Throughout past decades, the LGBT community has continued to change and develop in many different ways. What it means to be “out” in today’s day and age is entirely different than what it meant to be “out” in the 1980s, let alone the 1950s and even before that. The progress made by the community through many different social movements has been incredible, without a doubt, however it is not to be overlooked that these social movements have met many different obstacles along the way. In this blog post, I will discuss one social movement in particular, known as InterPride, along with how this reflects the progression of community development and a recent struggle faced in the news, which was covered by Manya A. Brachear on the online source, the Chicago Tribune.
InterPride was originally founded in 1982 in Boston, MA as the National Association of Lesbian and Gay Pride Coordinators. Their mission is to “promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride on an international level, to increase networking and communication among Pride Organizations and to encourage diverse communities to hold Pride events and to act as a source of education” (www.interpride.org). InterPride serves as a voice for the LGBT community and their message is similar to Gayle Rubin’s in her article titled “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality,” which is that, “the time has come to think about sex” and in this case, sexuality (1993, 3). Throughout her article, Rubin establishes the dichotomy between what is supposed to be “good” sex and what is seen as “bad” sex, homosexual sex falling into the latter of the two (1993, 13). However, groups such as InterPride have made many strides to promote the idea that same-sex relations are far from “bad,” in any sense of the word.
The Pride events, which are coordinated and encouraged by InterPride have undoubtedly created a strong feeling of pride within the LGBT community by organizing parades and festivals in cities all across the country. This idea of “out and proud” has definitely been something that has been developing over the years, with the help of social groups such as InterPride. Moreover, living an openly gay lifestyle is something that provides a great contrast to how the community used to be in prior times. John D’Emilio touches on this idea of a transforming community in his piece “Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview.” In the past, the LGBT community was something that was cast into the shadows of society, first thought of as a horrible sin, then evolving into a medical disease, which needed to be diagnosed and treated (1983, 13). InterPride presents the LGBT community in a positive light and is consistently taking steps to educate society, which is a notion that seems to be accepted more and more.
However, it important to mention that the LGBT community is still facing many different struggles in today’s society. One of these struggles includes anti-gay figures in the public sphere, including Cardinal Francis George, who compared the Chicago Pride committee and the LGBT community to that of the Klu Klux Klan in an interview on Fox News on Christmas day when he was asked about the parade’s route interfering with morning services at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church (Brachear 2012). Brachear’s most recently published article in the Chicago Tribune outlines the Cardinal’s apology for what was seen as an incredibly offensive by most. And while the apology appears to be sincere, it is needless to say that while the LGBT community continues to develop, there are still many obstacles to be met along the road.
Bibliography
D’Emilio, John. "Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview" from Sexual Politics, Sexual, Communities in the United States 1940- 1970. Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press, 1983.
Rubin, Gayle. "Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality" from Social Perspectives in Gay and Lesbian Studies ed. Peter M Nardi and Beth Schneider. 1993.
Brachear, Manya. “Cardinal George apologizes for linking Pride Parade to KKK.” The Chicago Tribune 6 Jan 2012. Web, 6 Feb 2012.
Sarah! First off, I just want to say how interesting and enlightening your article is! I have never heard of InterPride previous to your essay and look forward to learning more about it. The evidence from Gayle Rubin's article in particular, I feel, helps to define what your article is more about.* How InterPride is third party outlet to the dichotomous obsession with male and female heterosexuality’s. Different emerging groups like InterPride seem to be getting more common, and that is awesome! Groups and organizations like these are what will encourage people unknown to gender fluidity, what it is and how it works and that a difference between the standardization of sexuality is okay and very applicable to modern populations.* Rubin’s presentation of society’s view of sexuality is that if it is one way, it is good and another way then it is bad.* Organizations like InterPride appear to be combating this largely accepted view by promoting events encouraging diversity in sexuality and unity amongst the LGBTQ community. By having events like Gay Pride Parades, the notion that being “out and proud” is acceptable, okay and safe. These ideals need to be encouraged for us to live in a cooperative and peaceful society that promotes equality.
ReplyDelete* Rubin, Gayle. "Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality" from Social Perspectives in Gay and Lesbian Studies ed. Peter M Nardi and Beth Schneider. 1993.