The Fight for Equality and Liberation; Links Between the Women s and LGBT Movements An International Perspective Somal

1. The Fight for Equality and Liberation;Links Between the Women�s and LGBT MovementsAn International PerspectiveSomali Ghosh

2. Background Project Manager of the Lesbian & Gay Anti-Violence Project. Part of the AIDS Council of NSW. Former Convenor of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby and spokesperson for the Equal Rights Network of Australia. Chair of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade Committee.

3. Outline History of the Women�s and LGBT movement internationally. The contribution of women to the LGBT movement; some examples. Current political climate in the West � what does this mean for us today?

4. History of the Movements For the purposes of this presentation I will look at the USA.

5. History of the USA Women�s Movement Modern women�s movement evolved out of social reform groups. E.g. Abolition of Slavery movement.

6. History of the USA Women�s Movement contd. Timeline. The Suffragettes (first wave). Women�s right to vote. Women�s working rights. 1940�s & 1950�s. Women as workers. State welfare system.

7. History of the USA Women�s Movement contd. Timeline continued. 1960�s & 1970�s. Contraceptive Pill. Abortion Rights. Equal pay. Free childcare 1980�s & 1990�s Violence against Women. Discrimination in the workplace � sexual harassment. Reproductive rights. Women in parliament.

8. History of the USA LGBT Movement The gay rights movement first began with the writings of lawyer, author and political activist Karl Ulrichs of Hanover, Germany. Beginning in 1864, Ulrichs wrote 12 books on same-sex love, forwarding the idea that sexual orientation is biological in nature. In the US initial work around LGBT issues by Phil Andros and Alfred Kinsey (1948). 1948 Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. by Alfred Kinsey, is published, in which the researcher concludes that 37% of American males have had at least one gay sexual experience to the point of orgasm, Five years later Kinsey publishes his report on women which puts the comparable figure at 13%. 1948 Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. by Alfred Kinsey, is published, in which the researcher concludes that 37% of American males have had at least one gay sexual experience to the point of orgasm, Five years later Kinsey publishes his report on women which puts the comparable figure at 13%.

9. History of the USA LGBT Movement contd.. Timeline Mid 60�s Sexual revolution; social upheaval in many social areas, including views on sexuality. Post war; building of gay communities in urban centres. 1969 Stonewall riots; starting point for the modern LGBT movement in the USA.

10. History of the USA LGBT Movement contd.. Post Stonewall Organisation on a large scale; demands for legal/social recognition and equality. Flow on effect to other countries. Birth of a number of LGBT rights groups across the world.

11. History of the USA LGBT Movement contd.. 1970�s to recent times. Pride festivals. Hate violence. Overturning �sodomy laws.� Same sex relationship recognition. Recognition of same sex parents. Anti-discrimination policies.

12. What about South Asian LGBT people in the USA? Mid 1980�s Social support groups started to form in the USA. (Trikone, SALGA) Late 1980�s. Similar groups started in the UK and Canada

13. History of the USA LGBT Movement contd.. Pride Flag; what do the colours mean? RED = Life ORANGE = Healing YELLOW = Sun GREEN = Nature ROYAL BLUE = Harmony VIOLET = Spirit

14. Contribution of Women to the Western LGBT Movements 1915 Birth-control advocate Emma Goldman tells audiences that homosexuality is not abnormal, Her willingness to tackle the unpopular topic leads gays and lesbians to contact her to tell her about the toll the public stigma has taken on their lives.

15. Contribution of Women to the Western LGBT Movements 1953 With a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, psychologist Evelyn Hooker begins to study the psychological adjustment of gay men, A straight woman, Hooker is helped in her research by a gay friend. Her research concludes that there is no psychological difference between heterosexual and homosexual men.

16. Contribution of Women to the Western LGBT Movements Contd.. 1958 Barbara Gittings starts an East Coast chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis in New York City. Gittings goes on to fight employment discrimination against government employees and, along with Franklin Kameny, is instrumental in forcing the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its list of disorders in 1974.

17. Contribution of Women to the Western LGBT Movements Contd.. 1969 Judy Grahn starts a mimeograph press in Oakland that becomes the Women's Press Collective. A participant in early gay rights protests, Grahn emerges as a key lesbian theorist with the publication ten years later of Another Mother Tongue: Gay Words, Gay Worlds.

18. Contribution of Women to the Western LGBT Movements Contd.. 1970 An early leader in the modern feminist movement, Kate Millett comes out as a bisexual at a Daughters of Bilitis meeting, sparking a debate about lesbian "influence" in the feminist movement. 1981 Tennis champion Billie Jean King is outed when Marilyn Barnett brings a palimony suit against her. Although King at first denies that she had a relationship with Barnett, she eventually admits to it. She emerges as an eloquent supporter of gays and lesbians in professional sports and as a backer of the Gay Games.

19. Contribution of Women to the Western LGBT Movements Contd.. 1993 Dorothy Hajdys-Holman moves the crowd at the gay march on Washington with a speech about her son, Allen Schindler, a sailor who was beaten to death by two shipmates in October 1992. Hajdys-Holman goes on to speak at rallies and lobby legislators for an end to the ban on gay service personnel.

20. Examples of Successful Collaboration Feminism has greatly contributed to promoting gay and lesbian rights. By viewing women's oppression as a fundamental element in human society and feminism challenges that standard by broadly inverting perceived gender roles. This has been the case not only in the US, but around the world. In Brazil, during the late 1970�s, the then gay rights group, SOMOS, developed a strong alliance with the feminist movement. In solidarity, the women�s movement and LGBT movement in Brazil has formed a strong force that challenges heterocentric normativity.

21. Examples of Successful Collaboration Other Latin American countries - second wave (1970�s) of feminism was an inspiration for the LGBT movement. challenging the imperative of reproduction. asserting the right to sexual pleasure. In Australia, the LGBT movement has formed strong alliances with the Women�s movement. Campaigns to decriminalize homosexuality, for relationship recognition, and campaigns against hate violence.

22. Current Political Climate in the West Increasing conservatism � �family values� � promotion of a nuclear hetro-patriarchal family. Attacks on women�s rights (e.g. abortion). Attacks on LGBT rights (e.g. same sex marriage and adoption ban).

23. Current Political Climate in the West

24. What Does This Mean? There is a need for ongoing collaboration, support and solidarity between the Women�s and LGBT movement. It is in the interest of both the Women�s and LGBT cause for each to understand and support each other; the evidence is there.