Gays in the 1970s

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the s. The Gay Pride Flag, symbol of the Rights Movement, was first flown in in San Francisco. This is the version flying over the Castro in June Private, consensual same-sex activity was decriminalized in England and Wales in [1]. The act of penetrative sex between men, or sodomy, had been illegal in Britain since and sodomy between men was punishable by death until Although prosecutions were difficult due to the need for sufficient evidence, over 50 men were hung between and There were no laws prohibiting sexual acts between women, though attempts were made to add an amendment to this effect in the s.

The s had many firsts for the queer community including the first elections of Kathy Kozachenko and Harvey Milk. Learn more about these historic LGBTQ+ moments. The Lavender Menace was the pejorative name given to lesbians by feminist Betty Friedan. Friedan argued that increasingly politicized lesbians were a threat to the feminist movement and could hurt the national movement for social equity for women. Friedan was a member of the National Organization for Women NOW and their stance was most women felt as if lesbian issues were irrelevant to them and that if they were to partner with lesbians, it would be harder to push policy makers in the right direction.

George Dudley, a photographer and artist who also served as the first director of New York City’s Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, documented scenes from pride parades in New York. I s being gay just about sex? This is what historian Jim Downs aims to remedy in his latest book, Stand b y Me : The Forgotten Hi story of Gay Liberation , by resurrecting the gay print culture and religious life that flourished in the s. Among the root causes of the erasure, Downs argues, is the AIDS crisis; the sexual behaviors and promiscuity of the s have been historicized as not only connected to, but also largely responsible for, the unsparing devastation that followed the spread of HIV.

The s were a decade of awakening for the LGBTQ+ community, marked by activism, cultural representation, and incremental legal progress. Understanding this transformative period is crucial for appreciating the struggles and triumphs that have shaped the modern fight for LGBTQ+ equality. The experiences of students, faculty and staff in decades past were often not documented and sometimes actively hidden due to homophobia and discrimination. This once-a-semester newsletter was published by the Duke Gay Alliance between and The Chronicle reported on Nov.