Hannah

= Beare US History Research Wiki Journal Prompts = = =


 * Journal Entry 1:** Topic and ideas -- What are you investigating? What are the questions that are guiding your investigation.


 * Journal Entry 2:** A comment on your process to date, a brief discussion of your sources, and a listing of sources you are currently working with (correct Turabian format). This should be a significant step forward from your initial bibliography.


 * Journal Entry 3:** What is your Thesis?

Journal Entry 1: Skimming Through the Gay Rights Movement

At the moment, after slightly changing directions a few times, I am now investigating the Gay Rights Movement during the twentieth century from about 1950 to 1980. My first question to research is: What was the Gay Rights Movement and how did it change America? I figure that this question will help me to put the other questions in context.

I am especially interested in lesbian involvement in all of the GLBTQ related political and social movements that take place during that thirty-year range. Before I started this project, I heard mostly of gay male involvement in these movements. In order to present a more gender-balanced view of the Gay Rights Movement, one of my research questions is: What contributions did lesbians make towards social progress from 1950 to 1980?


 * Lately, I've been reading sources that focus on the Stonewall riot. They're fascinating. What began the Stonewall riot, police raiding a bar where gays, lesbians, and cross-dressers hung out, wasn't very uncommon during the time period it happened. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, police regularly raided gay bars. Somehow, though, this otherwise not-too-out-of-the-ordinary event got covered by various media outlets across the country, and later became the first event that comes to mind when one thinks "Gay Rights Movement". My questions pertaining to Stonewall are: What factors led up to Stonewall?, Who were the main players in this event?, Why was Stonewall significant at the time?, and What were the long term effects of the Stonewall riots in the context of the gay rights movement?

So far, with this project, I've just spent a lot of time reading, occasionally writing down a new source to look into. More than anything else, I've found a lot of personal stories and anecdotes. The library has a variety of sources on gay rights and homosexuality. Some are biased in favor of gay people and gay rights while others are quite opposed to homosexuality. It has been a lot of information to sort through, but I've found these sources very interesting. What is also interesting to me is that what one might consider a private matter has managed to stir up so much controversy throughout American History.


 * Sources:

Duberman, Martin. //Stonewall.// New York: Penguin Books USA Inc., 1993.

Marcus, Eric. //Making Gay History.// New York: HaperCollins Publishers Inc., 2002.

Journal Entry 2: In the Beginning, there was Sappho

At this point in time, I am trying to focus in and put together my ideas so that I can start writing about them. From the beginning of this project until now, I've skimmed through a lot of information. So far, I've just used book sources. I began by just looking through books on the topic of homosexuality in general. I looked through some sources that included information about homosexuality in ancient Greece and Rome. I've found out a lot of interesting things about the very rich, though sometimes hidden, history of queer people. In fact, I would say that my biggest obstacle to completing this project is getting distracted by interesting tidbits that have little to nothing to do with Stonewall, such as the "Lavender scare" that happened at the same time as the red scare and how homosexuals were treated during the Holocaust.

I decided to focus on Stonewall after skimming through and reading passages out of some books related to the gay liberation movement. Stonewall seems to be the one really big turning point at the end of the sixties that led to real instances of liberation. Everything in the homophile movement (what it was often called at the time) seemed to lead up to and then come from Stonewall. I've started to find some answers to my questions.

My sources at this point are all books from our school library. Most of them were published after 1990, some were even published after 2000. So far, I don't really have any primary sources. I'd like to find newspapers and such from 1969 that have articles on Stonewall, but I'm not sure how to find these sources. I tried to find old magazines on //the Advocate// website, but I didn't find any. Finding books in the library is much easier and much less frustrating than trying to deal with technology. As requested, here are my sources thus far:

Clendinen, Dudley, and Adam Nagourney. //Out for Good.// New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1999.

Cruikshank, Margaret. //The Gay and Lesbian Liberation Movement//. New York: Chapman & Hall Inc., 1992.

Duberman, Martin. //Stonewall.// New York: Penguin Books USA Inc., 1993.

Jennings, Kevin. //Becoming Visible//. Boston: Alyson Publications, Inc., 1994.

Marcus, Eric. //Making Gay History.// New York: HaperCollins Publishers Inc., 2002.

Miller, Neil. //Out of the Past.// New York: Vintage Books, 1995.

Thompson, Mark. //Long Road to Freedom.// New York: Liberation Publications Inc., 1994.

I have also, just recently, discovered a way of acquiring primary source newspapers via library databases. This should be very useful.

Now for a brief analysis of some sources. //Stonewall// is, of course, a very fitting source for my topic. It gives details of the lives of six queer people who witnessed or played a part in the Stonewall riots as well as description of the event itself. //Long Road to Freedom// contains some very interesting pictures and other tidbits that give faces to this movement. //The Gay and Lesbian Liberation Movement// looks at the gay rights movement from a more outside, objective perspective. It discusses some of the conditions that led to Stonewall, which answers one of my questions.

Journal Entry 3: Now, to write it!

Last night, I realized I actually had to write a ten page paper about the topic I've been reading about for the past few weeks (and sporadically in the months prior to this project). So, I thought about my thesis, and then I started writing. I can't think of any better way to present my thesis than to post the first paragraph of my research paper here. But first, I must say that while I've only just sparked into action, there is still a lot of thought behind this project. I really care about writing this paper. When I lived in North Carolina, sexual minorities (gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered) were not mentioned in the classroom. There was no education or awareness of queer people in my schools. Teachers did not mention queer topics and there was no clear support for queer students. I think that education is a powerful tool for uplifting minorities, including this one that I belong to. Education promotes understanding and respect which is what all people, including queer people, need. I am writing this paper for the sake of education and therefore understanding for my people.

Here is my beginning:

Whenever one thinks of the gay rights movement, one event immediately comes to mind: the Stonewall riots. Although it was important, it was not the beginning of homosexual liberation in America, nor was it the end. Stonewall was not the only notable event in the gay rights movement, but it did represent an amazing turning point. The gay rights movement is often considered as before Stonewall and after Stonewall. While nothing out of the ordinary caused stonewall, the factors were all in place for a revolution to begin. Stonewall was important and historical because it represented the first time in American history that sexual minorities fought back against oppression and the public took notice.

Please take note that this was not the first time homosexuals fought back. This is, however, the first time that homosexuals fought back AND the public took notice. This resistance is not just important because it happened. It is important because it sparked further resistance to the ill treatment of queer people.