Lianna Blosser

Mr. Adams
English #309
22 September 2021

LGBTQ History
LGBTQ history with same-sex love and sexuality goes back to ancient times.
The first recorded same-sex couple was in 2400 BCE, and their names were
Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum. LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and queer. Same-sex love and people's sexuality have been shamed, and
the world has told people to keep it a secret. It remained that way until June 28th,
1969, when the stonewall riot occurred. The stonewall riots were an act of the gay
community rebelling against the police for the first time. At the time, gay bars were
against the law. The police would raid them and severely hurt the patrons. On this
day they had, had enough and decided to fight back for who they were. The riot
lasted for six violent days. This event changed the course for the LGBTQ
community, but the fight was long from over. On June 28th, 1970, the first pride
marches took place in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. To this
day, we celebrate the month of June to remember the people who fought for
LGBTQ rights and celebrate who they are. The first gay rights group in America
and a news article about it, "Friendship and Freedom," was the United States' first
recorded gay rights publication in 1924. He was a veteran that served in World War
I named Henry Gerber. People were very judgemental with the new report, and, His
community shamed Henry, but he stood with what he loved and did not let anyone
bring him down.
The AIDS epidemic started in June 1981 and severely impacted the gay
community. 1 in 6 gay men was diagnosed with aids. Almost 700,000 people in
the LGBTQ community lost their lives to the illness. This was a massive
tragedy in the community. The general public did not understand aids, and
because of this, discrimination increased against the gay community. The
Aids epidemic was linked to the hate towards LGBTQ and men who have sex
with men. At the beginning of the aids epidemic, gay men were abused and
beaten because people said they were responsible and needed to be punished.
In the 1980s, gay men were scared for their safety, and it affected their lives.
To this day, people still have HIV, but it is a lot more manageable now and, in
some cases, curable.
 On October 6th, 1998, a heart-shattering event occurred. Matthew Wayne
Shepard was a gay student of the University of Wyoming, and that night he was
beaten and tortured. Matthew was a bright boy and had many friends. Matthew was
taken to the hospital that night, but he sadly passed away from head trauma six
days later. The two men that beat him were arrested and were charged with
first-degree murder, and they received life in jail. Shepard's homicide carried public
and global consideration regarding hate crime legislation at the state and
government levels. In October 2009, the US Congress passed the "Matthew Shepard
Act." This law includes crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender,
sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. Matthews's mom became an
LGBTQ activist and started the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Today she is helping
people in the LGBTQ community feel like they belong and educate more people on
her son's case to make a change.
On May 17th, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex
marriage. That was a proud day in the community, but they still had a long way to
go. In 2008 Connecticut was the second state to legalize same-sex marriage, followed
by Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, and many more followed until the year 2015
president Barack Obama Legalize same-sex marriage on a federal level. This forced
states like Texas and Alabama to allow same-sex couples to marry. Finally, there was
equality for the LGBTQ community regarding marriage.
In 1982 the government enforced a policy saying that anyone in the LGBTQ
community could not serve in the military. If the military found out about someone's
sexuality regarding same-sex love, they would be immediately discharged. In the
1940s, they would not let gay men or lesbians serve because it was considered a
mental illness then. In the 40s, if you were gay, you could be thrown in jail or even
lose custody of your children. In other cases, you can be forced into hormone
injections or even shock therapy. They called gay men at that time" Traitors to
America."In 1993 a "do not ask do not tell" meant that closeted LGBTQ people
served in the military. If you disclosed your sexuality or admitted you to the
LGBTQ community, you would be discharged. After 18 years of this policy being in
effect, they finally let gay, lesbian, and bisexual people serve in the military, and "do
not ask, do not tell" was finally over.
Transgender people have been misunderstood by the public for a long time
now. Imagine not buying a home, getting a job, or even eating at a restaurant just
because you are yourself. That is what most transgender people have to deal with.
Trans students have been having discrimination problems; a study says that 60% of
students were forced to use lockers and restrooms that were not their gender. Only
13 states have discrimination laws to protect transgender people against gender
identity and sexual orientation. To a human rights campaign, a blog says that more
than 30 states are trying to make anti-transgender laws, and in April, there were
already 131 bills trying to put that in effect. In 2021 there were 44 fatal violent acts
against transgender people. Those 44 people had families, jobs, and friends, and
they lost their lives because they were just themselves. Unfortunately, the world we
live in today is a cruel place, but we are trying to make a change. For a while now,
trans people have not been allowed to play sports of their gender, but they have to
play with their gender at birth. This has caused much anger in the trans community.
A 2017 system reviewing sport participation and competitive sports policies
reported that "there is no direct or comprehensive evidence of transgender women
having an athletic advantage over their cisgender counterparts at any stage of
transition." So that should mean there should not be unnecessary discrimination
against trans people, but for some reason, people still believe that since they have
the same genital parts, they should play in the same team. People should be able to
play on a sports team of the gender they identify as.
June has been pride month for 52 years now in honor of the stonewall riots
that changed LGBTQ history forever. The LGBTQ flag symbolizes lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and queer pride and social movements. The rainbow color
represents diversity and human sexuality, and gender. The man who created this
flag was named Gilbert Baker, a gay man, and drag queen. In 1978 he designed the
first pride flag. The meaning behind the colors is hot pink for sex, red for life,
orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for art, indigo
for harmony, and violet for spirit. Now in 2021, there are many versions of the pride
flag, but they all have their special meaning.
We have certainly come a long way regarding LGBTQ+ rights, and progress
continues to be made. It is essential to respect all human rights. I believe people
should be free and love whom they want and be who they are. Since the time history
has been recorded, there have been LGBTQ people. It plays a natural piece in
human history. So in conclusion, I genuinely hope that there will be a day in the
future of the human race that we can fully accept that community and live in a
world where no one is discriminated against because of who they are, how they
identify, whom they love, and the color of their skin. People do not like change, but
some things need to change.
Sources:
https://www.hrc.org/resources/violence-against-the-trans-and-gender-non-conformi
ng-community-in-2020
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trans-girls-belong-on-girls-sports-teams/

https://www.britannica.com/story/how-did-the-rainbow-flag-become-a-symbol-of-lg
bt-pride
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard

https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/06/harvard-scholars-reflect-on-the-hist
ory-and-legacy-of-the-stonewall-riots/
https://lgbpsychology.org/html/facts_mental_health.html
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/04/transgender-rights-bathrooms-sports-all
iance-defending-freedom.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/06/28/grimm-supreme-court-trans
gender-student-case/
https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2557220/dod-announces-poli
cy-updates-for-transgender-military-service/