Stonewall Riots During The Vietnam War

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Pages: 5

The late 1960s in America was a time of political and international turmoil. Since 1947, the United States has been in the Cold War with the Soviet Union. The war was primarily about the United States containing communism. They wanted to be able to spread democracy, which led to the war being focused on the image of the United States. As the United States fought for democracy, like with the proxy war in Vietnam, issues at home were being ignored. There was a rise in the feminist, anti-war, queer, and civil rights movements, but the war took over a large amount of the news. As people fought for freedom overseas, minority communities had to fight for freedom back home. Minimal changes following the riots were a result of the lack of media coverage on …show more content…
Unfortunately, a large mass of the media that covered Stonewall excluded members and used derogatory terms. The Stonewall Riots had limited coverage due to the media’s main focus being on the war in Vietnam, and from the reporting, there was often an inaccurate portrayal of the queer protesters supporting those discriminating against them. The riots were not able to create mass support or positive attention through the media. Instead, the media added to the discrimination and homophobia the queer community was already facing. When the Stonewall Riots did get media coverage, it was pushed to the side and not a priority in the papers. The Stonewall story was harder to find, which diminished the possibility of change. At a time when Vietnam made the headlines, and other minority rights groups rose, getting attention for your movement is difficult. You can’t make a change in society if the people of society do not know what is happening. Although Stonewall was a large movement that gained some media attention, not everyone knew about the uprising that was happening down the