Homophobia

Homophobia

Includes discrimination against gays and lesbians, and gay identity

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11-Year-Old Hangs Himself after Enduring Daily Anti-Gay Bullying
On April 5, an 11-year old boy committed suicide as a response to repeated bullying at school. The boy, who did not identify as gay, was harassed daily with homophobic slurs.  The GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) website has posted an article about this tragic event.
Facing Today April 15, 2009
After Stonewall

88 minutes
Source: First Run Films

After Stonewall, the sequel to Before Stonewall, chronicles the history of lesbian and gay life from the riots of Stonewall in 1969 to the end of the 20th century. Narrated by Melissa Etheridge, it captures the hard work, struggles, tragic defeats and exciting victories experienced since then. It explores how AIDS literally changed the direction of the movement.

Library Resource December 15, 2009
An Interview with Matthew Shepard’s Mother

In 1998, twenty-one year old Matthew Shepard was viciously murdered because he was gay.

Facing Today September 16, 2009
Assault on Gay America

60 minutes
Source: PBS Video

In February 1999, 30-year-old Bill Jack Gaither was murdered. The accused killer, a known white supremacist, testified he killed Gaither because he was "queer." Why have gays like Gaither and Matthew Shepard become the targets of such brutality? This Frontline episode explores the roots of homophobia in America and asks how these attitudes, beliefs and fears contribute to the recent rise in violence against gays.

Library Resource December 15, 2009
Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community
89 minutes
Source: First Run Features

In 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village, leading to three nights of rioting by the city’s gay community. With this outpouring of courage and unity the Gay Liberation Movement had begun. Before Stonewall pries open the closet door—setting free the dramatic story of the sometimes horrifying public and private existences experienced by gay and lesbian Americans since the 1920s.

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Library Resource December 15, 2009
Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin

83 minutes
Source: rustin.org

Library Resource December 15, 2009
Colorado Nazi Group Adopts a Highway

The Nazi Party of Colorado has sponsored a mile long stretch of US Highway 85.

Facing Today February 1, 2010
Coming Out in Middle School

Benoit Denizet-Lewis reports in his New York Times Magazine article “Coming Out in Middle School” that more and more middle-school students are openly gay. “Just how they’re faring in a world that wasn’t expecting them – and that isn’t so sure a 12-year-old can know if he’s gay – is a complicated question that defies simple geographical explanations,” Denizet-Lewis writes.

Facing Today September 30, 2009
Congress Extends Hate Crime Protections

Congress voted on October 22 to extend federal protection to people who are physically attacked because of their “gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability” by passing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Facing Today October 26, 2009
Foes Don't Ask 'Don't Tell'
(ABC News, December 2, 2007) The story, "Foes Protest 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,'"is about the 14th anniversary of the US military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy highlights the demonstrations in Washington to protest how gay Americans struggle with this policy.
Facing Today April 18, 2008
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