Summary Of Linear Progression Of Gay History

While many Americans hold a general knowledge of GLBTQ history, a significant chunk of this history is still missing from the public, and even academia’s knowledge. The span of time from 1890 to 1940 saw a wealth of gay activity go unrecognized in favor of the dominant “progress narrative” which, instead, remembers only a linear progression of gay history. This linear progression posits that the fight for gay rights didn’t exist until a rather recent point in time, and rights were only given, and never taken away after this point. The idea of a linear timeline doesn’t allow for any fluctuation in the liberties held by gay people, but George Chauncey attacks this idea in his book Gay New York Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay

This isn’t permeated only by heteronormative culture, but this history has been lost in the gay community as well. In a YouTube video entitled Stonewall: The Story of Resistance, which is part of a video series conducted by Tyler Oakley focusing on the formation of gay culture, Stacy Lentz, the co-owner of Stonewall Inn says, “[Stonewall] is where pride began.” While Stonewall was a monumental event that propelled the gay community into a fight for its rights, it wasn’t the birth of the gay community or pride in said community. Chauncey disputes major claims like these at every point to show that not only did gay men and lesbian women exist before Stonewall, but that many formed communities, carved a presence in the straight world, and maintained an unapologetic sense of pride for who they were, despite popular

A big theme throughout Gay New York was how men from small towns all over the country would migrate to New York to escape unaccepting environments for the hope that they’d be able to find others like them in the big city. It typically didn’t take long for those already familiar with the “gay world” to integrate new comers into the fold. This happened in a few different ways: either one man would discover the flourishing gay world in New York and relay the message to friends from back home who would then come, or an older man would mentor a younger man and introduce him to the intricacies of parts of the city that would accept them. Chauncey uses the phrase chain migration to describe this phenomenon. Through this process, many gay men were able to build or join a network of other gay men which often afforded them opportunities in both social and professional contexts. Often, gay men who had just moved to New York didn’t know how to find gay social scenes or even how to get a job. However, once connected with another gay man they were shown the YMCA, cafeterias, or restaurants where gay men would frequent. Most of the places where gay men would meet weren’t originally intended for them, but they found ways to turn normal places into gay social hubs, frequently