It is hard to pinpoint the exact date, or if there even is an exact date, to when the idea or formation of a gay movement started. There is some evidence that states that same-sex unions have been going on since the beginning of recorded history in countries such as Egypt and China. However, as far as the movement today there have been a few key events in the movement’s history. There was in 1951 when The Mattachine Society was formed by Harry Hay. This was considered to be the first national gay rights organization. However, a little over thirty years later in 1982, it was only then that in Wisconsin that it was illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of sexual orientation. The fact that law was made at such a late date shows how much the gay movement has had to wait for tiny steps forward to occur in their movement.
In 2000, was when the big steps finally began to occur and Vermont was the first state to recognize civil unions between male/male and female/female couples. Even though this allows the couples to be given the same benefits and responsibilities as female/male couples, they are not legally allowed to be called married couples. This is because to the state the word marriage is for heterosexual couples. Then in 2003, a judicial judge from Massachusetts stated that denying same-sex couples the ability to be joined in a marriage was unconstitutional. So it is not surprising that on May 17, 2004 in the state of Massachusetts that same-sex marriage was legalized. In 2005, civil unions became legalized in Conneticut and in 2006 they were legalized in New Jersery. In 2008, Oregon allows gay couples to be registered as domestic partners. Being domestic partners allows the couples to some of the same rights as heterosexual married couples. In May of 2008, California came to the conclusion that gay couples have the right to be married, and in June 2008 it will become the second state to legalized same-sex marriage like Massachusetts.
The three events that I think really stand out as landmarks for the gay movement are Wisconsin made it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation. That was a step forward as viewing gay people as normal and just as deserving of respect as heterosexual individuals. I also think that when Vermont became the first state to recognize a legal relationship between same-sex couples, that that was a truly key event. Massachusetts being the first state to join same-sex couples in marriage was a huge step as well, but I think that California following suit was an even greater achievement.
Just like many other social movements over time, the gay movement can be linked to the Mass Society Theory. The mass society theory according to the book basically states that there are certain community groups, unions, and even places such as churches that are there to mediate the link between the government and the citizens. When a person feels as if they do not fit in to these groups, they begin to form their own groups, and this is how social movements can occur. After reading this and thinking about the movement that I am focusing on, which is the gay movement, I definitely saw how they coincided with each other. Take the church for instance. There is so much being said about how “the Bible says being gay is wrong” and how it is an unforgivable sin. So it is easy to see that people who are gay or prefer someone of the same sex would feel alienated from a place that is seen as a mediator for society. This might cause them to rebel in the form in a social movement.
Resource mobilization is the idea that people use their social networks and also bring together people who have the same goal in mind. This gives the idea that social movements take a group of people with the same values and idea in mind, and do not just form out of a completely random group of individuals. Gay people who have grown up feeling alienated from their own peers have collectively gotten together and decided to take a stand for themselves and what they believe and feel. They have come together as a group, and instead of getting the door shut in their face by the government over and over again, they are actually having doors opened for them. Even though states that have approved civil unions or domestic partnerships have not approved handing out marriage licenses, it is still a forward step for the gay movement.
As far as cultural approaches go, I think the book brings up a good point. It shows the example of how the animal protection movements made citizens realize that animals were suffering. I think with the more states that legalize gay marriage, the more that people are becoming a little bit more accepting of same-sex marriage, or partnership. Even if it is still hard to have people see that gay marriage can be just as beautiful and “normal” as male/female marriage, the movement is definitely breaking ground, and beginning to open more people’s minds. One of the main goals of the gay movement is to stress that they are just as eligible to share the sanction of marriage as anyone else is.
The gay movement can identify with these different theories and approaches, but I really think that the mass society theory can really be linked to the gay rights movement. It does show that if people are feeling alienated from what is considered “normal” in society, they will search for ways to try to stop the alienation. This is done through social movements at times. The gay movement has had the odds against them for quite a long time, but through the formation and pushing that the movement has done, the right laws are being passed and same-sex couples are being recognized as normal as heterosexual individuals.
