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LGBTQ people in the United States
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LGBTQ people in the United States
In the United States, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people have a long history, including vibrant subcultures and advocacy battles for social and religious acceptance and legal rights.
Though the first national gay organization was formed in 1950, the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City are often cited as the beginning of the modern gay civil rights era. The AIDS crisis in the 1980s was a large influence on gay communities and activism. In the late 20th century, social acceptance began to increase, and legal rights followed.
Military policy was changed in 2011, allowing LGBTQ people to serve openly. Social conservatives briefly had success outlawing same-sex marriage at the state level in the 2000s, but the SCOTUS legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.
In 2024, Gallup found that 7.6% of U.S. adults identified as LGBTQ or another sexual orientation besides heterosexual. Broken down by age group, this shows up at 22.3% among Gen Zers (born 1997–2012), 9.8% among Millennials (born 1981–1996), 4.5% among Generation Xers (born 1965–1980), 2.3% among Baby boomers (born 1946–1964), and 1.1% for members of the Silent Generation (born 1945 or earlier).
There are varying accounts of the place LGBTQ people occupied in pre-Columbian era Native American tribes. In modern parlance, the term Two-Spirit is often used to describe Native American LGBTQ people. There were (and are) hundreds of different tribes across the US, each with its own culture, thus acknowledgement and acceptance of and social roles for LGBTQ people varied across tribes. In the reservation era, Christian missionaries and European government agencies denounced homosexuality and gender variance, forcing LGBTQ people to adopt social roles and dress considered appropriate, such as making males cut their hair and making females wear dresses. Though the violence and intimidation enacted by the church and government were disproportionately directed at Native Americans, both Native and non-Native LGBTQ people often lived in hiding to avoid being incarcerated or killed because homosexuality was a criminal offense.
The first person known to describe himself as a drag queen was William Dorsey Swann, born enslaved in Hancock, Maryland. Swann was the first American on record who pursued legal and political action to defend the LGBTQ community's right to assemble. During the 1880s and 1890s, Swann organized a series of drag balls in Washington, D.C.. Swann was arrested in police raids numerous times, including in the first documented case of arrests for female impersonation in the United States, on April 12, 1888.
LGBTQ acceptance had shown slow improvement in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. The first documented gay rights organization in American, the Society for Human Rights, was founded in Chicago in 1924 by Henry Gerber, a German-American activist inspired by the progress made by Magnus Hirschfeld in Berlin. The organization published two issues of a magazine, Friendship and Freedom, but was short-lived due to police harassment and legal challenges.
In the 1950s, there was both greater organization within the LGBTQ community and greater government repression, known as the Lavender Scare. In 1950, the first national gay organization was founded in Los Angeles. The Mattachine Society was a leader in the homophile movement of the 1950s and '60s. The organization rapidly lost popularity in the late '60s before ultimately filing for bankruptcy in 1976. The Mattachine formally opposed the Stonewall riots and put up a sign pleading for peace, which created tension between members who advocated for assimilationist versus radical tactics. The radicals broke off to form the Gay Liberation Front, while Mattachine membership continued to decline.
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LGBTQ people in the United States
In the United States, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people have a long history, including vibrant subcultures and advocacy battles for social and religious acceptance and legal rights.
Though the first national gay organization was formed in 1950, the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City are often cited as the beginning of the modern gay civil rights era. The AIDS crisis in the 1980s was a large influence on gay communities and activism. In the late 20th century, social acceptance began to increase, and legal rights followed.
Military policy was changed in 2011, allowing LGBTQ people to serve openly. Social conservatives briefly had success outlawing same-sex marriage at the state level in the 2000s, but the SCOTUS legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.
In 2024, Gallup found that 7.6% of U.S. adults identified as LGBTQ or another sexual orientation besides heterosexual. Broken down by age group, this shows up at 22.3% among Gen Zers (born 1997–2012), 9.8% among Millennials (born 1981–1996), 4.5% among Generation Xers (born 1965–1980), 2.3% among Baby boomers (born 1946–1964), and 1.1% for members of the Silent Generation (born 1945 or earlier).
There are varying accounts of the place LGBTQ people occupied in pre-Columbian era Native American tribes. In modern parlance, the term Two-Spirit is often used to describe Native American LGBTQ people. There were (and are) hundreds of different tribes across the US, each with its own culture, thus acknowledgement and acceptance of and social roles for LGBTQ people varied across tribes. In the reservation era, Christian missionaries and European government agencies denounced homosexuality and gender variance, forcing LGBTQ people to adopt social roles and dress considered appropriate, such as making males cut their hair and making females wear dresses. Though the violence and intimidation enacted by the church and government were disproportionately directed at Native Americans, both Native and non-Native LGBTQ people often lived in hiding to avoid being incarcerated or killed because homosexuality was a criminal offense.
The first person known to describe himself as a drag queen was William Dorsey Swann, born enslaved in Hancock, Maryland. Swann was the first American on record who pursued legal and political action to defend the LGBTQ community's right to assemble. During the 1880s and 1890s, Swann organized a series of drag balls in Washington, D.C.. Swann was arrested in police raids numerous times, including in the first documented case of arrests for female impersonation in the United States, on April 12, 1888.
LGBTQ acceptance had shown slow improvement in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. The first documented gay rights organization in American, the Society for Human Rights, was founded in Chicago in 1924 by Henry Gerber, a German-American activist inspired by the progress made by Magnus Hirschfeld in Berlin. The organization published two issues of a magazine, Friendship and Freedom, but was short-lived due to police harassment and legal challenges.
In the 1950s, there was both greater organization within the LGBTQ community and greater government repression, known as the Lavender Scare. In 1950, the first national gay organization was founded in Los Angeles. The Mattachine Society was a leader in the homophile movement of the 1950s and '60s. The organization rapidly lost popularity in the late '60s before ultimately filing for bankruptcy in 1976. The Mattachine formally opposed the Stonewall riots and put up a sign pleading for peace, which created tension between members who advocated for assimilationist versus radical tactics. The radicals broke off to form the Gay Liberation Front, while Mattachine membership continued to decline.
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