Before Stonewall Movie Analysis

The Gay Liberation movement would not have occurred without the formation of a “gay subculture”, which only arose because of the systematic exclusion of gay people and the condemnation of gay behaviors in normative society. Before Stonewall, a documentary about the gay and lesbian community before the Stonewall Riots in 1969, illustrates how this group of “deviants” engaged in stigma management in this era of institutional repression, how this label of deviant affected identity, and how necessary the development of a subculture was for their lives. It shows how gay and lesbian individuals were forced to hide in order to keep their jobs, family, friends, and more, as well as how certain institutions (e.g., the government, film and theater institutions, and the American Psychological Association) specifically targeted gay and lesbian people and behaviors. As it continues, it displays how gay people began to form groups and organizations to find comfort in community, push back against their forced invisibility, and how this institutional repression backfired, allowing for the Gay Liberation movement to grow and succeed. Through a beautiful put-together documentary of news clips and interviews, Before Stonewall provides ample evidence for subcultures' influence on tertiary deviance and how a stigmatizing label affects one’s identity and life.

From the 1930s to 1969, the gay community was existing in a time known as “the Era of Institutional Repression”. Gay behaviors were described as “homosexuality”, which was viewed as an undesirable mental disease that should be fixed (Peter & Conrad, 1992). During World War II, if one was found to have engaged in homosexual activities, they would be dishonorably discharged (called the “blue discharge) because homosexuals were viewed as “security risks” and “threats to morale” (Peter & Conrad, 1992, p. 188). This is seen in the documentary when a lesbian was told if she told the military officials who else was engaging in this deviant activity, she would be removed but not receive the blue discharge (Schiller & Rosenberg, 1984). Unfortunately, the officials went back on their word and she left the armed forces with a blue discharge. Before Stonewall shows many examples of repression of homosexuals in the government, like how the former U.S. government scientist Frank Kameny was removed from his position due to Executive Order 10450 (Schiller & Rosenberg, 1984). This order stated that any high-clearance government worker who was found to be homosexual would be removed from any government position. This sentiment was seen in most workplaces; if you were caught “being homosexual”, you would be removed from your job position due to your moral degeneracy. 

Institutional repression of homosexuals did not only come from the government, but from popular culture as well. Even though there were 500 novels with lesbian content and five times more novels depicting gay (male) content from 1875-1940, public discourse began to shun these publications and declared them “obscene” (Schiller & Rosenberg, 1984). It was the same for plays and other theater productions. In addition, in 1935, the Motion Picture Association of America began rigorously enforcing the Motion Picture Code (i.e., the Hays Code), which banned all homosexual references in movies (Schiller & Rosenberg, 1984). Regardless of the regulations on gay content, secret gay organizations began to publish gay magazines in the 1950s. The three notable magazines discussed in Before Stonewall were ONE and Mattachine, created by the Mattachine Society, as well as The Ladder, created by Daughters of Bilitis (Schiller & Rosenberg, 1984). These magazines were secretly shared from person to person and sometimes sent through the mail (with the Post Office occasionally intervening and stopping distribution; Schiller & Rosenberg, 1984). Magazines like this allowed for more people to learn about homosexuals and find solace if they felt like they were alone in their “homosexual urges”, ultimately furthering the creation of a gay subculture. 

The gay and lesbian subculture is visualized well in Before Stonewall through pictures and interviews with individuals involved at that time. Just like cultures do, subcultures contain symbols, language(s), norms, goals, world views, identities, etc. that are shared by a collective (McGann, personal communication, February 21, 2022). However, subcultures “arise as a collective solution to shared problems” (McGann, personal communication, February 21, 2022). In the case of the gay and lesbian community, they began to develop their own culture in order to combat the institutional repression they were facing. One example Before Stonewall shows as a symbol in this subculture is a red necktie, which signaled the wearer was a homosexual (Schiller & Rosenberg, 1984). Identities in the subculture tended to mirror the heteronormative dominate culture, like how lesbian couples always had a more masculine individual (the “butch) and a more feminine individual (the “femme”; Schiller & Rosenberg, 1984). At the same time, the gay community attempted to either hide their homosexuality or mirror heterosexuals in this era of institutional repression. For example, The Mattachine Society (one of the first influential gay organizations) was very secretive and exclusive to make sure they did not get raided by law enforcement (Schiller & Rosenberg, 1984). Many of the interviewees in the documentary shared how much these organizations, the magazines, and gay bars they found made them feel so much relief that they were not alone (Schiller & Rosenberg, 1984). Because homosexuality was so stigmatized at the time, and because there were so much discrimination, formation of a secret subculture was crucial for their psychological well-being and life overall. 

A homosexual identity, whether the label was put on a person or if they self-described themselves that way, is a stigmatizing one. A stigma can be described as a “disgrace” that implies something bad or immoral and is attached to something (Goffman, 1963, p. 3-4). Due to their stigmatizing identity (whether it was known by others or not), gay and lesbian people engaged in stigma management techniques. One such technique, outlined by Goffman (1963), is correcting the behavior or hiding the behavior (p. 11). This was a very common stigma management technique for homosexuals during this era, which can be seen multiple times throughout the documentary. They also engaged in the “deception” technique, described by Nack (2000), in which individuals will lie in order to deflect attention away or hide their stigma (p. 105). This can also be seen in Schiller and Rosenberg’s documentary. As time moved towards the end of institutional repression and more towards Gay Liberation, another stigma management technique seen in the documentary was acceptance. This is when the stigmatized individual stops denying or lying about their stigma. The documentary shows when gay and lesbian people began to push for “coming out”, which can occur after one accepts their identity and tells others (e.g., when they were chanting “Gay is Good!”; Schiller & Rosenberg, 1984).

Taking their inspiration from the Civil Rights Movement, the gay community began pushing for recognition of their existence in the 1960s. Specifically, the documentary shows how homosexuals would picket outside government buildings and protest the idea that homosexuality was a mental illness (Schiller & Rosenberg, 1984). This kind of organization would not have been able to happen without gay and lesbians forming their own subcultures. These subcultures allowed them to find some psychological relief, a group of like-minded people, and accept who they are and understand there is not anything wrong with them. This subculture formed due to systematic exclusion and discrimination against homosexuals, but it ultimately lead to homosexuals gaining power to fight against the exclusion, as exemplified in Before Stonewall.