The Stonewall Riots

[TotallyOz]

The Stonewall Riots – also known as the Stonewall Rebellion – was perhaps the most important event ever to happen to the drag community.

This was a series of events where all of our dragulous sisters stood up proud, supported each other and kicked some serious ass in defense of their rights to defend the liberty for then entire gay and lesbian community.

In other words – sisters were doing it for themselves!

In today’s world, gay bars and clubs are simply an accepted part of the gay community. Every city has taverns and discos that proudly sport rainbow flags and we take our rights to meet and mate for granted. But, it wasn’t always this easy.

Up until the Stonewall Riots in the summer of 1969 police officers regularly raided gay bars – often locking up every single customer on “morals” charges. You didn’t even have to be blowing some stud in the bathroom – simply being in a gay bar was enough to get you thrown in the hoosegow.

That year New York City Mayor John Lindsay was in a heated contest for re-election. In order to shore up the law and order vote he decided to “clean up” the city’s bars.

So, in the early morning hour of June 28, he ordered the police to raid The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. The bar was packed with patrons that night, because the day earlier had been Judy Garland’s funeral – which had brought tens of thousands of gays from across America to New York City.

A large percentage of the patrons were reportedly in drag – some were transgendered, others were diva and the rest were notorious queens.

When the police entered the Stonewall Inn they began by prodding the customers with their nightsticks. This would turn out to be a fatal error.

Refusing to be muscled out of the bar a transgendered drag queen, Sylvia Rivera freaked the fuck out and threw a beer bottle at the police.

The cops then tried to attack her and the gay boys, lesbians and drag queens went nuts. They swarmed the cops, took their nightsticks and started beating up the homophobic NYPD Blue.

The crowd then moved into the street and the police ran into the bar to hide and find safety while waiting for backup. At first, members of the crowd tried to set the bar on fire to burn the police alive. When they couldn’t get the building to burn, they instead broke off a parking meter and used it as a battering ram to get inside.

In other words the queens were pissed as hell and not going to take it anymore!

As this was going on gays, lesbians and drag queens from other bars in the neighborhood heard what was going on and came to the scene to help their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters with the fight.

The police also called in backup – but not nearly enough. Within an hour there were 400 cops fighting with more than 2,000 angry gays, lesbians, divas, drag queens and transgendered people.

Next the police called in their Tactical Control Force – otherwise known as a SWAT Team – but the rioters were quickly able to beat the elite police force into submission.

By now Stonewall had become the site of an out and out melee that was quickly turning into a full scale riot. The police could not believe that they were being beaten into a pulp by a group of queers and drag queens.

In the morning the scene quieted down and the police though it was all over. They were wrong. The next night the crowd returned again and started rioting one more time.

Again the police were sent in to quell the rioters but again they lost. Although thousands of people were rioting, only 13 people were arrested – and many cops were sent to the hospital.

After a third day of rioting the city decided to change its tactics and vowed to never raid gay bars again – the queers had won.

This event is considered the opening of the modern gay rights movement. Later that month the Gay Liberation Front was formed to make sure that the police left our sisters alone.

The following summer, on the anniversary of the riots, the Gay Liberation Front organized a march from the Stonewall Inn to Central Park.

This was the first Gay Pride parade in New York City – and the queers have marched every year at the same time ever since.

Unfortunately the riots did not help the Stonewall Inn itself. While it is probably the most famous gay landmark in the world, it remained closed during much of the 1970s and 1980s.

In the late 1990s it reopened, but was then closed again a few years later when they lost their lease. New owners have purchased the building and plan to reopen the Stonewall Inn in 2007.

No one knows exactly what it will be like – although the New York Observer has reported that it is expected to be “gorgeous.”

We bet it will also be fagtastic, fagulous, fabulous, divalicious, dragtastic and utterly completely tabu-fabu!

Maybe one day we’ll meet you there!

Madame Ovary aka TotallyOz

cc Drag.com 2007

[Guest CTDick]

Thanks for the essay, TO. We elders need to be reminded of how things were and how we got where we are. The youngsters need to be taught that things weren't always as easy as they are today.

Gratefully,

Dick

[Guest Conway]

Martin Duberman wrote an excellent history of the developing gay rights movement in New York City in the 1950s and 60s simply titled "Stonewall". I highly recommend it as a source of information as to how the gay rights movement developed into what would eventually be that corageous act of defiance and civil disobedience.

It is available at Barnes and Noble . com.

[Guest StuCotts]

As the full post says, the effects of Stonewall went well beyond drag queens. You have to have lived through it to understand fully the sensation of liberation experienced by everybody who had ever drawn a gay breath in NYC.

[KYTOP]

Always enjoy abit of history. Thanks for the post

[TampaYankee]

And all this time I thought your name was Madame bOyvary.

[TotallyOz]

Glad you guys enjoyed the article! I appreciate the comments very much.,

>And all this time I thought your name was Madame bOyvary.

Well, TY what ever do you mean?

[Guest comment]

> The youngsters need to be taught that things weren't always as easy as they >are today.

>

I completely agree.

In fact, Stonewall reminds me of the civil disobedience of the African American community of years gone past. However, today's minority minors have little regard for the hard struggle their elders went through that has allowed them the freedom of expression they have today.

[Guest jessedane]

Great read! It's so true about youngsters today needing to be taught a bit of their gay history! I'm so glad that when I was coming out and finding my place in the gay community that there were people who took it upon themselves to educate me and make me understand all I could about our history.

One thing I see now days that saddens me though is the complete unapreciation and sometimes outright hate and animosity towards drag queens in parts of the gay community. When we can all come together and embrace and accept eachother I think we will be able to achieve so much more wether we are a part of drag, leather, bear, circuit, piano bar, fetish, trans, or any other scene we divide ourselves into.