Between Repression, Resistance and Visibility: LGBTQ+ Activism in the U.S. from 1950 to 1990

Abstract

This work explores LGBTQ+ activism in the United States between 1950 and 1990, and how it evolved from a movement seeking respectability and validation to a more inclusive and confrontational one. Beginning with the homophile movement, where organizations such as the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis emerged when homosexuality was conceived as pathological, it moves on to the Stonewall Riots as a turning point in the history of activism, which led to groups such as the Gay Liberation Front, Gay Activist Alliance, Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries and Radicalesbians. The study closes with the AIDS epidemic, discussing activist organizations like Gay Men’s Health Crisis and ACT UP that emerged at the time. While emphasizing the role of activism in fostering resilience, this work explores the different periods of activism by putting in conversation various activists’ accounts from inside these movements along with academic sources.

Este trabajo explora el activismo LGBTIQ+ en Estados Unidos entre 1950 y 1990, y cómo evolucionó de un movimiento que buscaba respetabilidad y validación a uno más inclusivo y confrontativo. Comienza con el movimiento homófilo, cuando surgieron organizaciones como la Mattachine Society y Daughters of Bilitis, en un contexto en el que la homosexualidad se concebía como patológica. Luego se abordan los disturbios de Stonewall como un punto de inflexión en la historia del activismo, que dio lugar a grupos como el Gay Liberation Front, Gay Activist Alliance, Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries y Radicalesbians. El estudio concluye con la epidemia del sida, analizando organizaciones activistas como Gay Men’s Health Crisis y ACT UP que surgieron en ese periodo. Mientras se enfatiza el papel del activismo en el fomento de la resiliencia, este trabajo explora las distintas etapas del activismo mediante los testimonios de activistas desde dentro de los movimientos con fuentes académicas.