Historian's note: This piece is included to give a taste of the stance of the first LBGT activists on the KU campus. Those who call today's Queers & Allies “radical” would be well advised to read this first.
The Gay Community
(From a Lawrence Gay Liberation, Inc. position paper, circa 1970)
The “gay community” should not be confused with the stereotyped “homosexual” community which is as repressive and limiting as the “straight, heterosexual” community, since in both of the latter groups the limiting and harmful stereotypes that society has imposed on femininity, masculinity and sexual roles are emphasized. Many straights limit love to heterosexual situations involving aggressive man and submissive women, and, because of societal oppression, “homosexuals” have been forced into one-night stands and impersonal sexual encounters in contrived situations. By contrast, the gay community offers a unique opportunity for Gays to work for a freedom and self-expression based on consideration of others as individuals, without the overtones of exploitative sexuality endemic in the straight community. This encourages personal freedom of expression and affection toward others of either sex.
Since members of the gay community pursue same-sex relationships, which may or may not involve active sexual expression, they are usually considered (incorrectly) to be exclusive “homosexuals” by the straight world. The result is that the gay liberation movement is derided by those who have been conditioned into considering same-sex relationships sinful and a threat to society or, at best, evidence of sickness. But “sin” is a purely subjective concept, non-rationally and arbitrarily applied whenever convenient; and the concept of “sickness” comes from psychiatrists who have dealt with homosexuals professionally, a biased situation since only those with mental problems seek clinical therapy.
However, the gay movement is a threat to today's society because its purpose is to change the basic premises governing interpersonal relationships, eliminating stereotypes which stifle individual expression and create distorted personalities. The gay movement is thus truly liberating. Allowing oneself freely to acknowledge and fully act on feelings of affection toward others of the same sex is an intensely and personally liberating experience—possible at present only in the gay community.
The “gay community” should not be confused with the stereotyped “homosexual” community which is as repressive and limiting as the “straight, heterosexual” community, since in both of the latter groups the limiting and harmful stereotypes that society has imposed on femininity, masculinity and sexual roles are emphasized. Many straights limit love to heterosexual situations involving aggressive man and submissive women, and, because of societal oppression, “homosexuals” have been forced into one-night stands and impersonal sexual encounters in contrived situations. By contrast, the gay community offers a unique opportunity for Gays to work for a freedom and self-expression based on consideration of others as individuals, without the overtones of exploitative sexuality endemic in the straight community. This encourages personal freedom of expression and affection toward others of either sex.
Since members of the gay community pursue same-sex relationships, which may or may not involve active sexual expression, they are usually considered (incorrectly) to be exclusive “homosexuals” by the straight world. The result is that the gay liberation movement is derided by those who have been conditioned into considering same-sex relationships sinful and a threat to society or, at best, evidence of sickness. But “sin” is a purely subjective concept, non-rationally and arbitrarily applied whenever convenient; and the concept of “sickness” comes from psychiatrists who have dealt with homosexuals professionally, a biased situation since only those with mental problems seek clinical therapy.
However, the gay movement is a threat to today's society because its purpose is to change the basic premises governing interpersonal relationships, eliminating stereotypes which stifle individual expression and create distorted personalities. The gay movement is thus truly liberating. Allowing oneself freely to acknowledge and fully act on feelings of affection toward others of the same sex is an intensely and personally liberating experience—possible at present only in the gay community.