landmark historical event, together with Allen Ginsberg’s ‘America’, form part of what for this paper are jump off points into an exploration into the historical background of the gay movement and the significance of the gay movement at present, and into an exercise in comparing and contrasting the gay movement with the feminist movement and the Black movement in protest of segregation based on race. These comparisons are made, even as literature also exists that posit the movement for religious tolerance as being a closer parallel to the gay movement in its aims and in its ethics (Richards; Zinn and Arnove 115-132, 389-420, 453-480; Ginsberg; Duberman; Engen; Ginsberg (b)). II. Social and Cultural Contexts of the Gay Movement Ginsberg and the artists around his time, in the period in which they lived in the 50’s and 60’s, represented the cusp of a movement that challenged existing social and cultural norms with regard to gender, morality, sexuality, and a host of other social and cultural conventions that were tied to the status quo, and the conservative views of the establishment that essentially marginalized and persecuted those who deviated from the conventions. This meant not only oppressed minorities, such as Blacks, but also women, who were relegated to restricted family roles, and those who fell outside of the normative gender designations of man and woman- gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in the main. The gay movement can therefore be situated as forming part of a larger tsunami of social revolt that pressed for changes. One can say that this social and historical situation is one that is marked by the germination of the ideas of revolt against societal norms prejudicial to gay people, embodied by the works of Ginsberg, and as coming to fruition more than a decade later, in the Stonewall riots as documented by Duberman in his work (Ginsberg; Ginsberg (b); Duberman; Zinn and Arnove 453-480). III. Dissent Grievances That Were Legitimate The literature tells us that the grievances made by gay people during this time, that had legitimacy from the point of view of the present moment and the social advances made towards securing better treatment of gay people and more advanced recognition and protection of their civil rights, have their parallels in the grievances of other minority groups in America during that time, and that includes marginalization and repression of gays, overt acts of violence inflicted on gay people in society, and the general marginalization of aspects of gay life in mainstream social and cultural exchanges and discussions. This latter aspect is evident, for instance, in the way the works of Ginsberg, in ‘Howl’ and in ‘America’, were suppressed for its overt depictions of aspects of gay life that were deemed taboo in the country at that time, including gay sexuality, which Ginsberg flaunted. Later in the accounts of Duberman, the everyday grievances of gay people as depicted in Duberman’s work amounts to a growing consciousness on the part of gay people that they were being oppressed and marginalized in the same manner as Blacks and women, for those things that that inherent in their being, their sexual orientation and their way of being in the world, non-harming to others in themselves, but marginalized out of those ways of being not being acceptable within the norms of conventional society. Elsewhere the literature notes too, that the grievances were similar in their ethical nature and legitimacy to the grievances of other oppressed groups, such as those who profess faiths outside of the normative Christianity of mainstream American society, and those of Blacks, who were segregated and marginalized not through any fault of their own but because of deeply-ingrained social, historical and cultural biases (Engen; Duberman; Richards; Zinn and Arnove 453-480; Engel). IV. Actions Taken Actions taken to advance the cause of gays include overt protest, as has been done in Stonewall in 1969, fueled partly by a growing undercurrent of dissent that was evident in the works of Ginsberg more than a decade earlier, and by the brewing group consciousness of gay people around this time. Actions taken include, for instance, support for the groundbreaking works of Ginsberg, of ‘Howl’ and of ‘America’, by a growing group of counter-culture types who had access to the resources of the mainstream. The Stonewall protests formed part of overt resistance to the establishment, whereas the actions taken by the groundbreaking artists consisted of unabashedly incorporating aspects of gay life that were taboo in society during their time, into their works. This is evident for instance in the way Ginsberg’s ‘Howl’ contained explicit reference to gay sexuality, as noted in the literature. In that poem, from lines 34 to 38, the explicit references to aspects of gay sex, from oral sex to sex done in public spaces like cemeteries and parks, can be construed as action to challenge the orthodox views of American society with regard to sex, and to the taboo on such discussions which also amounted to the marginalization of gay people. The literature notes too that the Stonewall protests further heightened gay consciousness of the possibilities of effecting social change through collective protests, so that by the time of the Harvey Milk assassination in 1978, the gay movement had recourse to social action as a valid means to make its cause and its challenges highly visible to the American public consciousness (Engen; Duberman; Richards; Zinn and Arnove 453-480; Engel xviii, 132-133). V. Present Significance The present significance of the gay movement that first began to sprout from the seeds of early protest sown by Ginsberg and other artists and first flowered from the time of the Stonewall protests onwards can be gleaned from the wider acceptance and the legal and civil protections that have been given to same-sex marriages. Cultural and social references to gay marriage have come to be standard and accepted as modes of discussion, and many prominent and mainstream members of society have come out as being openly gay, in gay relationships, with no damage to their reputations and to their good standing in the communities and professions that they participate in. The extent of the impact of the earlier gay movement as discussed here can be gleaned from such novel developments as Protestant churches arguing the case for gay marriage, in places such as North Carolina where there have been recent prohibitions against such marriages. The extent of the influence and significance of the gay movement too, is reflected in the way anti-gay marriage places like North Carolina are increasingly dwindling in numbers (Paulson; Engen; Duberman; Richards; Zinn and Arnove 453-480; Engel; Lochhead). VI. Comparison and Contrast with the Feminist Movement, Anti-Segregation Movement As discussed above, the ethical dimensions and the civil and human rights dimensions of the gay movement share many commonalities with the anti-segregation movement and the feminist movement, and as Richards notes, also with the movement for religious tolerance and the emphasis on freedom of religion. The ethical dimensions embody historical grievances by gay people relating to social and cultural biases and restrictions against their sex, and because of their sexual orientations. In the case of the anti-segregation movement, for instance, the parallels with the gay movement extend to the overt repression of the civil rights of both groups by virtue of an aspect of their being, one relating to ethnicity, and the other relating to its sexuality, both of which deviate from the norm of American society at that time. In the case of the feminist movement, the ethical overlaps relate to the stereotyping of the places of women and gay people in the social scheme of things. Both are marginalized and discriminated against, are systematically treated badly, by virtue of their gender. In all of these cases the parallels extend to making use of organized social action, and in the case of gay people the overt use of physical violence against the authorities, to push for reforms and to protect themselves from historical injustices (Paulson; Engen; Duberman; Richards; Zinn and Arnove 115-132, 389-420, 453-480; Engel; Lochhead) 3 Works Cited Duberman, Martin. “Stonewall (1993)”. Voices of a People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. 2009. New York: Seven Stories Press. Engel, Stephen. The Unfinished Revolution. Social Movement Theory and the Gay and Lesbian Movement. Cambridge University Press/Google Books. 2001. Web. 2 May 2014. Engen, Dagmar Van. “Howling Masculinity: Queer Social Change in Allen Ginsberg’s Poetry”. Gender, Sexuality, and Urban Spaces: Conference 2011/Boston College/ MIT.edu Web. 2011. Web. 3 May 2014. Ginsberg, Allen. “America”. Voices of a People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. 2009. New York: Seven Stories Press. Ginsberg, Allen (b). “Howl”. Poetry Foundation. 1956. Web. 2 May 2014. Lochhead, Carolyn. “Right all but abandons gay marriage fight”. SFGate Politics. 1 May 2014. Web. 2 May 2014. Paulson, Michael. “North Carolina’s Gay-Marriage Ban Is Challenged by Church”. The New York Times. 28 April 2014. Web. 2 May 2014. Richards, David. Identity and the Case for Gay Rights. University of Chicago Press/Google Books. 1999. Web. 2 May 2014. Zinn, Howard and Anthony Arnove. Voices of a People’s History of the United States. 2009. New York: Seven Stories Press. Read More