Over the centuries, the message of public rejection of homosexuality has ranged from outlawing of homosexual acts, to violence and death threats against homosexuals themselves, forcing many who had genuine, loving relationships to keep those relationships a deeply hidden secret, lest they face the wrath of society and the legal system (Rupp, 2002). The dichotomy between the acceptance of homosexuals by society and the attainment of legal rights for homosexuals is a strange irony that not only was one of the underpinnings of the Stonewall Riot, but also has caused much of the turmoil for this particular civil rights struggle throughout history. For example, in colonial America, there were homosexual men who, by all appearances, were accepted in the social fabric of the time, but faced legal actions due to laws that were hastily passed, outlawing homosexual acts, even between consenting adults (Bull, 2001). This type of situation points out something that becomes apparent when studying these events in retrospect- while the general population claimed to be accepting of homosexuality, there were those who held a great deal of moral outrage for the lifestyle, and used the mechanism of the legal system to show their disdain, much like poll laws, literacy tests and the like were used in opposition to African-Americans in the years before the Civil War.

Exceptions to the Rule

Research also reveals that there were some exceptions to the social and legal exclusion of homosexuals from the mainstream of early America; these specific examples can be seen in a study of the city of Boston in the early...

Ironically enough, Boston, which in itself would eventually come to stand as an icon in the fight for liberty and justice, valued homosexuals not en masse, but rather welcomed worthy people into society without judging them based on sexual orientation, which is the personification of the rights that would be fought for centuries later at an inn in New York on a summer night in 1969 (Frank & the History Project, 1999).
Summary

As this paper has shown, the Stonewall Riot is significant in the annals of history for many reasons: in the literal interpretation of the event, we see the fight for homosexuals to be accepted as social and legal equals in a society that claims to embrace everyone but all too often excludes many for the slimmest of reasons. In a larger sense, the Stonewall Riot is symbolic of the American spirit, which declares that infringement of rights will not be tolerated by any oppressed group. Finally, the Stonewall Riot broadcasts a message of hope for all those who seek civil rights that the oppressive nature of the established authority is, and never should be, immune from reprimand from the people from whom their power is derived.

References

Bull, Chris (2001). Come Out Fighting. New York: Thunder's Mouth/Nation Books.

Frank, Barney, & the History Project (1999). Improper Bostonians. New York: Harper Collins.

Marcus, Eric (2002). Making Gay History. New York: Harper Collins.

Rupp, Leila J. (2002). Desired Past. New York: Houghton Mifflin Press.

Stonewall Riot