The Stonewall Inn Riots of 1969, alternatively referred to as a rebellion or uprising, are often described as the beginning of the modern Gay (now LGBTQ) Rights Movement and the most significant event in LGBTQ history. Stonewall is not solely an historical event, but has taken on a mythological status within LGBTQ history. Stonewall, however, was not the beginning of the Gay Rights Movement as a whole, nor was it the sole genesis of the liberationist phase of the movement that emerged in the early 1970s. The uprising is but one example of the shift in the tone and tempo of the broader Gay Rights Movement that occurred during this period. Stonewall was one reaction, albeit an important one, in a longer chain reaction of events that resulted in the creation of a mass movement for gay rights, equality, and liberation.

Before Stonewall

The beginnings of a modern gay rights movement can be traced to the coining of the term “homosexuality” by medical professionals in the late-nineteenth century. This period marked a shift…