Gay Liberation Front Program-Platform Statement

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Collection:: Vietnam War Era Ephemera Collection
Title:: Gay Liberation Front Program-Platform Statement
Creator:: Gay Liberation Front
Contributor to Resource:: University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division.
Date of Original:: 1970
Subject:: Gay rights--Washington (State)
Human rights--Washington (State)
Gay Liberation Front (Seattle, Wash.)
Location:: United States, Washington, King County, Seattle, 47.60621, -122.33207
Medium:: pamphlets
Type:: Text
Format:: image/jpeg
Description:: Announces: “The basic purpose of GLF is the liberation of homosexual men and women in this society from the basic three-pronged oppression [societal, legal/quasi-political, psychological] they suffer. We have one overriding governing principle--EQUALITY.” Calls for: “We Demand of Straight Society: 1. That homosexuals be judged by their worth as human beings and not regarded solely in terms of their sexuality. 2. That gay diads and communal living arrangements be viewed as acceptable and viable alternatives to the heterosexual nuclear family. 3. That homosexuality be viewed as the capacity to love, in the emotional sense, a member of ones own sex, as well as sexually relate to them. 4. That homosexuality be viewed as a natural development of personality and a preference, rather than a perversion or deviation, and that it bears no relationship to mental illness or maladjustment. 5. That we be provided with equal opportunities legally, educationally, occupationally, and socially, with no discrimination on any grounds, especially sexuality.” Calls for: “We Demand of Gay People: 1. That homosexuals accept their sisters and brothers, and not discriminate against one another as straights do in relation to all of us. This means we fully and equally embrace all gay people who do not hurt others. 2. That we come out of the closet and fight for our acceptance as people instead of being looked on as perverts, and gain strength and momentum from our own numbers. 3. That we stop degrading our own sexuality and realize that it is nothing to be ashamed of. We must develop a new sense of gay pride. 4. That we join in the struggle of all people for equality, brotherhood, and freedom from oppression, maintaining the belief that gay people will not be free until all people are free. 5. Explicitly, GLF wants to unite the gay community by creating a rallying point from which to fight oppression.” Background information: “On June 27, 1969, a routine police raid on a gay bar in Greenwich Village ignited unprecedented rioting among its patrons. Throughout the weekend gay men and lesbians converged on the Stonewall Inn to protest the police and their abusive tactics. Although homosexual rights activists had been organizing for two decades, the sudden explosion of the Stonewall riots ushered in a new gay militancy that soon became known as gay liberation. A few weeks after Stonewall, gay and lesbian activists organized the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). Drawing on the principles and rhetoric of many other radical movements of the 1960s, GLF saw its mission as revolutionary and set its sights on a complete transformation of society. Not only did it hope to dismantle social institutions such as heterosexual marriage and the bourgeois family, but its leaders also forcefully opposed consumer culture, militarism, racism, and sexism.” ( Geoffrey W. Bateman. Gay Liberation Front. GLBTQ.com http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/gay_liberation_front.html ) Note on date: 1970 is penciled on document.
Metadata URL:: https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/protests/id/404
IIIF manifest:: https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/iiif/2/protests:404/manifest.json
Additional Rights Information:: For information on permissions for use and reproductions please visit UW Libraries Special Collections Use Permissions page: http://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcollections/services/permission-for-use
Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):: Cite as: University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, [Order Number or Negative Number]
Extent:: 28 x 21.5 cm
Scanned from original text at 400 dpi in color, saved in JPEG format and resized to 600 ppi horizontal. Saved at compression rate 3. 2004.
Original Collection:: Vietnam War Era Ephemera Collection
Gay Liberation Front
Contributing Institution:: University of Washington. Libraries. Special Collections Division
Rights: