Out & Proud

By: Kalina Dickinson, Communications Intern

Happy Pride Month, Hoosiers!

June is here and this month we celebrate and commemorate LGBTQIA+ pride in honor of the 1969 Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests that arose after the New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn. And while these protests became the catalyst for the gay rights movement in the U.S., it is important to not also forget the organization of gay rights groups that came before the Stonewall riots, such as those during the homophile movement.

The Homophile Movement:

The homophile movement began around the early 1950s, and it was the local, national and international social-political movement for gay and lesbian rights. 

Rather than using the medicalized term “homosexual”, the movement named itself homophile: homo (same) + philia (love) = homophile (same love). This new term was significant because it created a positive identifier and group identity that had not existed before. It thus created a foundation for community, which was especially important during a time of intense homophobia and self-isolation, which would later enable gay men and women to rally together and demand change on a broader scale.

Operating in an era of legal and social oppression, the movement was an effort to address the discrimination the gay community faced by authorities and demand to be viewed as a minority so that they could demand rights. While the homophile movement’s focus was on accommodation and equal rights, as the gay rights movement continued to grow into the early 70s, its focus switched to visibility and pride. This progression can be seen through the footage provided below:

  •  The Second Largest Minority (7 min)- Footage of one of the earliest Gay Pride demonstration marches, "Reminder Day Picket," held at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1968.

  • Gay and Proud (12 min)- Footage of one of the earliest Gay Pride demonstration marches, the first Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade, held in New York City, New York, on June 28, 1970, to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

The homophile movement had very distinguished periods in which its political orientations shifted many times, beginning with a leftist orientation and shifting to predominantly liberal at one time. While the movement was common across class, gender, and race, it was primarily made up of white middle-class gay men and lesbian women. At the time, gender transgression was not included.

Different Motivations for the Homophile Movement:

For gay men and lesbian women, they had different motivations for joining this movement. 

Gay Men:

  • Negative visibility

    • Seen as deviant

  • Police harassment

    • Liquor control

    • Bar raids

    • Entrapment

      • Cops going undercover using persuasion or other means likely to cause the person to engage in the “deviant” sexual conduct

  • Lavender Scare

    • fired from government and military

  • General public concerns

    • Because men are in the public sphere!

Lesbian Women:

  • Losing custody of children

  • Marriage and divorce

  • Reproduction

  • Domestic violence

  • Employment 

Popular Homophile Organizations/Magazines:

Indiana’s Status on LGBTQIA+ Rights: 

Unfortunately, despite the past achievements for the LGBTQIA+ community, the battle for rights is not over. During the 2023 Legislative Session, two anti-trans bills were passed: HEA 1608 & SEA 480.

HEA 1608 restricts any instruction on “human sexuality” in grades Pre-K through 3rd grade. Under the ambiguous umbrella of “human sexuality”, the bill prohibits any discussion around sexual orientation and gender identity. LGBTQIA+ students exist at all ages and in all grade levels, and this bill legislates away their existence, presence, and history.  Worse still, HEA 1608 requires school staff to send a note home for permission if students request to change names, pronouns, or titles, effectively outing them to their parents or guardians. Indiana should be ensuring that schools are safe spaces for students with LGBTQIA+ identities or family members, but instead, our legislature is creating schools that are unwelcoming and dangerous. 

As for SEA 480, this bill would ban essential medical care like gender transition procedures for trans youth. The bill not only violates the rights of parents and families to make decisions about their children’s health, but it also puts these youths as a political target. And while there are many concerns about transitioning as a minor and then later detransitioning, according to the Detransition Facts and Statistics 2022 from GenderGP, roughly 97% of people who identify as transgender are happy with their decision to transition, and only about 3% of trans people experience some form of regret, but may not detransition.

As we can see, the LGBTQIA+ community still faces a lot of discrimination, especially in the school environment. We must work to fight against these bills, educate ourselves on these matters and the statistics, and embrace our LGBTQIA+ neighbors, friends, and family. Below is a list of events that will be going all month long so stop by and show your support!

Events for Pride Month:

Community Support:

If you are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, here are some great resources in Indiana and online: 

W4C