Planet Homo

Stonewall: A History Lesson

The Stonewall Riots

“When did you ever see a fag fight back? Now, times were a-changin´. Tuesday night was the last night for bullshit.
Predominantly, the theme was, ‘this shit has got to stop!’" — Anonymous riot participant, from David Carter’s book, “Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution”

Up until 1 a.m. on June 28, 1969, it had been an ordinary evening at the Stonewall Inn. But a surprise raid — patrons were usually tipped off — changed everything. At first, it was a raid as usual: patrons lined up at the bar, drag queens were separated and liquor was seized.

But then a person or multiple people decided that enough was enough. Theories vary on what the fuse was. All witnesses acknowledge that some extra spark of outrage lit a powder keg of emotion.

As people were being led out of the bar to a police wagon, a scuffle ensued. Patrons did not simply disperse; they stayed in the street shouting at police. Coins were thrown at the cops, a symbolic reaction to the practice of “gayola,” or gay bars paying off the police to prevent raids.

Tension mounted, and homeless gay teens from Christopher Park across the street joined in the melee. Violence against the police intensified and they were forced to barricade themselves inside the Stonewall Inn, waiting for backup.

As the reinforcements arrived and began marching down the street to scatter the protesters, they were suddenly faced with a kick line of drag queens, dancing and singing:

“We are the Stonewall girls,
We wear our hair in curls,
We wear no underwear,
We show our pubic hair,
We wear our dungarees
Above our nelly knees!”

The riot was eventually quashed that evening, but over the next five nights, protests and riots of various sizes occurred in the neighborhood and beyond. As word got out in the press, the crowds grew. The riots ceased after July 3, but the camaraderie that they created evolved into something else, something that lasted.

After Stonewall

"Let it forever be remembered that here — on this spot — men and women stood proud, they stood fast, so that we may be who we are, we may work where we will, live where we choose and love whom our hearts desire.” — M. John Berry, assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior, at a 1999 ceremony honoring the addition of the Stonewall Inn to the National Register of Historic Places.

Before Stonewall, conservative gay rights groups like the Mattachine Society had been trying to win rights and social acceptance by holding quiet, dignified pickets in cities like Philadelphia. The Mattachine’s method of operation was to try to show the world that gays were not different, but its efforts made little progress. In the span of a few nights, angry gays and drag queens made more progress by showing the world the exact opposite. The message they sent was, “We’re not like you, we look like this, and we’re not going to hide any more.” Gay rights advocacy groups learned that they were more likely to gain rights by being out and about, and the era of gay pride marches began.

One year after Stonewall, the Christopher Street Liberation Day March was held — the mother of gay pride marches. Two years hence, marches spread across the nation and into Europe and membership in gay rights groups skyrocketed across western nations.

The first gay march in Michigan happened in 1971. In 1989 — the 20th anniversary of Stonewall — the Statewide Pride March moved to Lansing and has since been an annual event.

As the application to the National Register of Historic Places points out, the Stonewall Riots were to gay rights what Rosa Parks was to black rights, or the Boston Tea Party was to the American Revolution. Yet this critical event isn’t discussed in American history textbooks and isn’t included in the curriculum of public schools. The lucky few who take a human sexuality or civil rights class in college might learn about Stonewall.

Calvin Klein ad too suggestive?

A new Calvin Klein ad in New York City is creating a brouhaha in certain circles because of the apparent age of the models and the suggestive "orgy" atmosphere in the picture. As one reporter in the Louisville Kentucky Examiner asked: "Many have asked today; just who is the girl in the ad? And is she over the age of 18? Because what is portrayed on the billboard is highly closely related to child pornography. Some are speculating that she is likely under the age of 18 and Klein will have no choice but to remove the ad and charges could likely be filed against the clothing manufacturer for contributing to child pornography." Oh my!

Shot by Steven Meisel, the lightning-rod photographer behind Madonna's 1992 book Sex, Calvin Klein's print and video campaign appears online at calvinkleinjeans.com.

Censored adaptations of the ads will appear later this year in North America, while Europe -- long known for sexually liberal advertising -- will see the unedited versions.

With their hidden-camera esthetic and resemblance to pornography, the new ads are evocative of a 1995 campaign by the company that drew a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation into whether Calvin Klein Inc. had violated child pornography laws. (The models weren't minors, so the Justice Department found no statutes had been broken).

Sex Sells.

School for Scandal

Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, is feeling the heat after pictures of him allegedly having sex, were posted online.  The racy images were apparently sold to a photo agency by Black’s former lover.
Perezhilton.com published the racy pics; the gossip site even claims there may be video of the incident which may have taken place back in 2006.  The steamy shots show two men performing unprotected anal and oral sex.
Recently a book "And Then There's This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture", by Bill Wasik, attempts to understand our ravenous need for information:

With so many different mediums, why do they all seem to follow these same stories? At the end of the day, why does anyone care so much about this random singer that none of us have ever met?

That relates to the "Long-Tail" -- the idea that the Internet will allow us to splinter off into a lot of smaller niches. The Internet does allow for smaller and smaller communities of interest that have more and more intense likes for shared things. But I also think one great value of culture for us is that we like to have something to talk about with each other. And so, you might have a great love for some very, very obscure form of heavy metal and on the Internet you can find all the other 5,000 different people around the world who like this very particular heavy metal music. But it's also true that if you go to high school or if you work in an office or if you have sort of friends out in the real world, you're going to want to engage with them in the shared stuff of mass culture. Mass culture continues to exist precisely because it's the stuff of cultural exchange among ourselves. And so, that to me is the reason why you have 10 million people becoming obsessed with Susan Boyle instead of 10,000 people. Precisely because she becomes grist for this bigger conversation.

Morrisey Moment

Jon Voight is out of his mind

Actor and Jolie-daddy Jon Voight has been a knucklehead for quiet some time, but his appearances on Fox News have proven that he is need of medication.

Pleasure Zone

 
YVY Mag give you in first hand Marcello de Giuli  in a new photoshoot photographed by the very talented duo Sandro & Maykson (http://sandroemaykson.blogspot.com/ ).
Location: Ibiza-Spain