Terror and Vice: Los Angeles’ Painful Gay History
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ม.ค. 2021
- Today LA is viewed as a sort of progressive paradise (it isn't)... but what was history really like for the LGBTQ community, and why? Come learn with me!
Twitter: / kazrowe
Sources:
Movements and Memory: The Making of the Stonewall Myth by Elizabeth A. Armstrong and Suzanna M. Crage
Gay LA by Lillian Faderman and Stuart Timmons
Gay New York by George Chauncey
Surpassing the Love of Men by Lillian Faderman
The Lesbian Herstory Archives
“Character Assassins”: How the FBI Used the Issue of Homosexuality against the Black Freedom Struggle by Jared Leighton
Women-Identified Women: Trans Women in 1970s Lesbian Feminist Organizing by Emma Heaney
Unacceptable Mannerisms: Gender Anxieties, Homosexual Activism, and Swish in the United States, 1945-1965 by Craig M. Loftin
From Subversion to Obscenity: The FBI's Investigations of the Early Homophile Movement in the United States, 1953-1958 by DOUGLAS M. CHARLES
Containing "Perversion": African Americans and Same-Sex Desire in Cold War Los Angeles by KEVIN ALLEN LEONARD
When Hollywood Studios Married Off Gay Stars to Keep Their Sexuality a Secret, THAD MORGAN www.history.com/news/hollywoo...
Citizen Surveillance by SIMON J. JUDKINS
The Los Angeles Times Archive
'The Beginning of a Conversation': What It Was Like to Be an LGBTQ Activist Before Stonewall By Jess McHugh time.com/longform/mattachine-...
Images and Video:
Martin Turnbull
Los Angeles Public Library
PBS
KCET
Getty Images
The LA Times and The LA Herald
ONE Archives
Thanks for making this! As a lesbian approaching middle age, I feel like the LGBTQ+ community hasn't really reckoned with our collective past traumas. In fact it seems the past is being shoved into closets of trauma in the hopes that everything magically gets better with ignorance. Cops are now "friendly" to us. Businesses "love" us / our money. But trauma persists. Old wounds fester. These homophobic messages were absorbed by our parents and our elders, who might accept us now but didn't always. We can't just sit and pretend this didn't happen.
And sadly, it still happens, but that violence is now closeted and gaslight is the norm. "EvErYtHInG Is FiNe" in order to not "offend" the cis straights.
Bigotry still exists, just changes form a little. Now it's more like, "You can be whatever you want, but it's none of my business and it's still gross and pervert".
i dont now how insightful this is but i feel like(have realised) a lot of the problems and issues present within the community comes from trauma that is largely unknown or forgotten by the younger generations of lgbtq people (speaking as a younger lgbt+ person myself) like how masc gay men are often put on a pedastal which seems to stem from the outbreak of an obsession what was considered masculine (therefore socially acceptable) and stuff like that. Like i've seen conversations about these issues but there was always an absence of understanding or knowing WHERE those problems came from.
I agree. While I’m not that old (a young adult) I think the trauma that the older people of the LGBTQ+ community needs to be taught and remembered.
As so many LGBTQ+ people went through such horrible experiences for just being who they are.
Its cool to interact w older members of the community- cus while I have a bunch of lesbian friends, I don’t know as many older lesbians.
(I say this as a in awe bisexual lmao)
Cops not necessarily all that friendly. I was roughed up by a couple of cops in the 80s for "stealing " my lovers car. He had not reported it stolen. He was not even in the country. But it was not registered in my name. After a night in jail, I was put before a judge and told there were no charges. I filed complaints against the cops and guess what. They had done nothing wrong.
millie's story about how bob would say "boy-girl, boy girl" in public then "boy-boy, girl-girl" to signify safe space is so cute ☹️❤️
Midway through this video I stopped for some reason and started venting to my best friend which led to me coming out to her. She gladly accepted me, and after some time I returned here. Damn, I am so lucky to live in the world of today when I am not in immediate danger for such behavior.
Thank you so very much, this video was extremely informative. You got yourself a subscriber!
I know its like history used the ppl before us as stepping stones. Makes me think of W. B. Yeats poem "...tread softly for you tread on my dreams..."
( ik he was a bit crazy but that poem still sticks w me)
legitimately had to take a minute after hearing the part about gay men allowing lesbians to be feminine and lesbians allowing gay men to be masculine. Just the idea of us supporting each other when no one else would, giving each other what society’s strict gender roles couldn’t. It gave me hope.
Your video on Women's Short Hair Through The Ages popped up in my recommended and I've been binge-watching all your videos ever since. You're by far one of my new favorite yt historians. You put so much work and research in your videos and it shows. Thank you for making such wonderful and informative content.
same ❤
I've had a similar experience but it was a fashion video for me!
Same
Hard same
❤️Women with short hair❤️
❤️Men with long hair❤️
Just a note on Hollywood's lavander marriages, Katharine Hepburn never married Spencer Tracy, but their 'romance ' was certainly pushed. She divorced her first husband, whom she married before becoming THE Kate Hepburn. She lived with Phyllis, her ~ secretary ~ till she died ♡
Let me just say this: I had lost the password to youtube maybe six months ago, and never subscribed to anybody since then, out of sheer laziness. Well, I overcame that laziness just to subscribe to your channel. Very captivating storytelling and very interesting subjects and thorough research.
Thank you so much!! That truly means a lot to me
You find that password yet?
Did you find the password
My friend Ernie Potvin was forced to go through electroshock therapy when he was in the military in the 1950s. He escaped to Argentina for awhile. He was also involved with Jim Kepner at the One institute. In the 1990s he opened his home to trans women as a meeting place for political organization when vice was constantly entrapping and arresting them. Unfortunately he died of heart failure which set back thr trans women's fight for a few decades. Most of those that met in his home were murdered within a few short years. I met Jim Kepner and Harry Hays through Ernie.
Thank you for sharing.
Very informative video. It’s funny that I stumbled upon this days after my dad on our way home from church was talking about how “evil” California is and how accepting it is of LGBT people, little does he know of the horrors they had to face back in the day. Thank you for this.
I went back to visit my dads family and realized I cldnt watch YT cause 90% of my YT was gay 😄 my dads family is homophobic Christian alt right republicans w money. Probably the most annoying ppl.
@@SaintShion Ouch sorry you have to deal with that.
Can we please go back to the "gays and lesbians are friends" times again, pls? I'm tired of the constant ingroup bickering of our era.
I'm down.
Is that not how it works anymore😥
as long as we don't have any TERFs or misogynists in the mix, agreed. we're all stronger when we work together as a bloc to affect change. if people could get past the twitter drama, the community would be a better, more united place and force for good for its members.
mhm!! the biggest weapon beung used against the lgbtq+ community is the lgbtq+ community. any force that dislikes/dissagrees with us (exclusionists, transphobes/TERFS, mysoginists, etc.) will try and turn us against eachother, which allows them to pick us apart when we're already weak. we need to be mindful of our differences but respectful of our community.
Yes please, I was lucky enough to find a decidedly queer group of friends I can't express what a gift it is. Gender is playful and joyous instead of traumatic, sexuality is simple and nuanced and celebrated. Its unlike anything I've ever experienced before, where existing just feels easy and there's a true sense of community
This video deserves waaayyyyy more recognition and likes. It's obvious you put so much effort and research into this, and I personally learned a lot about our history.
my great aunts (who have been together around fifty years by now, although only married for about three) have talked to me about gay bars and the kinds of warnings they used a lot, apparently the plan of having a code song that meant "the police are on their way, switch to a straight partner!" was one that not just Gino's had in place (although using the Star Spangled Banner is kind of awesome)
Cool
Hello
I have lesbian great aunt's too :0
My dad grew up in Hollywood and East LA in the early to late 60s. In 1961 him and a buddy got pulled over for drinking and driving. When they asked them to get out of the car. They asked two of them to go to 1side and him another. Later when they let them go. He asked why. The officer said he thought he was a queer. My dad flipped. Side note my dad was slender and a good dresser with a pretty face. He had issues later when my big bro came out. So yes LA was very homophobic.
Also clarification he was with 3 other guys. So the story makes more sense. Lol.
This really filled some holes in my understanding about the history of gender
True as a Hetero Sexual man I am happy I found this channel and agree with all that is said I come from a family that is very very progressive to the point that my great grand mother and great grand father could not have cared less what you identify as and I am proud of that.
@@jonathancunningham8739 this is the nicest thing to wake up to and read :-)
@@awlomthesheepermen Thank you glade you found it nice.
@@jonathancunningham8739 I find it quite disturbing how much of LGBTQ+ History has been erased and not taught in history at schools especially w the dont say gay bill in USA, its frustrating.
@@SaintShion Even before I had a bit of self-discovery, I knew that the bill’s reach was from Pre-K to 4th-ish, but the precedent that it set was the worrisome part.
Am I the only one who wants to hear more about the old school late 19th c. gender plethora??
No. It sounds like an interesting topic, and one that the people bitching about the younger generation and their "Fifty genders" should know about.
The history of the LGBTQ+ community is so important and so often erased. Thank you for shedding light on it and teaching me a nee part of our history. Excellent video 👏💖💜💙
the youtube algorithm really did me a solid by recommending me your videos. your channel is an absolute gold mine of well-researched and interesting videos and it's honestly surprising that you don't have more subscribers/views. can't wait to watch your channel grow!
22:05 7-Up existing really emphasized to me how close all this history is to our current year. Honestly, if it weren't for the internet allowing for education and connection beyond what pro-status-quo American news outlets deliver through TV and newspapers I feel like the LGBTQ+ community would still be trapped at society's fringes.
I love the cuts when you probably couldn’t hold back the tears, I’m right there with you these videos always make me cry both with pride for history and strength of my people but also for the terrible tragedy of the far too many souls martyrd because they couldn’t live with the freedom we do
My third eye is opened
The importance of learning OUR history isn't stressed enough in the community, queer marriage legalization is still very fresh for me even as a 20 something gay man. our roots are just as important today as they were just a couple decades ago, even while cishets try to diminish our lives and struggles down to 'well it's legal here get over it'. my marriage isn't legally bona-fide or can be subject to arrest if we travel basically anywhere outside Western and European nations. It's not over and it's not time to 'let it go', now or ever, these stories deserve to be told and retold even after it's considered 'socially acceptable' or legal everywhere.
I'm 17 and still remember it being the end of the world that us ho-mo-se-xuals could be married. They're just jelous that our weddings are more tasteful though.
This was really interesting, and really, really sad. Thank you for making this video
I love your videos so much! I can’t get enough of them.
Usually when the algorithm brings me to a new lovely creator, like you, it means that the channel is about to grow. A lot. Congratulations in advance!
Your videos is absolutely of fantastic quality, very interesting and contain valuable information. 😊
I can not believe how ignorant most of my fellow Cisgendere "Men" can be I am so sorry that there are still those who are this ignorant and think showing emotions is gay It really angers me.
As a lesbian, it's amazing to see content like this. So much history to learn about and remember when we move around the world today. Thanks Kaz, love your content and sending lots of support from across the pond
I came here for the history, but I was not prepared for the psychological deep dive! I have never heard anyone explain things so clearly and thoroughly before. I'm a 57 year old lesbian, and I thought I knew queer history pretty well. What a lovely surprise to learn new things from the younger generation. You're not just teaching the children, noone is too old to learn new things. You've earned yourself a new subscriber, and I look forward to binging the rest of your channel! 🏳️🌈🇮🇱
need me a lavender marriage because my family is stuck in the 19th century mentally. lol. that way I'll stop getting set up with creepy men.
Meee tooo. 🥲😅😅
Being a queer anthropology student knowledge on such topics are very dear to my heart. Thank you.
Comenting to 1) tell you how much i Envy-Like your clothes and 2) help the algorithm! When i watched your first video i assumed you had a much larger audience due to the quality of the content. Thank you for putting these videos out there!
Babe, this is the content I’m here for! You did such a good job presenting all the best information in a clear, concise, and creative way! Welcome to the queer history class we deserve!
It still fascinates me that groups of people we see as "lesser developed" (e.g. indiginous, natives, some indian, african, etc) were always far ahead of us in this. They allowed lgbtq, gosh, some even worship and praise it, saying trans/nonbinary/binary people are incarnated ghosts, spirits or even gods
Incredible video! As we seem to be moving toward another reactionary pushback period of history, if is vitally important that we remember, reflect, and acknowledge our history so that the gaslights can be dimmed and sometimes switched off.
"Is it gay to love women" lmao
Thank you so much for your videos! It's so incredibly important for younger people to understand what things were like not so very long ago. As far as we have come, it's so easy to lose everything too. Like the old adage, those that don't understand history are bound to repeat it. Let's hope we are not sliding back to the days like those described in this video! I look forward to more informative videos from you!
"Vagrant" has a nice ring to it.
Every time she says suspect, among us pops up in my head
ive learned so much from this vid and i have access to it FOR FREE thank you very much for sharing your content with the world ive subscribed for like two days so far and youre already one of my fav channels and i really appreciate how you give warnings for certain topics and focuses
This was such a great overview of LA’s treatment of marginalized individuals and their plight in the 20th century. You addressed in detail the challenges faced and how hard won the fight against oppression has been. ❤
Man this vid still needs more views. Ur criminally underrated Kaz, ur work is greatly appreciated
I'm so thrilled I found you this Pride Month. 😍
This video got me so emotional. Our queer 'ancestors' ran so that we could fly. Let that sink in ❤️❤️❤️
Is that an antique banjo clock in the background? I love those things
I’ve been watching your videos for the last couple of weeks and am enthralled and fascinated by my community’s sometimes painful history. Your work is so important in passing our history down to the younger kids. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
That guy (5:17-5:32) is so obviously a closeted gay man. Like, I've seen a longer version of that clip and he is definitely overplaying the role that is supposed to protect him.
JENNIFER, You are relying on a long-debunked Freudian construct (reaction formation) in making this claim - which is pretty homophobic at its core. The evidence is that closeted gay men generally avoid talking about gay issues - they do NOT become active or vocal homophobes. I understand that it is more comfortable for a lot of people to treat being a gay man as a mental disorder (as Freud did) -- and let straight people off the hook for homophobia (because - the homophobes are really gay - Question: do you also think that misogynistic men are really women? that white racists are really Black? or that anti-semites are really Jewish? or is it only gay men you blame for their own oppression? If it's only gay men, then it's textbook homophobia), ... but I can only really hope that one day people will stop hating and psychologizing gay men.
love the ask a mortician vibes in the beginning
What a great presentation! I love your videos, Kaz. You've earned yourself a new subscriber.
Kudos!!! Thoughtful,insightful and discerning. These is so much impactful History that is overlooked...you should give a Masters Class. Just this little glimpse of our novel backstory...just made me more appreciative of my place in this universe. Thanks and Kudos to your channel.
18TH C FEMBOY!??!?!?!?!? FUUUCKKK YASSSSSSS!!!!!! Now my impression can be even more arcuate!
As a devote Christian, I'm glad that the LGBTQ community is finally getting a voice in today's society. Even though the Christian community is portrayed as homophobic in general (not without cause) I firmly believe that no one, no matter how marginalized or ostracized by society should not have a voice in today's world.
This is so well done and I like your voice. I am going to binge all your videos. You should contact the youtuber thought slime and get one of your videos on the eyeball zone or contact the serfstv. :)
I just think this video deserves many more views.
I'm already recommending your channel to friends and hoping your channel grows. Your videos are sooooooo well made and put together I can't get enough
how do you only have 1k subs this video was absolutely amazing
I literally live in Tiny Town, KY.
Love your channel, Kaz!
is it tiny?
As a transgender woman and a lesbian (and, for the record, a younger one) this video is incredibly important to me. Not only is it touching on difficult but necessary to discuss history, but the information regarding lesbians being viewed as “not women” made a few things click for me. Yeah; my gender is lesbian. Thank you.
And you are the reason people don't take this seriously.
Your channel is so so good..... 😭 I love how much you go for nonbinary lesbians lmao. And the research you do is insane??? I would love to see you do a video on the aids crisis some day!
Wtf these vids are so underrated?!!
In the 30s-50s, specifically in San Fransisco, but also in other cities, there existed city ordinances that required people to be wearing at least 3 garments that matched their presumed gender. The police would roll into gay bars and other places gay and trans (thoughnot yet recognized as such) people were known to gather. They would run what they called garment checks, among other terms, which required people who were not outwardly displaying 3 gender-appropriate pieces of clothing to line up and strip down to the layer of their clothing that satisfied the law. Women were especially vulnerable in that often, corrupt police would fail to recognize obvious female- appropriate clothing pieces like lingerie in order to force them to strip down to their underclothes or even to nothing at all. I am sure similar things happened to gay men, but usually for sport, not sexual assault.
Working my way through your videos. Thank you for your work!
Thanks for making the video, it's so informative and high-quality!
This is such a good video. All of your videos make me actually enjoy history. History was my least favorite class but you explain everything so well. 👏🏻👏🏻
Your videos are great and so well-researched! The editing is good, too. I hope that the algorithm gives you some more love ♥️ It's only a matter of time.
I always enjoy watching/listening to you and your presentations. Thanks
Your videos are so incredible. Really cannot wait to see where your channel goes. 🖤🖤
Hi Kaz, I'm a new subscriber. I love your channel! Beautiful and well done! BRAVO!!
Loving the LA history series. LA definitely has loads of history that's often overlooked because of the flashiness of it's much more modern history. Would love to see more in this series because its certainly not all Hollywood
Fantastic video!! Thank you so much! 👍🏼💕✨
Thank you for your videos they are very informative and a real treasure!
I started watching you. I love your research, and presentation on these subjects. Really makes me feel what your saying.
Keep it up!
It’s funny to me how people have been saying “Changing gender roles will plunge the world into chaos” for 100+ years and yet that still hasn’t happened.
This is the most interesting way that these subjects have been presented.
Thankyou, Kaz for this and other works of important historical research. May the graces and better angels protect you. ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
What a fantastic history lesson! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. Please keep the videos coming
Thank you for bringing awareness to gay lives in history. I have found it to be helpful in not feeling alone.
“My gender is lesbian”. I identify so much with this 😂
Subbed after this, thank you for sharing!
Thank you for your very informative presentation. Loved your style
You are rocking those suspenders and that button up. More importantly, thank you for the video and all the info. It was informative, very depressing and necessary.
You are a gem Kaz ❤❤❤ Thank you for all your videos, I've learned so much with you. High five! 🖐
Hi Kaz I love the channel, even though I am and live in Mexico this video has been quite enlightening, thanks for talking about it.
This was a great video and I really appreciate your content. Some of the things you touched on is a huge interest to me which is the overlap of gay/nb socialites overlapping with criminality and the lumpenproletariat. For years I have been fascinated with this overlap from reading Sade, Klossowski, and Genet. Even though some great books have been written, and even some great films (Rainer Werner Fassbinder or Kenneth Anger) I think a lot of the community either ignores or is not aware of these great artists and their struggle in the fringes of society, basking in the new found space that is honestly much better than, e.g., the squalid life of Jean Genet, which he subverts in reframing his story as a saint. Again great content and I'll be watching all your videos!
Thank you very much for making this video! I've learned so much in 35 minutes! I'm french and I love History, and I'm fascinated by the amount of details and the research you put into your video. It's just amazing! I'm bisexual and I'm very touch by all of it.
Oh wow... this one hurt. Thank you for the info and the important legacy and history. But yeah. Hurts.
This is really informative, and you tell the history very empathetically. I really appreciate you sharing!
Thank you so much for making these videos!
I very much love your videos, and after watching a few historical ones in a time as the world slips into fascism, I truly worry for our safety. Mourn the dead, fight like hell for the living.
your videos are very well made and researched i hope youtube starts to promote you in the algorithm you deserve it :o))
Thank you for ending this on a hopeful note. And, as always, thanks for your work.
you remind me so much of ask a mortician and i love it
your videos have helped me come to terms with my sexuality alot, thank you :)
Thanks for the excellent and informative video!
A very good video. You can tell you really researched your subject. I didn't agree with everything you said but I'm very glad you're saying it.
Thank you so much for this video!!
Super unrelated but my partner and I have been binging your videos, all of your shirts are so cool. where the hell do you find so many cool shirts?
honestly sucks how much we sapphic women had to (and still have) to endure. (not pretending queer men weren't affected, but like men were actually treated as people at least)
you are so amazing and your videos are informative and necessary to lgbt history, especially as an la native and a trans person i am so appreciative of the research and dedication you put into these videos.
I'm so happy that I found your channel!!
Our community always felt like a disfunctional family on Thanksgiving. I wish we could be in solidarity but "divide and conquer" is the strategy and we like to play into it.
This needs so many more views
In the last part when you were talking about crimes being blamed by queer people. It just sent me through a historical shock as it's happening with the trans community[my community] right now with Republicans blaming trans people for shootings.