The 90s: Hate Crimes

Hate Crimes
Unfortunately the 90s ended with a collection of hate crimes that would shake the LGBTQ community. On October 7th, 1998 a twenty-one year old gay student Matthew Shepard (pictured below) met two guys at a gay lounge and asked them for a ride back to campus. The two men drove Shepard out to a field, robbed him, severely beat him, tied him to a fence with his own shoelaces, and left him to die. Shepard was discovered eighteen hours later by a bicyclist and was pronounced dead on October 12th. During the trial the defendants claimed that they had temporarily gone insane because Shepard had made sexual advances on them. Both men received life sentences.

At Matthew Phelps funeral anti-gay protestor Rev. Fred Phelps and his family (all members of the Westboro Baptist Church in  Topeka, Kansas) raised signs that stated "Matthew Shepard Rots in Hell" and "God Hates Fags." In reaction President Clinton attempted to add sexual orientation as a protected characteristic to federal hate crime legislation as well as a similar move in the Wyoming state legislature. Both of his attempts failed. 

On July 5, 1999 Barry Winchell was beaten to death with a baseball bat. Winchell had been attacked by a fellow Army Airbone Division soldier at Fort Campbell, Kentucky because he was suspected of being gay. Winchell's death brought much publicity and criticism of th e"Don't Ask, Don' Tell" policy. On New Year's Eve, 1993 transgender youth Brandon Teena was raped and then murdered. While these events are horrifying moments in LGBTQ history, they did spark a number of films, plays, books, songs, and discussion on homophobia and equality that would raise awareness. LGBTQ individuals and allies would use these moments to make the message clear: they would not stand for homophobia.

Additional/Relevant Reading:

Gay America: Struggle for Equality -- Linas Alsenas, pg. 138-140

Hate Crimes -- http://gaylife.about.com/od/hatecrimes/Hate_Crimes.htm

The 90s: Visibility

GSA

In 1995 a group of twenty students wanted to create a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. The groups intentions was to be a safe space for LGBTQ students. The school board fought against the GSA's creation insisting it would constitute endorsement of homosexuality, and they asked the state attorney general whether they could ban the club. Luckily they did not have the right to band the club. The Federal Equal Access Act from 1984 ensured that if one noncurricular can meet, any noncurricular club can meet. Unfortunately this did not end the battle. The media jumped on the school and the oldest of the students, Kelli Peterson (pictured below) became the spokesperson of the group. Some students started talks of starting an antigay club, then the school board decided to band all extracurricular clubs. 

In 1998 a lawsuit was filed by the East High Gay/Straight Alliance (with help from Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and the ACLU, among other groups) in an attempt to fight back against the school board's prejudice decision. The Alliance won the case in 2001, however the school had already backed down on its ban on extracurricular clubs and had accepted the school's GSA in 2000.

Visibility

During the 90s LGBTQ visibility increased dramatically. Several celebrities and athletes decided to announce their homosexuality including Steve Kmetko, Clive Barker, Yves Saint Laurent, k. d. lang, Melissa Etheridge, George Michael, Rudy Galindo, Martina Navratilova, Billy Bean, and Greg Louganis (among others). In entertainment depictions of AIDS became sympathetic towards both the victims of the disease and gay men in general. On Broadway both Angels in America and Rent became huge hits which tackled the reality of AIDS. In 1994 Tom Hanks won an Oscar for his portrayal of a gay man dying of AIDS in Philadelphia. Movies such as The Birdcage (1996), In and Out (1997), and My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) all depicted comical depictions of gay men that while admittedly stereotypical did increase visibility. 

Television became much more receptive to homosexuality as well. In 1997 Ellen DeGeneres came out on her sitcom Ellen. The media had a frenzy over Ellen coming out of the closet and her high-profile relationship with actress Anne Heche. Another popular sitcom dealing with homosexuality, Will & Grace, premiered in 1998 and quickly became one of the most popular shows on television. The queer visibility was frightening to some. In 1999 Rev. Jerry Falwell warned that the purple Teletubby Tinky Winky was gay and therefore "damaging to the moral lives of children." Fortunately, no one cared. 

Additional/Relevant Reading:
Kelli Peterson -- http://www.oasisjournals.com/Issues/9604/oasis-profiles.html

Gay America: Struggle for Equality -- Linas Alsenas, pg. 136-140

Hate Crimes -- http://gaylife.about.com/od/hatecrimes/Hate_Crimes.htm

The 90s: President Clinton

Bill Clinton
In 1993 the gay community was ecstatic when Clinton became President. Unlike the last two presidents, Democratic Party candidate Bill Clinton promised to get rid of the military's prohibition of homosexuals and increase AIDS funding. During the election he had received 75% of the gay vote and $3 million in contributions from the homosexual community.

After being elected gays and lesbians celebrated by leading the Third Lesbian and Gay March (pictured below) on Washington, one which brought over a million participants to our nation's capital. President Clinton quickly appointed almost a hundred lesbians and gay men to his administration. Clinton soon formed the White House Office of National AIDS Policy followed by the creation of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. In 1995 Bill Clinton issued an executive order that sexual orientation could not be used against a person to deny someone security clearances. In 1996 Congress passed a bill that would force the discharge of HIV-positive servicemen from the armed forces, however the Clinton administration organized a repeal. 

Unfortunately Bill was not able to deliver on all of his promises. The first was Clinton's failure in allowing gays to be part of the military. This topic had been one of the oldest policies fought against by homophile groups, and Clinton had promised change. However, Georgia Senator Sam Nunn gathered support in Congress to make the military's ban an actual law, thus stopping the president from changing the regulations. Clinton was eventually pushed into making a compromise known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue." This policy meant that homosexual members of the armed forces could serve in the military as long as they kept it a secret, and did not have sex. Also, the military was not supposed to search/pursue these gays but if any evidence to suggest one is gay is produced, a commanding officer can investigate to his heart's content. Since 1993 12,500 servicemen have been discharged because of this policy.

Bringing it to the Courts
In 1993 the Supreme Court of Hawaii ruled that the stat needed to show a "compelling state interest" in denying homosexuals the right to marriage. Marriage was extremely important to gay couples as its legal status involved Medicare participation, eligibility for first-time home buyer assistance programs, special rules for international adoption, a variety of veterans benefits, immigration sponsorship qualifications for a partner, as well as numerous tax credits. Unfortunately in 1996 the right-wing revolted and Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which denied the recognition of any union between two people who were not male and female, and noted that no state had to accept any other state's definition of marriage. President Clinton was the one to sign this into law. Hawaii continued the case, but in 1996 the judge ruled against it.  The Hawaii legislature passed a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage-- in 1998 voters approved the amendment. Shortly after a similar occurrence happened in Alaska, but it also failed.

One positive aspect of this was the realization of gays and lesbians that their fight for equality needed to brought into the courts. In 1983 Sharon Kowalski had been paralyzed and speech-impaired from a car accident. Kowalski's legal guardianship was awarded to her parents, however, Karen Thompson, Kowalski's lover, was kept away despite Kowalski's typing out messages of protest. Thompson went to court and finally won guardianship in 1991. The case reminded gays and lesbians thats they were legally very vulnerable. In 1996 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Colorado constitutional amendment which prohibited anti-discrimination laws throughout the state from including sexual orientation as a basis for discrimination. This was a beacon of hope to gays and lesbians as it was one of the first times the Supreme Court had worked in interest of the LGBTQ community.


Additional/Relevant Reading:
Gays in the Military -- http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1958246,00.html
Gay America: Struggle for Equality -- Linas Alsenas, pg. 133-136
Finding Out: An Introduction to LGBT Studies -- Meem, Gibson, Alexander, pg. 101, 102, 163

The 90s: AIDS, a Straight Issue Too

AIDS
In the 90s AIDS began to be seen as an issue that affected more than just the gay population. In 1991 basketball player Earvin "Magic" Johnson announced his positive HIV status (acquired through heterosex). The following year, tennis player Arthur Ashe announced that he had devloped HIV from a 1983 blood transfusion; he died within a year of this announcement. In 1995 AIDS had become the leading cause of death for American between the ages of twenty-five and forty-four and by the end of the decade, 33 milion people were living with HIV/AIDS around the world. This caused enormous pressure on the government to speed up its drug testing and approval processes. Because of the organization's understanding of the medical issues surrounding AIDS, ACT UP was invited to sit on many f the medical committees making decisions about AIDS research. However, many members died of the disease and with the coming election of Bill Clinton interest and passion in ACT UP died off.

In 1994 MTV's third season of the Real World presented a gay, teenage Cuban immigrant who was diagnosed with HIV while in high school. This man, Pedro Zamora (pictured below), had become an AIDS educator and joined The Real World in an attempt to spread knowledge of the disease. During the season Zamora taught his housemates about AIDS and what it was like to live with the disease. He also fell in love with fellow AIDS educator Sean Sasser while filming the show. Unfortunately Zamora died the day after the final episode premiered. President Bill Clinton would note that Zamora "enriched and enlightened our nation. He taught all of us that AIDS is a disease with a human face and one that affects every American, indeed, every citizen of the world."

LGBTQ Minorities
The 90s was the first time the LGBTQ community saw inclusion of racial and ethnic groups. While such groups as the National Coalition of Black Gays (later renamed the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays) had been started in the 80s, the groups felt alienated by the rest of the LGBTQ community. This was caused not only by the white-dominated representation of homosexuality, but also racist attitudes among gays and lesbians. In the 90s however LGBTQ groups geared towards specific races and interests sprung up, including gay and lesbian organizations for Latinos/as, Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, lawyers, runners, academics, parents, sailors, police, wrestlers, architects, pet owners, computer hackers.This formation of groups was facilitated by the influence of the internet and its ability for mass communication.

Additional/Relevant Reading:

Gay America: Struggle for Equality -- Linas Alsenas, pg. 131-133

Racism in Gay America -- http://www.colorq.org/articles/article.aspx?d=2000&x=gayracism

The History of HIV and AIDS in America -- http://www.avert.org/aids-history-america.htm

The 90s: Queer Nation and the Lesbian Avengers

Queer Nation
In 1990 ACT UP activists teamed up to form the group Queer Nation. Queer Nation was a radical group of gay activists who held an anti-heterosexual agenda, increased GLBTQ visibility, and attempted to combat homophobia. At the time queer was still considered an offensive word, thus Queer Nation took it back by declaring it to themselves proudly. The organization spread all over the country within days.

Queer Nation immediately proved itself more aggressive and controversial than the in-your-face tactics of ACT UP. The following are just a few of the many protests organized by the group: 

-On top of the usage of media zaps, Queer Nation unveiled a forty-foot banner on the roof of a Greenwich Village bar reading, "Dykes and Fags Bash Back!" 

-The New York branch put together a New Orleans-style funeral procession outside of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel to protest an appearance by President Bush. 

- Phone Zaps were held in Los Angeles in an attempt to overload the phone lines of anti-gay politicians

- In 1991 Queer Nation held protests after Governor Pete Wilson vetoed gay civil-rights legislation

One of the most controversial tactics used by Queer Nation was the "outing" of public figures who kept their sexual identity a secret. Supporters of Queer Nation argued that in order for homosexuals to be taken seriously, their presence needs to be noted. One particular "outing" that raised controversy was that of the multimillionaire Malcolm Forbes after his death. Similarly, Oliver "Bill" Sipple, a Vietnam veteran, was outed through newspaper. This revealed his sexual identity to everyone including the public. Sipple fell into a deep depression and thus was rejected by his family, became an alcoholic, and gained a large amount of weight. Sipple's body was later found in his apartment two weeks after he had died. Journalist Signorile however maintained that it was necessary to "out" public figures. In 1991 he publicly "outed"

Lesbian Avengers

In 1992 Queer Nation began to die down because of internal arguments. In its wake many groups were formed, one of them being the Lesbian Avengers. The Lesban Avengers goal was to increase lesbian visibility, and did so by working with other queer groups. In 1992 the Lesbian Avengers came to the call when a New York City school board rejected a multicultural curriculum that included discussion of homosexuality. The Lesbian Avengers responded by passing out balloons to kids in an Irish Catholic community stating "ASK ABOUT LESBIAN LIVES." Another protest involved the Promise Keepers-- a Christian men's group that fought for traditional gender roles. In 1997 the Avengers attended the Promise Keeper's conference topless. Avengers also distributed parking tickets on cars near the Keepers gathering that stated "illegally parked in a hate free zone." 

Additional/Relevant Reading:
Gay America: Struggle for Equality -- Linas Alsenas, pg. 127-131

Finding Out: An Introduction to LGBT Studies -- Meem, Gibson, Alexander, pg. 98

Lesbian Avengers -- http://www.lesbianavengers.com/about/history.shtml

Queer Nation -- http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/queer_nation.html