The Role Of Homosexuality In The 1960s

The status of homosexuals in America during the 1960s underwent a monumental change in the span of a decade, as a topic rarely discussed in the mainstream due to its status as a taboo in American society, deemed sinful and "aberrant", stretching all the way back from America 's puritanical root. In reality, the major victories homosexuals gained were not vast and opportunities for homosexuals were limited by discrimination without federal protection, yet was unique in the way this liberation movement sought to bring homosexuality to the public attention as normal, not as a deviant or "sinful" way of life, and permitted homosexuals, as a group, to express their homosexuality openly as a form of protest. This liberation movement for homosexuality would arise near the end of the 1960s as a surprise

Homosexuals who witnessed the nightclub patrons being arrested began to taunt and attack police officials. It culminated in someone starting a fire within the nightclub, where rioting spread throughout the homosexual community of Greenwich Village for the rest of the night. This marked the commencement of the gay liberation movement, generating a great deal of controversy over a topic that uncomfortable for many Americans, launching it to the top as the subject of news stories in the media and in public discussion to an unprecedented high. The gay liberation movement had gained platforms to discuss their lifestyle, effectively challenging the notion of homosexuality being "aberrant behavior" to a certain degree. Most importantly, homosexuals were able to express their sexuality freely and unapologetically on a massive scale, and voicing their demands through a unified front, that relationships between homosexuals were just as significant as heterosexual