INTRODUCTION xxiii employment practices. Before they went, they agreed that the men would wear suits and ties and the women would wear conservative dress. That same day, 20,000 antiwar protestors were at the Washington Monument. The coincidence of media being there for the antiwar protestors got national TV coverage for this gay demonstration. In spring 1966, the police began “Operation New Broom” in New York City in which they “cleaned up” Times Square and Greenwich Village areas. They raided and closed gay bars, restaurants, bookstores, and taverns. Many men were entrapped and charged with solicitation and lewd conduct. Seven members of the Mattachine Society attended a public meeting at Judson Memorial Church where the chief inspector for the police was holding a community hearing. Randy Wicker and Craig Rodwell from Mattachine spoke and explained how previous efforts by New York police to “crack down” on gay bars left homosexuals with no social out- let and led to underworld elements opening illegal operations for homosexuals. The illegal bars were sources of police corruption and bribery. The chief inspector responded by saying that gay bars were illegal because of “illicit activities.” Wicker pointed out these illicit activities were mostly undercover policemen soliciting bar patrons for entrapment. The chief inspector denied the allegations. Wicker was shocked by the naïveté of the chief inspector and said, “It’s alarming to think that the Chief Inspector doesn’t know that a large number of police spend their duty hours dressed in tight pants, sneakers, and polo sweaters . . . to bring about solici- tations” (Marotta 1981, 36). The audience at the meeting shouted out “Bravo!” Soon after, the mayor of New York issued a memorandum ordering the police to cease engaging in entrapment. It is important to understand the process of overcoming stigmatization and oppression. Initially, those who engaged in homosexual behaviors had no iden- tity concerning their sexual orientation. In much of history and in many cultures today, as long as people meet their familial obligations by marrying and having children, society does not care if they engage in homosexual behaviors. In these cultures, homosexuality is not spoken about. Only if the homosexual relationship interferes with the family or becomes too “obvious,” does the culture crack down, often seeking the death of the offender. As the science of psychology developed, homosexuality was identifi ed as a “sexual inversion” that was deviant. These characteristics were not based on sci- ence but rather the codifi cation of social and cultural norms. Still, it infl uenced psychologists, legislators, judges, police, schools, universities, churches, and oth- ers in power and enabled them to justify the persecution of homosexuals. Those who engaged in homosexual behaviors began to see an identity, albeit one that was negative and enforced feelings of worthlessness. This is called internalized homophobia. But not all homosexuals felt they were mentally ill or deviant. Instead, they rec- ognized that society put this label on them. It was society that expressed homopho- bia. The Mattachine Society took an educational approach. It believed that if accurate information got out, it could dispel stereotypes and infl uence society. It issued newsletters and pamphlets, held educational seminars, and challenged the
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