And the first social activists and groups advocating for the rights of homosexuals began to appear in the new science of sexology. These processes occurred especially pronouncedly in Germany.
Stonewall. Radicalization of the movement
Goals of the movement
Repeal of discriminatory laws
Cancellation of criminal and administrative prosecution
In most modern countries, homosexuality or homosexual activity is not considered a crime. In a number of countries in Africa and Asia, homosexuality, manifestations of homosexual activity, or even a hint of it are considered criminal offenses that are punishable by imprisonment (as in the former USSR) or the death penalty, as in modern Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia (Jamaat territory Al-Shabaab), Sudan, Nigeria (northern states) and Mauritania. In such countries, however, there is no open struggle for the rights of sexual and gender minorities, since participation in it can pose a threat to freedom and life. At the same time, in many of these countries there is lobbying for a relaxation of criminal laws against homosexuals. The lobbyists are reformist and moderate liberal forces in the leadership of these countries. In particular, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami spoke in favor of easing legislation regarding homosexuals. In addition, these countries are under international pressure to comply with human rights, and among other issues on the agenda (but not the first or most important) is the issue of abolishing criminal and administrative penalties for homosexuality or manifestations of homosexual activity.
In Russia, criminal prosecution was abolished in 1993 as part of the process of bringing legislation into line with European norms, but the victims were not rehabilitated like other victims of the Soviet regime under the laws on victims of political repression, which is currently demanded by LGBT activists and a number of human rights defenders .
Repeal of instructions and regulations defining homosexuality as a medical pathology
The idea of equal rights for gays and lesbians with other citizens presupposes the official recognition of homosexuality as one of the psychological norms in accordance with modern scientific views and official WHO documents (since 1993).
In this regard, LGBT organizations, professional medical organizations, liberal politicians and human rights activists are fighting for the abolition of instructions and regulations defining homosexuality as a mental disorder, and for the adoption of official documents (at the level of ministries of health of national states and at the level of national associations of psychiatrists and psychologists), unambiguously defining homosexuality as a variant of the psychological norm and prohibiting any “treatment for homosexuality” or “correction of sexual orientation” of healthy people, which are currently recognized as homosexuals, since the harm to patients from such influences has already been reliably proven, and there are reliable facts of “orientation correction” " still no.
In many countries, especially democratic ones, the abolition of instructions and regulations defining homosexuality as a medical pathology or as a sexual deviation has already taken place. In Russia, homosexuality was excluded from the list of diseases on January 1, 1999 (transition to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, from which homosexuality is excluded).
Cancellation of bans on professions
In some countries there were or are bans on certain professions for people who openly declare their homosexuality. This could be, for example, a ban on representatives of sexual minorities serving in the army or working as a school teacher or doctor. Organizations defending the rights of sexual minorities are seeking (and in some cases have already achieved) the abolition of these prohibitions.
For example, special sociological studies conducted in Western countries have established that the homosexuality of an officer or soldier does not affect combat discipline or the internal psychological climate of the unit. Therefore, there is no reason to deny homosexuals the right to serve in the military.
In Russia, the “Regulations on Military Medical Examination” indicate that the very fact of homosexuality within the framework of this provision is not a disorder and, therefore, is not a disease that prevents military service. According to Article 18 of the Regulations, “sexual orientation in itself is not considered a disorder.” Fitness category “B (limitedly fit for military service)” for homosexuality is applied only in the presence of severe disorders of gender identification and sexual preference that are incompatible with service and the presence of concomitant diseases. Thus, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, such persons have equal rights in relation to military service, but in practice, some military commissariats do not call up homosexuals for military service.
It has also been established that a teacher’s homosexuality does not lead to any complications in relationships with students and does not predispose the teacher to commit indecent acts against students (since homosexuality and pedophilia are fundamentally different things). Therefore, there is no reason to prohibit openly gay people from working as school teachers. The idea of lifting the ban on the teaching profession for openly gay people has been criticized by supporters of conservative views, who believe that the very presence of a teacher with a homosexual orientation in a school teaches children by example, and that in this way homosexuality is “promoted” in school. However, proponents of this point of view do not have any scientific data proving that schools with homosexual teachers produce more homosexual graduates, or that homosexual teachers are more likely to commit indecent acts against students, or that they They teach children worse or cannot build normal relationships with them in the “teacher-student” paradigm.
Lifting the ban on donation
In some countries, there is a ban on blood and organ donation from members of sexual minorities. LGBT organizations are making attempts to challenge this norm and achieve the abolition of discrimination. In 2006, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation undertook to prepare an amendment to repeal this discriminatory policy. On April 16, 2008, the Minister of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation Tatyana Golikova issued an order “On introducing amendments to the order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation of September 14, 2001 No. 364 “On approval of the procedure for medical examination of a blood donor and its components.” Since May 13, 2008, homosexuals have been excluded from the list of contraindications for donating blood and its components.
Respect for human rights regarding LGBT people
Even in those countries in which criminal and administrative penalties for manifestations of homosexuality have been abolished, the practice of human rights violations against homosexuals has persisted for a long time.
LGBT organizations have fought and are fighting not only for the formal abolition of criminal penalties for homosexuality, but also for changing actual police and administrative practices. Including that the concept of “violation of public order” should be equally applied (or not applied) to same-sex and opposite-sex couples kissing or hugging in public places, and that raids on “drug dealers or passport violators” should be carried out non-selectively in crowded places homosexuals.
LGBT organizations are also fighting for the observance of such human rights in relation to homosexuals as the right to peaceful public meetings (including gay pride events), the right to create public organizations, the right to cultural self-release, the right to access information, the right to freedom of speech, the right to equal access to medical care, etc. In Russia, these rights are regularly violated: the police, under various pretexts, raid gay clubs, maintain “lists of gays,” not a single public action in defense of LGBT people has been sanctioned by the authorities, LGBT organizations are denied registration, cultural events of gays and lesbians are often disrupted , there are no programs to implement HIV prevention among gay men.
Passing anti-discrimination laws
LGBT organizations also advocate for explicit reference to sexual minorities in anti-discrimination laws (or for the adoption of separate anti-discrimination laws for sexual minorities). They also seek direct mention of sexual orientation and gender identity in the relevant articles of the Constitutions, guaranteeing equal rights to all citizens regardless of gender, age, religion, or nationality.
Right to register marriage
In recent years, there has been a growing movement in support of same-sex marriage. The fact of registering a marriage secures for a same-sex family such rights as: the right to joint property, the right to alimony, inheritance rights, social and medical insurance, preferential taxation and lending, the right to a name, the right not to testify in court against a spouse, the right to act as a proxy on behalf of the spouse in the event of his incapacity for health reasons, the right to dispose of the body of the spouse in the event of death, the right to joint parenthood and upbringing of adopted children and other rights that unregistered couples are deprived of.
Opponents of same-sex marriage argue that according to tradition and religious norms, only a man and a woman can enter into marriage, and therefore the demands of gays and lesbians to recognize the same right for them are absurd and we are not talking about equality of homosexuals and heterosexuals, but about providing homosexuals with a new unprecedented law. Supporters of same-sex marriage point out that marriage registration is a legal action, independent of religious norms (in most modern states, legal and church registration of marriage relations occur separately), and that the law should follow social changes leading to the elimination of inequality between people, as this and occurs over the past centuries, when previously existing prohibitions on registering marriages (for example, between spouses belonging to different faiths or races) were gradually abolished. In addition, the American Psychological Association states that the denial of legal rights to gay marriage is a source of tension for same-sex couples, which has an extremely negative effect on their psychological well-being. Other researchers note that in those countries where same-sex marriage was legalized, there were no significant upheavals in society.
Among the countries that have granted same-sex couples the full right to marry are, for example, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Denmark, Brazil, France, Uruguay, New Zealand, Luxembourg, USA, Ireland, Colombia, Finland and Germany. Same-sex marriages also take place in England, Wales, Scotland and some states in Mexico. In addition, in many countries, so-called “same-sex unions” are concluded, which are some semblance of marriage, but do not have all the rights that married spouses have. In different countries, such same-sex unions may be called differently. The list of rights and obligations enjoyed by members of such unions also differs (from a full set of marriage rights to a minimum).
Closely related to the right to register a marriage or union is the right to immigration.
Adoption
The LGBT movement is seeking the right to adopt a child of one partner by another partner in same-sex families, the possibility of adoption by same-sex families of children from orphanages, for the possibility of equal access to assisted reproductive technologies for same-sex and opposite-sex families. It should be noted that in many countries where same-sex married couples are granted broad rights, these issues are considered separately.
In accordance with Russian legislation, adoption can be issued for one citizen or for a married couple. The law makes no mention of a citizen’s sexual orientation as a basis for refusing adoption or guardianship, but in practice homosexuals often face refusals. Sexual orientation is also not a limitation to access to assisted reproductive technologies, but a same-sex family has problems establishing the parenthood of a child.
Social activities
LGBT organizations are engaged in social activities, such as organizing various cultural events (film festivals, sports competitions, music competitions and concerts, photo exhibitions, theatrical performances, installations, flash mobs, etc.), the purpose of which is the social adaptation of the LGBT community, the development of its cultural potential, establishing cultural dialogue with the rest of society. In addition, as a rule, any event is educational in nature.
Various books, magazines are also published, and even radio and television broadcasts are conducted.
Separately, there is the organization of services - affordable and high-quality specific psychological, legal and medical assistance to representatives of the LGBT community, helplines, mutual help groups.
Gay nationalism
A special variety in the movement for the emancipation of gays and lesbians is gay nationalism, which proclaims the LGBT community a new nation with its own culture and historical destiny.
A couple of decades ago, the term LGBT was coined, which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender. The first three positions relate to a person's sexual orientation, the fourth - to his gender identity. The word "lesbian" comes from the name of the island of Lesbos, where the poet Sappho lived in ancient times. Since then, the name Lesvos has been a symbol of love between women. The word "gay" has two meanings: gay - "cheerful guy" and the abbreviation "good as you". Bisexual and transgender should be understood literally: a person with dual sexuality and a person changing gender (the latter is not entirely true; transgender people do not always change their physiological sex; they are often content with changing their image and documents).
Story
The term LGBT has existed since the consolidation of sexual and gender minorities into a single community. But the LGBT movement itself began earlier. It is generally considered to be the beginning of the Stonewall riot (June 1969), when gays for the first time in American history fought back against the police who carried out routine raids in clubs. The emancipation of the community continues to this day. This process is extremely difficult in states with a weakened economy and legal system, with a low level of education and a political regime close to totalitarian. In such countries, the authorities, in order to distract the population from economic and social problems, cultivate the image of an internal enemy, exploiting the age-old prejudices of people imposed by orthodox religions. The ideal “enemy” for ignorant people is LGBT, which means marginalization of the community and escalation of violence against its members.
Organizations
Every country has its own LGBT organization. There are several of them in Russia. There are also branches with a narrow purpose:
The Side-by-Side Film Festival has an educational mission;
The main function of the LGBT Christian Forum is to seek consensus between believing members of the community and orthodox church doctrine, which positions same-sex intimate relationships as a sin;
The organization "Coming Out" (Coming Out LGBT, which means openly recognizing one's orientation) provides members of the community with legal and psychological support.
Russian organizations:
- "LGBT Network" in St. Petersburg;
- "Rainbow Association" in Moscow;
- “Another View” in Komi;
Initiative groups in all major cities of Russia.
These organizations are multifunctional: their tasks include educational activities, support, and political struggle.
There is also an organization “Children-404”, focused on the psychological adaptation of homosexual teenagers, who were actually denied the right to exist by the legislation on information protection of minors. 
The LGBT Network in St. Petersburg, the Rainbow Association in Moscow, etc. have an official LGBT website.
LGBT in the protest movement
There are many heterosexuals in the LGBT movement. In St. Petersburg there is the “Alliance of Heterosexuals for LGBT Equality,” consisting mainly of representatives of the majority. There are heterosexuals in the Moscow "Rainbow Association" and in groups in other cities. Russia is characterized by a general civic focus of LGBT activities, which means the movement is closely connected with the struggle against patriarchal gender chauvinism, as well as with other anti-fascist and democratic associations with both liberal and left-wing political platforms.
Attention, TODAY only!
1. What is LGBT?
LGBT (LGBT) is an abbreviation formed from the first letters of the names of groups of representatives of sexual and gender minorities. It denotes a community of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people united by common interests, issues and goals. The LGBT movement is a movement for human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
2. How to talk about LGBT people correctly?
The words “homosexuality” and “homosexual” should be avoided as they carry negative emotional connotations. In Soviet medicine, these terms were used to designate sexual perversion to be treated, and in criminology - a crime to be punished.
Since these approaches are now fundamentally outdated, the use of the word “homosexuality” is incorrect in essence and offensive in form. Think about the fact that there are no words “heterosexual” and “heterosexuality”, but there are “heterosexual” and “heterosexuality”. Therefore, when it comes to sexual orientation, it would be correct to say “homosexual” and “homosexuality” - these are the terms that correspond to their Western European counterparts (English: “homosexual” and “homosexuality”).
In the early 2000s, the neutral word “gay” began to be used more and more actively in everyday life. However, this term does not always correlate with sexual behavior: it means self-identification. A gay is a person who accepts his homosexual orientation, is aware of his belonging to the gay community and culture, as well as the need to defend his rights. By the way, in the West the word “gay” refers to homosexual people of both sexes - both men and women. Moreover, it is often used as an adjective. For example, “gay woman” (“homosexual woman”) or “gay girl” (“homosexual girl”).
In the Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking space, such women prefer to call themselves the word “lesbian,” which goes back to the ancient Greek poetess Sappho (Sappho), who lived on the island of Lesbos and dedicated many poems to her love for a woman.
Bisexual men are called bisexuals, bisexual women are called bisexuals. Both of them together are often called the word “bi” (from the ancient Greek “two”).
The correct terms for people whose biological sex does not match their gender identity are “transgender,” “transgender man,” and “transgender woman.”
3. How many LGBT people are there in Ukraine?
According to various studies, there are from 800 thousand to 1.2 million representatives of the LGBT community in Ukraine. Counting is no easy task, as answering openly a question about one's sexual orientation or gender identity remains dangerous in our country. Sociologists argue that in any society - regardless of its political and social structure, approval or disapproval of homosexuality - the proportion of LGBT people is approximately the same and ranges from 7 to 10 percent.
4. Why are gays and lesbians not visible?
For many gays and lesbians, telling their parents, colleagues and friends about their homosexuality is very difficult. And all because a huge number of myths, stereotypes and various kinds of social stigmas will most likely prevent them from perceiving the information adequately. Relatives are most often afraid of the reaction of others to the fact that there is “such” a person in their family. The question always comes up: “What about the grandchildren?”
In the worst case scenario, loved ones, friends and even parents may stop all contact with the person who has disclosed their homosexuality or transgenderism. Naturally, for this reason, people are in no hurry to let others know the details of their sexual identity.
It is often difficult to admit this even to yourself, because in our society there is a stereotype that to be homosexual or transgender means to be rejected. Alas, this stereotype is difficult to break.
5. Is it possible to change sexual orientation?
History has repeatedly described cases of attempts to “treat” homosexuality using a variety of methods - from electric shock and chemical castration to conversion therapy involving religion.
Needless to say that often such “treatment” was more like torture? In fact, no therapy can change sexual orientation. First of all, because sexual orientation, whatever it may be, is not a disease. This is very easy to understand using the opposite example, imagining a heterosexual man who, with the help of pills, prayers, electric shock and hormone therapy, is trying to make him want other men and feel disgust at the sight of a naked female body. Difficult? That's it.
6. Why hold gay pride parades?
Gay Pride is an entertaining procession in the form of a fun carnival. There have been no gay pride parades in Kyiv, and there are no plans to do so in the near future. Kyiv is not the Brazilian Sao Paulo or the German Berlin: the Ukrainian LGBT community has nothing to celebrate yet by organizing carnivals.
Instead, an Equality March is organized annually in Kyiv, which has nothing in common with the carnival. This is a public action within the framework of the International LGBT Forum-Festival “KyivPride”. The Equality March is a human rights march in which ordinary people take part: representatives of the LGBT community, their friends and human rights activists. Participants in the Equality March are not necessarily homo-, bi-, or transsexual people themselves.
The Equality March is not about entertainment. This is about respecting the rights and freedoms of every person in our country. Sexual orientation and gender identity are a private matter for everyone, but human rights are an issue that is extremely important for the entire society. Because freedom either exists for everyone or does not exist for anyone.
7. What is Pride?
The English word "pride" means "pride". In English, the connotations of this term can vary, and if a person says “I'm proud to be gay” (literally translated - “I'm proud to be gay”), this does not mean that he considers his sexual orientation more “worthy” than any other. This phrase should be taken in the context of “I am not ashamed of who I am and accept myself as such.”
LGBT pride can consist of holding public events, for example, the Equality March, as well as various cultural and intellectual events of closed or semi-open content - exhibitions, film screenings, public discussions, educational sessions.
8. Who discriminates against LGBT people?
Representatives of the LGBT community are subject to discrimination in various spheres of life. The most painful is the so-called family discrimination, when young children, sometimes minors, are kicked out of home after learning about their sexuality. Of course, gay and lesbian adults are also familiar with discrimination. Thus, representatives of the LGBT community may be fired from work without reason, denied employment, suddenly terminated a rental agreement, kicked out of a cafe, expelled from a university or other educational institution.
LGBT people suffer regular abuse, extortion and blackmail at the hands of unscrupulous law enforcement officials. Sometimes criminals choose representatives of the LGBT community as potential victims of assaults and robberies, based on the fact that they, out of fear for their reputation, will not complain to law enforcement officers. Moreover, since 2011, legislative initiatives began to appear in the Ukrainian parliament, one after another, which proposed to establish institutional (that is, emanating not from society, but from the state) discrimination based on sexual orientation. We are talking primarily about a number of bills that prohibited the dissemination of information about homosexuality in the public space. In other words, these were documents about legalized discrimination against LGBT people and their transformation into second-class citizens at the level of state policy.
Transgender people are often victims of even greater discrimination because their appearance differs from the majority's idea of what a man or woman should look like. In addition, gender reassignment treatment procedures for transsexuals in Ukraine are extremely burdensome and discriminatory. For example, only those transsexuals who are not married and do not have children can undergo these procedures.
9. Which LGBT rights are being violated?
Unfortunately, Ukrainian society and Ukraine as a whole are still very far from adhering to the implementation of Article 28 of the Constitution in everyday life. This article states that every citizen has the right to respect for his own dignity. Considering LGBT people as second-class citizens, as “sub-citizens,” our compatriots violate the fundamental human rights of members of the LGBT community at various levels.
The following rights are violated:
1) for housing (parents can kick a gay minor out of the house);
2) on healthcare (it happens that doctors refuse homosexuals, and especially transgender people, adequate medical care);
3) for education (they may be expelled from an educational institution without reason);
4) for work (thrown out of work, not hired without reason);
5) on personal integrity (aggressive attacks on people because of their sexual orientation);
6) impartial treatment (blackmail, extortion by law enforcement officials; refusal to provide any commercial services);
7) non-disclosure of confidential information (information about sexual orientation may be disclosed to third parties);
8) to create a family (people do not have the opportunity to legalize their family relationships on the territory of Ukraine).
And this is not a complete list.
The problem is that such a large social group as homosexuals and bisexuals of both sexes are almost completely ignored in domestic legislation - as if they do not exist in nature. We have a wonderful anti-discrimination clause in the Constitution, but human rights to equality regardless of sexual orientation are not expressly protected in that clause.
We have a law “On the fundamentals of preventing and combating discrimination in Ukraine,” but it never mentions sexual orientation or gender identity. Our Family Code completely ignores the 150 thousand same-sex partnerships that exist unofficially in Ukraine, when people lead a joint household, living under the same roof as a family and, in many cases, raising children.
In the practice of criminal proceedings, it is believed that a sexual relationship between a 100% gay man and a woman is “natural” for him, but a relationship between two gay men is unnatural for either of them.
It’s good that the State Statistics Service several years ago had enough common sense to cancel the useless statistical registration of “minor homosexuals” (yes, this is exactly the kind of registration that was carried out by the internal affairs bodies at one time!).
So, we need to thoroughly cleanse the legislation of the remnants of Sovietization and bring it into line with current social realities and European norms. Only then will everything begin to change for the better.
10. What does your organization do?
The all-Ukrainian public organization “Gay Alliance Ukraine” has been operating since 2009, has more than 15 regional offices in many regions of the country and successfully implements many interesting projects.
We are currently working with topics such as:
Promoting the implementation of fundamental human rights and freedoms, countering homophobia.
Development of the LGBT community.
Informing society about LGBT and human rights issues.
Helpline for LGBT people.
Support for women's initiatives.
Promoting the development of civil society and other useful activities.
We try to be in constant contact with the LGBT community and promptly respond to their requests. Therefore, the projects we carry out are relevant and result-oriented.
11. Who supports you?
LGBT people, like many other social groups, face unfair treatment, violation of equality, or, in legal terms, discrimination.
In recent years, discriminated groups in Ukraine have become much more supportive of each other. We cooperate with representatives of women's organizations, public figures who advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, the rights of refugees and religious minorities, the rights of people living with HIV, the rights of prisoners, etc. We are supported by our colleagues and like-minded people from many countries around the world, including a considerable number of international political figures. For example, the Council of Europe's High Commissioner for Human Rights, or the head of the European Union's foreign policy department, Baroness Catherine Ashton, as well as outstanding world-class philanthropists like Elton John.
We also receive partial support from the Ukrainian authorities: most recently, the Ukrainian judiciary adopted recommendations according to which people cannot be discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation in the field of labor relations.
LGBT movement is a socio-political movement of representatives of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Its goal is the equality of citizens, regardless of their various signs and characteristics, respect for human rights, and the fight against discrimination and xenophobia.
In the second half of the 19th century, the first social activists and groups promoting gay rights began to emerge. These processes occurred especially pronouncedly in Germany.
The German lawyer Karl Ulrich, in his series of books “An Inquiry into the Mystery of Love Between Men,” written in the 1860s, developed a theory of human sexuality and introduced the term "uranism". In 1867, at a meeting of lawyers in Munich, he first proposed not to consider homosexual relations from the perspective of offenses. He also created the organization "Union of Uranists", for which he was sentenced to two years, and later was forced to emigrate.
In 1869, human rights publicist Karl Maria Kertbeny anonymously published a leaflet in which he spoke out against Prussian “anti-Sodomite” criminal legislation. In his research, Kertbeni first introduced in 1886 term "homosexual".
In 1897, through the efforts of the physician Magnus Hirschfeld, the Scientific and Humanitarian Committee was founded. One of the Committee's goals was to repeal paragraph 175 (the anti-homosexual provision of the German criminal code, in force from 1871 to 1968). In 1901, Hirschfeld published an article intended for the general public, “What the People Should Know About the Third Sex.” In 1919, Hirschfeld founded the Institute of Sexual Sciences. The Institute actively contacted homosexuals and transgender people in its research. In the institute's research, homosexuals were considered a third gender along with men and women, so they should not be persecuted because they had a certain innate quality. In the same year, director Richard Oswald, co-authored with Dr. Hirschfeld, filmed film "Not like everyone else", considered today to be the world's first film to address the theme of homosexuality.
In 1923, Friedrich Radszuweit founded the Union for Human Rights, which found many supporters in society. In addition, in the 1920s and 1930s, Radstsuwait published the lesbian magazine “Girlfriend” and the almanac “The Third Sex.”
Similar processes are occurring in other countries. Thus, the writer George Cecil created the Order of Chaeronea society in 1897. In 1924, the Society for Human Rights was founded in Chicago in the USA, following the example of German organizations, but a few months later it was closed by the American police, and all its members were arrested.
The Second World War significantly changed the way of life and ideology in society, which gave impetus to the development of the LGBT movement, the most important processes in which took place in the United States. After the war, due to a number of objective reasons Gay neighborhoods and networks of gay bars began to form.
The Stonewall Uprising was a series of riots and spontaneous demonstrations against a police raid that began on the night of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn gay bar. These clashes are often cited as the first time in history that LGBT people resisted a state-sanctioned system of persecution against a community. The riots are considered to be a defining event, marking the beginning of a mass movement for LGBT human rights in the United States and around the world.
In the 1960s, police raids on gay bars in the United States were common. But in June 1969, the police quickly lost control of the situation as a crowd gathered near the Stonewall Inn and unexpectedly showed resistance. This clash continued in the following days with mass protests and riots. Within weeks, gay neighborhood residents quickly organized into activist groups focused on creating spaces for gays and lesbians to be open about their sexual orientation without fear of arrest.
After the Stonewall riots, New York's gays and lesbians transcended gender, class, and generational divides to become... close-knit community. Within six months, two gay rights organizations had been formed, focusing on activist protest tactics, and three newspapers had been established to support gay and lesbian rights. Within a few years, gay rights organizations were founded in the United States and around the world. On June 28, 1970, in memory of the riots, the first gay pride demonstrations were held in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta and Toronto. Later, similar marches were organized in other cities and countries.
Homomonument- a memorial in the historical center of Amsterdam, built in memory of all gays and lesbians who were oppressed and persecuted because of their sexual orientation. The monument was created to support and inspire gay men and women in their fight against discrimination and repression. The monument, designed by the Dutch artist Karin Daan, was inaugurated on September 5, 1987 at Westermarkt. It is an abstract composition of three triangles of pink granite. This symbolism has historical background - the pink triangle served as a mark for homosexual prisoners in Nazi concentration camps. Moreover, unlike similar signs of other categories of prisoners, it was larger in size than the others - so that everyone from afar could see their belonging to one of the most despised groups. The mortality rate of homosexuals in concentration camps exceeded the average by 60%; according to various estimates, up to 50 thousand gays died during the extermination policy. Subsequently, the pink triangle became a symbol of the emancipation of the LGBT community and its struggle for its rights.
It was registered in 1946 in Amsterdam, Kingdom of the Netherlands. Full name Center for Culture and Recreation (Gol. CultureOntspanningscentrum). The organization supports the LGBT community in the areas of human rights, sexual and reproductive health both domestically and internationally. COC Netherlands is one of the few LGBT organizations in the world that has special consultative status with the United Nations.
LGBT symbols
The LGBT community has its own own symbolism. These signs have different origins and semantic content.
They demonstrate community unity, openness and pride.
Until the second half of the 20th century, many societies believed that a sexual orientation different from that of the majority was a sign of sin or disease. Often such people were prosecuted. Homosexuals were forced to hide their identities to avoid bullying, imprisonment, or even murder. The LGBT movement has created an official system of symbols for self-identification and manifestation of its unity.
LGBT symbols have changed over time. Some old symbols have given way to more universal new ones. Today the most famous of them are rainbow flag, pink triangle and lambda.
Pink triangle
The oldest and one of the most recognizable symbols of the LGBT community. It owes its origins to Nazi Germany, where homosexuals were among the victims of the Holocaust. According to various estimates, in the Third Reich, under Paragraph 175, from 50 to 100 thousand homosexual men were sent to prison, and from 5 to 15 thousand people were deported to concentration camps. In them, a patch in the form of a pink triangle was made on the clothes of such prisoners. According to studies, more than 60% of convicted homosexual men died because they experienced cruel treatment not only from guards and administration, but also from other prisoners.
In the early 1970s, LGBT organizations in Germany and the United States began to popularize the pink triangle as a symbol of the movement. Thus, they drew a parallel between the crimes of the Nazis and the ongoing oppression and discrimination of homosexuals in the modern world. Nowadays, the pink triangle is used to perpetuate the memory of the tragic past, to demonstrate the struggle for human rights and to express hope for a new era of freedom, openness and pride.
Traditionally, its canvas consists of six longitudinal stripes, the colors of which follow the natural order of the rainbow, from top to bottom: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. The flag is meant to represent the unity and diversity, beauty and joy of the LGBT community. He is the personification of pride and openness.
The rainbow flag was designed by artist Gilbert Baker specifically for San Francisco Gay Pride in 1978. This year has become historic for the LGBT community in the United States - for the first time in California, openly gay Harvey Milk was elected to political office (as a member of the city supervisory board). The six-color flag then spread from San Francisco to other cities and became a well-known symbol of the LGBT community around the world. In 1985, the International Lesbian and Gay Association officially recognized him in this capacity.
In 1970, the small Greek letter lambda, at the suggestion of graphic artist Tom Doerr, was chosen as the symbol of the Gay Activist Alliance, one of the most active groups in the gay liberation movement.
Activists explained the choice of symbol by the fact that lambda, which in physics denotes “resting potential,” “change in energy,” and “wavelength,” is a successful personification of the coming changes in the position of homosexuals in society and the prospects of the gay movement. In their opinion, it was intended to become a symbol of "the obligation of men and women as homosexual citizens to seek and protect their human rights."
Labrys (Ancient Greek: λάβρυς) is an ax with two blades, used as a weapon in the Mediterranean region. It was known in Ancient Greece as a symbol of a number of non-heteronormative deities: Zeus Labrendeus (depicted as an androgyne with a beard and multiple breasts), Demeter (her cult included rites of a lesbian nature), and the Minoan female goddess. According to ancient mythology, the double-sided ax was also the weapon of the female warriors of the Amazons, who lived in a matriarchal community and were famous for same-sex relationships.
In the 1970s, the labrys was adopted by lesbian feminists as a symbol of strength, autonomy and solidarity. It also denotes ambiguous sexuality and gender.
Gender symbols have been used to schematically represent biological sex since the 18th century. Since the 1970s superimposed gender signs are used by LGBT activists. The lesbian icon combines two “mirrors of Venus” (♀), and the gay icon combines two “shields and spears of Mars” (♂). Curly gender signs are also used.
A similar transgender symbol represents the “mirror of Venus” and the “spear and shield of Mars” combined together, sometimes with the addition of a combined arrow and cross. In 1999, a transgender flag was created, the canvas of which consists of longitudinal stripes of blue, pink and white. Its author, transsexual Monica Helms, explains that blue and pink stripes symbolize male and female genders, respectively, while white stripes symbolize other conditions (intersex, transgender, gender indeterminate). The flag is intended to denote the equality of all gender forms.
In the 1970s, a purple palm print (“purple hand”) was very popular as a gay symbol. Being one of the most active groups -
The bisexual flag was designed by artist Michael Page in 1998 and has since gained popularity around the world. It is a rectangular canvas of three horizontal stripes: a wide pink stripe at the top, symbolizing homosexual attraction, a wide blue stripe at the bottom, meaning heterosexual attraction, and a purple stripe occupying the central part as a fusion of two areas, which symbolizes bisexuality.
Some symbols have historical significance. For example, thanks to Oscar Wilde, the green carnation was used as a symbol of homosexuality in Victorian Britain. The red tie or scarf became such in connection with the work of the artist Paul Cadmus, and the calamus - the poet Walt Whitman.
There are a number of other symbols (eg purple rhinoceros, unicorn, butterfly) and flags, but they are not widely known.
Heteronormativity is a worldview in which heterosexuality is understood as the social norm of human sexual behavior.
In the “THEY” program, aired on “Echo of Moscow” on May 25, the leader of the LGBT community Nikolai Alekseev announced live the names of high-ranking people who are persons of non-traditional sexual orientation.
Journalists from TV Dozhd Timur Olevsky and Vladimir Romensky, who were broadcasting, asked a number of questions to Alekseev, after which the latter decided to list these individuals:
“N. ALEXEEV - Do you want me to name them?
V. ROMENSKY - Yes, of course. Let's name it.
N. ALEXEEV - Do you want me to name them? I will now name them on your live broadcast.
V. ROMENSKY - Let's do it.
N. ALEXEEV - Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Putin Volodin Head of Sberbank of Russia Gref is a person of homosexual orientation. Head of Sheremetyevo Airport is a person of homosexual orientation. And do you still need to continue?
T. OLEVSKY - Enough. Why don’t they support you, why didn’t they protect you?
N. ALEXEEV - But they don’t need it. They have all the rights."