Download LGBTQ2IA+Movement File

FROM THE RIOTS
TO EQUAL RIGHTS:
A HISTORY OF LGBTQ2IA+ RIGHTS IN
NORTH AMERICA
THE INTRO VIDEO

Top 10 celebrities and famous people who came
out as gay and lesbian to the public on TV and in
magazines.

10 Famous Gay People Who Shocked The World

4:46 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x0UJGuNaiU
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP:
DEFINING OUR TERMS

The next few slides are designed to acquaint you
with common terms related to the diversity of
humanity.

LGBTQ2IA+:
 Refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered,
queer/questioning, two-spirit, intersex, asexual,
and more individuals or groups.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Homosexuality:
 A term that broadly applies to individuals who are
attracted either in whole or in part to people of
the same sex or gender and choose to identify
themselves this way.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Lesbian:
 Term used to describe female-identified people
attracted romantically, erotically, and/or
emotionally to other female-identified people.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Gay:
 Term used in some cultural settings to represent
males who are attracted to males in a romantic,
erotic and/or emotional sense. Not all men who
engage in “homosexual behavior” identify as gay,
and as such this label should be used with
caution.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Bisexual:
 A person emotionally, physically, and/or sexually
attracted to males/men and females/women.
This attraction does not have to be equally split
between genders and there may be a preference
for one gender over others.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Transgender:
 This term has many definitions. It is frequently
used as an umbrella term to refer to all people
who do not identify with their assigned gender at
birth or the binary gender system. This includes
transsexuals, cross-dressers, genderqueer, drag
kings, drag queens, two-spirit people, and
others. Some transgender people feel they exist
not within one of the two standard gender
categories, but rather somewhere between,
beyond, or outside of those two genders.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Transgendered Person:
 A person whose felt gender identity does not
match the gender they were assigned at birth
based on their biological anatomy. For example,
a transgender child self-identifies as a girl but
was born with the anatomy of a boy (or vice
versa).
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Queer:
 1) An umbrella term sometimes used by
LGBTQ2IA+ people to refer to the entire
LGBTQ2IA+ community.
 2) An alternative that some people use to "queer"
the idea of the labels and categories such as
lesbian, gay, bisexual, etc. Similar to the concept
of genderqueer. It is important to note that the
word queer is an in-group term, and a word that
can be considered offensive to some people,
depending on their generation, geographic
location, and relationship with the word.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Questioning:
 For some, the process of exploring and
discovering one's own sexual orientation, gender
identity, or gender expression.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Two-Spirited:
 "Two-spirited" or "two-spirit" usually indicates a
Native/First Nations person who feels their body
simultaneously manifests both a masculine/male
and a feminine/female spirit, or a different
balance of masculine and feminine
characteristics than usually seen in masculine
men and feminine women.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Two-Spirit History =
 They were people who were gifted among all
beings because they carried two spirits: that of
male and female. It is told that women engaged
in tribal warfare and married other women as
there were men who married other men. These
individuals were looked upon as a third gender in
many cases and in almost all cultures they were
honoured and revered.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Two-Spirit people were often the visionaries, the
healers and medicine people. They were
respected as fundamental components of our
ancient culture and societies. Today, Two-Spirit
People are Native/First Nations people who are
gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, other
gendered, third/fourth gendered individuals that
walk carefully between the worlds and between
the genders.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Asexual:
 A person who is not interested in or does not
desire sexual activity, either within or outside of a
relationship. Asexuality is not the same as
celibacy, which is the willful decision to not act on
sexual feelings. Asexuals, while not physically
sexual-type folks, are none the less quite
capable of loving, affectionate, romantic ties to
others.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Intersex:
 A person whose sexual anatomy or
chromosomes do not fit with the traditional
markers of "female" and "male." For example:
people born with both "female" and "male"
anatomy (penis, testicles, vagina, uterus); people
born with XXY.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Pansexual:
 A person who experiences sexual, romantic,
physical, and/or spiritual attraction for members
of all gender identities/expressions, not just
people who fit into the standard gender binary
(i.e. men and women).
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Drag Queen/King:
 A person who dresses in the clothing style of the
opposite sex for the purposes of
entertainment/as a theatrical performance. This
is different than a transgendered person who
dresses permanently and attempts to live as the
opposite gender. Drag queens/kings typically
perform in “drag” but live their lives as their
identified gender.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Ally:
 A person of one social identity group who stands
up in support of members of another group;
typically a member of a dominant group standing
beside member(s) of a group being discriminated
against or treated unjustly.

LGBTQ2IA+ Ally:
 A person who supports the rights of LGBTQ2IA+
people.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Coming Out (“Of the Closet”):
 The process of acknowledging one’s sexual
orientation and/or gender identity to other
people. For most LGBTQ2IA+ people this is a
life-long process.

Closeted/“In the Closet”:
 Refers to individuals who are not open about
their sexuality.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Pride:
 Refers to the movement that developed after the
Stonewall Riots in 1969 to encourage gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people to
live openly.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

QSA:
 A Queer-Straight Alliance is an organization
based in a school, typically in a college or
university setting or in a high school, to support
acceptance of LGBTQ2IA+ individuals, provide a
safe space for all, to educate, and combat
homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and
bullying.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

HIV/AIDS:
 Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired
Immunodeficiency Syndrome, a disease that has
impacted over 40 million people globally. First
called “gay cancer” or “gay disease” it was
originally thought to only affect gay people. This
was later disproven, HIV/AIDS can be
transmitted to people of any sexual orientation.
HIV/AIDS destroys a body’s immune system
often leaving a person susceptible to other
diseases and, without medical treatment, can
lead to severe medical problems and, in some
cases, death.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Homophobia:
 An irrational fear/negative attitudes and feelings
toward by individuals, organizations, or
governments of people who are or are suspected
to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, or
questioning that is sometimes typified by
intolerance or negative views of LGBTQ2IA+
people and the desire to limit the rights of these
individuals. Can be expressed as antipathy,
contempt, prejudice, aversion, or hatred, may be
based on irrational fear, and is sometimes
related to religious beliefs.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Biphobia:
 Aversion toward bisexuality and bisexual people
as a social group or as individuals. People of any
sexual orientation can experience such feelings
of aversion. Biphobia is a source of
discrimination against bisexuals, and may be
based on negative bisexual stereotypes or
irrational fear.
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP

Transphobia:
 The fear or hatred of transgender people or
gender non-conforming behavior. Like biphobia,
transphobia can also exist among lesbian, gay,
and bisexual people as well as among
heterosexual people.
THE HISTORY OF A
MOVEMENT VIDEO

HOW WE GOT GAY tells the incredible story of
how gay men and women went from being the
ultimate outsiders to occupying the halls of power,
with a profound influence on our cultural, political
and social lives in Canada and the United States.
THE VIDEO

How We Got Gay (Full Documentary)
 44:43 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foQrmKRUFgg


As you at watching this documentary work to
answer this question:
WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF LGBTQ2IA+ RIGHTS
IN NORTH AMERICA?
GENDER ALPHABET SOUP

Gender: Socially constructed through cultural rules,
ideologies, and expected behaviours for individuals
of certain biological sexes; sometimes classified as
masculine or feminine.

It is a performance of what is culturally understood
as appropriate gender roles (act like a man – be
masculine, be a woman – act feminine; a binary of
rigid ideals).
GENDER ALPHABET SOUP

(Biological) Sex: The way in which organisms
(including humans) are divided into classifications
of male or female, usually based on chromosomes,
hormonal profiles, and/or reproductive organs;
usually classified as male or female based on
biological characteristics. With humans, specifically,
they have been divided on a binary (male/female;
men/women).
SEX VS. GENDER
XX (female) or XY
(male) chromosomes
 Eggs or sperm
 Facial hair
 Breasts
 “female”/“male”

Masculine
 Feminine
 Man
 Woman

GENDER ALPHABET SOUP

Sexual Orientation: The type of sexual, romantic,
and/or physical attraction someone feels toward
others. Often labeled based on the gender
identity/expression of the person and who they are
attracted to. Common labels: lesbian, gay, bisexual,
pansexual, etc.
GENDER ALPHABET SOUP

Heteronormativity: is the belief or assumption that
all people are heterosexual, or that heterosexuality
is the default or "normal" state of human being. It
tends to complement and accompany concepts
like cisnormativity, gender binarism, and gender
essentialism. A heteronormative society operates
on the assumption that heterosexuality and specific
gender features are the human "default." These
assumptions can be hurtful because they are
stigmatizing and marginalizing, making people who
are LGBT+ feel like they are perceived as deviant
or unnatural.
GENDER ALPHABET SOUP

Heterosexual/Straight Privilege: unearned and
unchallenged advantages and rewards on
heterosexuals solely as a result of their sexual
orientation. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queeridentified folk have a range of different experiences,
but cannot count on most of the privileges that
heterosexuals have automatically in their lives.
Such privileges are built into society and its
institutions.
GENDER ALPHABET SOUP

Gender Expression: A term which refers to the
ways in which we each manifest masculinity or
femininity. It is usually an extension of our “gender
identity,” our innate sense of being male, female,
etc. Each of us expresses a particular gender every
day – by the way we style our hair, select our
clothing, or even the way we stand. Our
appearance, speech, behavior, movement, and
other factors signal that we feel – and wish to be
understood – as masculine or feminine, or as a
man or a woman.
GENDER ALPHABET SOUP

Gender Variance/Gender Non-Conformity: Gender
variance refers to behaviors and interests that fit
outside of what we consider ‘normal’ for a child or
adult’s assigned biological sex. We think of these
people as having interests that are more typical of the
“opposite” sex; in children, for example, a girl who
insists on having short hair and prefers to play football
with the boys, or a boy who wears dresses and wishes
to be a princess. These are considered gender-variant
or gender non-conforming behaviors and interests. It
should be noted that gender nonconformity is a term
not typically applied to children who have only a brief,
passing curiosity in trying out these behaviors or
interests.
GENDER ALPHABET SOUP

Genderqueer: A term which refers to individuals or
groups who “queer” or problematize the hegemonic
notions of sex, gender and desire in a given society.
Genderqueer people possess identities which fall
outside of the widely accepted sexual binary (i.e.
"men" and "women"). Genderqueer may also refer
to people who identify as both transgendered AND
queer, i.e. individuals who challenge both gender
and sexuality regimes and see gender identity and
sexual orientation as overlapping and
interconnected.
GENDER ALPHABET SOUP

Gender Identity: The sense of “being” male,
female, genderqueer, agender, etc. For some
people, gender identity is in accord with physical
anatomy. For transgender people, gender identity
may differ from physical anatomy or expected
social roles. It is important to note that gender
identity, biological sex, and sexual orientation are
separate and that you cannot assume how
someone identifies in one category based on how
they identify in another category.
GENDER ALPHABET SOUP

Gender Fluidity: Gender fluidity conveys a wider,
more flexible range of gender expression, with
interests and behaviors that may even change from
day to day. Gender fluid people do not feel confined
by restrictive boundaries of stereotypical
expectations of women and men. For some people,
gender fluidity extends beyond behavior and
interests, and actually serves to specifically define
their gender identity. In other words, a person may
feel they are more female on some days and more
male on others, or possibly feel that neither term
describes them accurately. Their identity is seen as
being gender fluid.
GENDER ALPHABET SOUP

Gender Spectrum: the gender spectrum is a linear
model, ranging from 100% male to 100% female,
with various states of androgyny in between.
The gender continuum or matrix is an
multidimensional extension of the spectrum that
includes additional gender identities outside of
the spectrum.
WHAT IS GENDER? VIDEO

TRANSFORMING GENDER The battle over the
rights and freedoms of transgender individuals is
the first great civil rights struggle of the 21st
century. In the last five years, mainstream culture
has woken up to the vivid presence of transgender
people in their midst. From a generation of gender
variant children and pop culture celebrities, to
transitioning superstar athletes and soldiers, trans
people have never been more visible.
THE VIDEO

Transforming Gender (Full Documentary)
 43:12 minutes

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/episodes/transforminggender


As you at watching this documentary work to
answer this question:
WHAT IS GENDER AND WHERE ARE WE IN THE
PURSUIT OF RIGHTS AND PROTECTION FOR
TRANSGENDER PEOPLE IN NORTH AMERICA?
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
LGBTQ2IA+ ALPHABET SOUP “QUIZ”
1.
What year did the events at the Stonewall Inn take
place?
2.
What is an ally?
3.
What is one LGBTQ2IA+ organization in schools?
4.
What is the difference between gender and
biological sex?
5.
What does LGBTQ2IA+ stand for?
THE VIDEO

It Gets Better: Canada
 12:11 minutes

LGBTQ2IA+ Canadians share their stories for the It
Gets Better Project, including Rick Mercer, Rex
Harrington, Diane Flacks, Tommy Smythe, Enza
Anderson, the cast of MTV's 1g5g, Joeffer Caoc,
David Dixon, Deb Pearce, Peter Fallico and many
more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p-AT18d9lU
POST VIDEO QUESTIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What is the overall message of this “It Gets Better”
video?
Without identifying names, what incidents of bullying,
harassment, racism, sexism, or homophobia, biphobia,
transphobia, and ableism have you seen at your
school?
What can students do to prevent this kind of behavior?
What can schools do to prevent this kind of behavior?
What can our communities and our nation do to
prevent this kind of behavior?
Why is it important to treat people with respect even if
you disagree with something about who they are or
what they do?
THE VIDEO

Straight People Answer Question Gays Have Been
Asked For Years
 2:59 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1aPlEGqVIk
CONCLUSION

Questions to think about as we conclude the lesson
and in the future:

What does the term equality mean in an North American
context? (Have we achieved equality in Canada and the
USA?)

What can we learn about the ability of people to change
their society by looking at events like the Stonewall
Riots and other civil rights struggles?

What direction will our country take in the future in terms
of treating all people fairly; should this be a national
priority for our citizens and our leaders?
TIMELINE

The timeline of LGBTQ2IA+ rights is divided into 3
eras:
Pre-Stonewall (1600-1969)
 The Stonewall Riots (1969-70)
 Post-Stonewall (1971-Present)

As you read the timeline of events in the LGBTQ
rights movement pay close attention to how the
events of the Stonewall Riots led to the creation of
new organizations and new ways of thinking about
lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered
people.
 There will be a short quiz following this activity.

PRE-STONEWALL (1600-1969)

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1920 - “Gay” first used to refer to homosexuals in the
publication Underground
1933 - Hitler bans gay and lesbian groups, burns the
Institute of Sexual Science library
1935 - “Successful” electric shock therapy treatment of
homosexuality reported at American Psychological
Association meeting
1941 - “Transsexuality” first used in reference to
homosexuality and bisexuality
1942 - Switzerland decriminalizes adult homosexuality
1943 - U.S. military bars gays and lesbians from serving
in the Armed Forces
1945 - Revealed that Holocaust victims include LGBTs
1945 - The Quaker Emergency Committee of New York
City opens the first social welfare agency for gay people
PRE-STONEWALL (1600-1969)
1945 - First known female-to-male sex
reassignment surgery, on Michael Dillon in Britain
 1948 - The Kinsey Report says homosexual
behavior among men is widespread
 1948 - Hollywood begins blacklisting suspected
homosexuals
 1951 - The Mattachine Society is founded to give
a voice to LGBTQ people in New York politics
 1952 - Immigrants banned from U.S. if they have
“psychopathic personality,” including homosexuality
 1953 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower orders
dismissal of all federal employees guilty of “sexual
perversion”

PRE-STONEWALL (1600-1969)

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1954 - Dr. Evelyn Hooker presents a study showing gay
men are as well adjusted as straight men, at an
American Psychological Association meeting
1961 - First openly gay person runs for U.S. public office
(drag queen Jose Sarria, running for San Francisco city
supervisor)
1962 - Illinois becomes first state to make consensual
same-sex acts legal
1963 - American Civil Liberties Union opposes
government interference in the private sex lives of
consenting adults
1966 - First U.S. gay community center opens, in San
Francisco, led by The Society for Individual Rights
1969 - National Institute of Mental Health study chaired
by Dr. Evelyn Hooker urges decriminalization of private
sex acts between consenting adults
THE STONEWALL RIOTS (JUNE 28,
1969)





1:20am - In the morning on Saturday, June 28, 1969,
four plainclothes policemen in dark suits, two patrol
officers in uniform, and Detective Charles Smythe and
Deputy Inspector Seymour Pine raid the Stonewall Inn,
a gay bar in Greenwich Village, New York City
1:45am - Police begin sending bar patrons outside and
within minutes there are hundreds of people on the
street waiting for arrest
2:00am - An officer shoved a transsexual who reacted
by hitting him in the head
2:05am - Bar patrons began throwing bottles and rocks
at the police shouting “Gay Power” and singing “We
Shall Overcome”
4:00am - Rioters disperse after pushing the police out of
the neighborhood
THE STONEWALL RIOTS (1969 - 1970)






Thousands of people crowded into the Stonewall Inn and onto
Christopher Street in front of the bar the night after the riot
People began mass chanting with gay power slogans and
wrote graffiti such as “Support Gay Power” and “Legalize Gay
Bars”
The riots continued for several more days with differing
crowds each evening
Protesters began to organize in local homes to campaign for
recognition of gay rights
Within a year the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay
Activists Alliance were formed to demonstrate for the rights
of LGBTQ people
On June 28, 1970 on the one year anniversary of the riots the
first Gay Pride Parade was held on Christopher Street in front
of the Stonewall Inn sparking the birth of the modern LGBTQ
rights movement
POST-STONEWALL (1970-PRESENT)



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1970 - First Gay Liberation Day March held in New York
City, First Gay Freedom Day March held in Los Angeles,
first Gay-in held in San Francisco
1972 - Sweden becomes first country in the world to
allow transgendered people to legally change their sex,
and provides free hormone therapy. Norway
decriminalizes homosexuality
1972 - Ann Arbor, Michigan becomes first city in United
States to pass gay rights ordinance
1973 - The American Psychiatric Association removes
homosexuality from its DSM-II Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders, based largely on the
research and advocacy of Evelyn Hooker
POST-STONEWALL (1971-PRESENT)
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1977 - Harvey Milk is elected city-county supervisor in
San Francisco, becoming the third out American elected
to public office
1977 - Dade County, Florida enacts a Human Rights
Ordinance; it is repealed the same year after a militant
anti-gay-rights campaign led by Anita Bryant
1978 - The first Gay Pride Flag is flown in San Francisco
1978 - San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and
Mayor George Moscone are assassinated by former
San Francisco Supervisor Dan White.
1979 - First national gay rights march on Washington,
DC
1980 - The Democratic National Convention becomes
the first major political party in America to endorse a gay
rights platform plank.
POST-STONEWALL (1971-PRESENT)
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1980 - Ronald Reagan is elected President
1980 - Moral Majority starts anti-gay crusade nationwide
1981 - The first cases of AIDS (then called GRID) are
confirmed in the United States
1983 - Massachusetts Representative Gerry Studds reveals
he is a homosexual on the floor of the House, becoming the
first openly gay member of Congress
1985 - President Reagan mentions AIDS publicly for the first
time, by then 25,000 Americans have died from the disease
1987 - ACT UP stages its first major demonstration against
the government for failing to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS
1987 - U.S. Congressman Barney Frank comes out as gay
1989 - Denmark is first country in the world to enact registered
partnership laws (like a civil union) for same-sex couples,
with most of the same rights as marriage
POST-STONEWALL (1971-PRESENT)
1992 - The World Health Organization removes
homosexuality from its list of disorders
 1994 - American Medical Association denounces
the ex-gay movement and supposed cures for
homosexuality saying it is not a disease
 1998 - Matthew Shepard is beaten and left for dead
on a fence in Laramie, Wyoming for being gay
 2000 - Vermont becomes the first US state to allow
civil unions
 2001 - Maryland passes an employment nondiscrimination act and outlaws discrimination
against LGBTQ people in employment

POST-STONEWALL (1971-PRESENT)
2003 - In Lawrence v. Texas (2003) the US
Supreme Court outlaws anti-sodomy laws and says
relations between two consenting adults are legal
 2003 - Massachusetts becomes the first state to
legalize same-sex marriage while 11 other states
pass bans on such marriages later in the year
(today 39 states have bans)
 2005 - Iran begins widespread execution of gays
 2008 - Gay marriage legalized in California and
Connecticut
 2008 - Proposition 8 makes gay marriage illegal in
California again on the same day Barack Obama is
elected

POST-STONEWALL (1971-PRESENT)
2009 - Gay marriage legalized in Iowa and
Vermont
 2010 - Gay marriage in New Hampshire and
Washington DC
 2010 - Illinois legalizes civil unions
 2010 - A judge rules that Arkansas’ ban on adoption
by same-sex couples is unconstitutional
 2010 – President Barack Obama signs a repeal of
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell which will allow LGB people
to serve openly in the military, transgendered
people are still not allowed to serve in the military
 2011 - Hawaii and Delaware legalize civil unions
 2011 - New York legalizes same-sex marriage
