William S. Tom, “Let Every Pansy Bloom” banner, San Francisco Gay Freedom Day pride parade, June 25, 1978
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Long standing oppression has affected a mass amount of people in marginalized groups representing different races, genders, and sexualities.
plain
2020-11-25T12:32:52-08:00
Long standing oppression has affected a mass amount of people in marginalized groups representing different races, genders, and sexualities. In the 1970s, members of the LGBT community finally took bigger strides towards equality as they pushed back against their unjust treatment. Such a huge battle would not be won quickly, but the community was determined to fight for their rights. Through marches, protests, and increased visibility, they made themselves heard and were able to achieve basic rights and gain better treatment. Photography was a big help in this fight, as it showed the entire world the reality of homosexuality and helped destroy the stigma around LGBTQ people. The great Frederick Douglass once praised photography for its ability to demonstrate the true injustice done to people and its potential to bring social change - and here, we see this idea come to fruition. The many protests and marches did not go unnoticed and eventually brought about significant change.
Expressing one’s identity and seeing representation is immensely important because it allows people to be who they want to be. Moreover, it counters any negative preconceived notions about those people. Thankfully, with the use of photography, expressing one's identity can be much easier and readily available for anyone to view. Discrimination of any kind is detrimental in society and here in this photo, we see people coming together to be who they are. At such a time when LGBTQ rights and people were a taboo or touchy subject, marches and displays of homosexuality were extremely brave. As a result, this perfectly captured photo is a glimpse of history and shows how photography can be used to express identity.
