Page 170 - Contemporary Political Sociology Globalization Politics and Power

156 Citizenship

Paradoxically, however, what makes it possible for individuals to unite
under the “ queer ” banner is the way that queer politics challenges the
very identities on which the older movements were based.
The struggle for gay citizenship rights began in the 1960s, alongside
other social movements of the time. The gay liberation movement was
founded in the US in 1969, following the Stonewall riot, in which the
regulars of a gay bar in New York fought back after years of being raided
by the police. Similar movements were established a little later in most
Western European countries. Proposing a revolutionary anti - capitalist,
anti - family, and anti - medical analysis of gay oppression, the movement
was short - lived and soon gave way to more moderate organizations cam-
paigning for reform. Campaigns for the extension of citizenship rights
enjoyed by the majority to be extended to sexual minorities began to be
well supported (Evans, 1993 : 114 – 17; Weeks, 1993 : 198). Lesbians, often
involved in the initial impetus of the gay liberation movement, were less
involved in the campaigns for legal rights and against police harassment
which became the main themes of the gay movement. Historically, lesbi-
ans have suffered more from invisibility than from legal repression, since
lesbianism has never been illegal, though it has been stigmatized. They
have, however, participated in the important cultural politics of the move-
ment which have made gay and lesbian lifestyles visible and viable. There
is no doubt of its success in this respect. Every city now has gay bars,
many have a gay neighborhood, and the impact of the movement on the
media, popular culture, and fashion is evident everywhere. “ Lipstick ”
lesbianism, in particular, has been seen as contributing to the recent
fashion for gay images. However, with less disposable income than men,
women have not been able to exert “ consumer power ” to the same extent
as men and lesbians tend to be less visible in commercial spaces, too.
In terms of citizenship rights, for the most part, the gay movement has
focused on equalizing civil rights between heterosexuals, gay men, and
lesbians (to the extent that they share the same legal interests). The age of
consent to sex, different everywhere but consistently higher for gay men
in most countries until recently, has been targeted as blatantly discrimina-
tory. Following a European Union ruling against Britain in 1997, the age
of consent is now equal in most countries of Europe. In the US, it varies
across different states. There have also been campaigns to legalize gay
marriages, which would also bring a number of other rights from which
gay partners are otherwise excluded, including immigration rights, pension
benefits, and the possibility of legally adopting children. Same - sex part-

ners may now marry in some European countries, including Holland,
Spain, and Sweden, and in some of the states of the US. In the UK and