[positivelypositivethoughts]

[caroldanversenthusiast]

i’m actually crying over these photos

[frouxo]

[homewithyoubyfkatwigs]

[justalittletumblweed-deactivate]

[amormedarei-deactivated20200116]

[dickinsondaily]

tell all the truth- but tell it slant

[spaceeblack]

[understands]

[lukeethornhill]

Queer History. The other morning I got into a ‘debate’ over the film Stonewall and one person said he didn’t care about the history of the Stonewall Riots or our queer history in general. Honestly, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This person didn’t seem to care that the only reason he (we) has any rights or can even happily come out without the fear of being arrested is because of events like the Stonewall Riots and the people that fought. Yet he enjoys the benefits of it (work equality, marriage, anti-discrimination laws, oh and being able to go to a gay bar and drink/dance the night away). So I wanted to put together a small overview of the riots in the hopes it enlightens anyone or gives someone the nudge to learn more. (If anything is incorrect just leave me a comment, I’m by no means an expert in this). Enjoy. 🏳️‍🌈✌️👭👬

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[earlymodernlesbian]

This is all really great info!  I’m just going to add a tiny bit more context (as someone who teaches Stonewall in US History).  The Mafia, as correctly noted in the infographic, owned the Stonewall Inn.  They had not paid the bribes they had been paying to the police for ~2 years for them to not raid the bar.  The public excuse for the police raid was that the bar was operating without a liquor license, but it was really because the bribe money hadn’t come in, but it was REALLY because they just hated LGBTQ+ people and wanted to hurt them, but it was REALLY REALLY because it was an election year.  The new police captain in the 6th precinct wanted to define himself as “tough on crime” and all about “law and order,” in order to help bolster conservative candidates.  (Important to keep in mind as this summer is the last pride month before the 2020 elections!)  The raid on Stonewall was coming on the heels of raids on many other gay bars in the area, so while it wasn’t totally unexpected, it was also hitting harder; Stonewall was more crowded than usual because there were fewer gay bars open, and the people who were there were feeling angry and fed up.  This was a “straw that broke the camel’s back” kind of situation.

The other thing I think it’s important to mention is how YOUNG so many of the participants in the riots were.  Stonewall had become a safe haven for so many LGBTQ+ individuals, but especially for homeless youth who had nowhere else to go.  They had a family and a community in this gay bar after their own families had rejected them.

For sources (and more info), I highly recommend checking out resources from the Stanford History Educational Group: https://sheg.stanford.edu/history-lessons/stonewall-riots.  I used these primary source documents while teaching Stonewall this year, and it was a really valuable tool for my students!

[noortherndownpoour]

[joanatheskammer]

[deardarlingava]

[softwlws]

[cwote]

Friendly reminder to check you’re not holding tension in your body. Let your shoulders drop, unclench your hands and jaw. Take a deep breath. Much better.

[noortherndownpoour]

[books-are-anasthetics-deactivat]

the queer eye guys made me realise there is not enough platonic hand holding in my life