Pride – Part 2

The Stonewall Inn and the Beginning of the Modern Equality Movement

By Charles Davis, UCOH Rainbow Ambassador

“And God said “Let there be light” and there was light, and God saw that the light was good. . . “ Genesis 1:3,4

Unity Principle #1: There is only One Power and One Presence active in the universe and all life, God, the Good, Omnipotent.

Unity Principle #2: Our essence is of God; therefore, we are inherently good.  This God essence was fully expressed in Jesus, the Christ, and is equally expressed in us.

Imagine, if God is all there is, then God is all there is in all realms of existence, even the physical plane, which we inhabit.  Consider the following:  What if, when God’s pure white light passed through the veil of physical reality into this existence, that light was split just as through a prism into all the colors of the rainbow, creating us? 

We are those incredibly brilliant rays of the rainbow, each beautifully different and distinct, but, as a whole, indistinguishable from the pure white light of God.  But if you remove any one of those colors, the remaining colors will no longer blend back together to create pure white light.  All the colors are necessary and all are as important as any of the others to our well being and the true magnificence of God.  Also, if you look closely, you will notice that the rays of the rainbow are not truly distinct from each other.  The rainbow is a continuous gradient of color, each one blending into the one next to it to create a myriad of other colors, infinitely.  

Why, then does humanity spend so much of their existence trying to diminish or separate certain colors from the whole?  This has been the case ever since Adam and Eve lost sight of Eden.  Note my choice of words: Adam and Eve were never “thrown” out of Eden. In God’s love, this would never happen. We only have lost sight of it in our infatuation with the duality our physical existence.  We still exist in Paradise, but we cannot see it!  We developed an individual sense of “self” known as the Ego, which fools us into thinking this physical reality is all there is and that if certain other colors are too different from us, they are to be distrusted and feared.

The Ancient World:

LGBTQIA+ people have existed as far back as there are records available and, it is to be assumed, much earlier. Ancient texts focused primarily on men, so mention of lesbians is rare. In the ancient world, there were no official designations such as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transexual.  Whoever one chose to love was their own business.  

Europe and the Middle East

In Ancient Greece, and Rome, as well as many other European civilizations at that time, same-sex relations between two men were generally condoned unless those men were from different social castes.  In Mesopotamia, same-sex relationships that involved a social better in the passive role were treated as rape and were punished.  Relations involving one’s slave was not an issue.  In Greece and Rome, it was also considered appropriate for mature free-born males to develop close relationships with free-born adolescent males.  In these cases, the older partner assumed a “mentor” or “guardian” role.

Roman Emperor Hadrian (117 A.D. to 138 A.D.) cultivated just such a relationship with Antinous, and openly mourned his death when that occurred.  By 390 A.D., after the transition to Christianity, Emperor Theodosius made same-sex relations a legally punishable offense for the passive partner.  In 558 A.D., Emperor Justinian expanded that penalty to the active partner as well, warning that such activities could lead to destruction of cities through the “wrath of God”.

Little is known of the prevalence of lesbianism in Ancient Greece.  Two notable exceptions are Altman (700 B.C.) and Sappho (c.630 B.C. to c.570 B.C.).  Al man wrote hymns known as “partheneia”, which discuss attraction between young women.  Sappho, who was born on the island of Lesbos, was a poet whose most famous poem was “Ode to Aphrodite,” in which she asks Aphrodite to aid her in wooing another woman.

Greek mythology also includes the Amazons, a group of female warriors and hunters, who were as skilled and courageous as men in their physical agility, strength, archery, riding skills, and the art of combat.  They lived separate from men and only socialized with them for the purpose of procreation.  They raised any daughters that were born in the Amazon tradition, but returned any sons born to their fathers.

Far East

In ancient China and Japan, LGBTQIA+ people were accepted in society and many of the emperors had same-sex companions.  Most had heterosexual lives as well.  With the rise of the Tang dynasty in China (618 A.D. to 907 A.D.) the country began to be influenced by the sexual mores of foreigners from Western and Central Asia and female companions began to replace male companions in terms of power and familial standings.  The Qing dynasty marked the first law against LGBTQIA+ people, although the punishment was the lightest that existed in the Qing legal system.

The Americas

 A number of pre-colonization indigenous Nations had respected ceremonial and social roles for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and other gender-nonconforming individuals in their communities and in many Native American and First Nation communities, these roles still exist.  While most Nations have their own names for these people, a modern, pan-Indian term that was adopted in 1990 is “Two-Spirit.”

Bisexuality in ancient times generally referred only to hermaphrodites, those individuals having both male and female sexual organs.  Bisexuality as a sexual orientation was present in ancient times, but it was taken for granted unless the male-male relationship violated social norms in a particular location as mentioned above.  It wasn’t until the 19th century that the term “bisexuality” became considered by psychologists to be a physical attraction to both men and women.  It wasn’t until the 1970’s that it became more widely recognized as a sexual orientation in Western literature, academia and activism.

Current Attitudes

Same-sex sexual activity is increasingly accepted today in Greece and remains legal.  Same-sex civil unions have been legal since 2015.  In 2017, transgender people were granted the right to have their chosen gender identity recognized and to change their names legally without having to undergo transition surgery.

LGBTQIA+ people are increasingly accepted in today’s Italy.  Both male and female same-sex sexual activity has been legal there since 1890.  Transgender people have been allowed to legally change their gender since 1982.  Civil Unions have been legal since 2016.  However, despite a majority of the general public being in favor of civil unions (69%) and same-sex marriage (56%), most (63%) are against LGBTQIA+ adoption of children or parenting of biological children by LGBTQIA+ parents.

In today’s Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey and Syria (formerly Mesopotamia), LGBTQIA+ people are subject to widespread discrimination.  In Iraq, openly gay men are not allowed to serve in the army.  Same-sex marriage or civil unions are illegal.  In Kuwait, LGBTQIA+ people are specifically outlawed and can be prosecuted under the “debauchery” law.  In Turkey, under the Ottoman Empire, same-sex relations were decriminalized, but today LGBTQIA+ people have been subjected to increasing discrimination.

While same-sex relationships remain legal today in the People’s Republic of China, Japan and Thailand, LGBTQIA+ people are not currently allowed to marry or adopt children.

So, we have encouraging signs in some areas of the world and discouraging signs elsewhere.  Sometimes it seems we are headed in the wrong direction. But the words of today’s (June 9, 2023) reading from the Daily Word give me inspiration.

“I wish to live a peaceful life, not swayed by the shifting winds of circumstance.  I do this by remembering peace begins with me, and my world can only be as peaceful as I am. . . . As I live more and more confidently from my divine identity, perfect peace pours forth from me, filling my thoughts, inspiring my words and actions, and manifesting in the world.”

Unity Principle # 3: We are co-creators with God, creating reality through thoughts held in mind.

Unity Principle # 4: Through affirmative prayer and meditation, we connect with God and bring out the good in life.

As we raise our own consciousness, so will we raise the consciousness of Humanity, for in reality, we are one.

In our next installment, we will consider the history of the Equality Movement in the United States up to the events at the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969.

Information contained in this article was obtained from the following Wikipedia files:

1. History of Homosexuality (https://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_homosexuality )
2. History of Lesbianism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_lesbianism )
3. History of Bisexuality (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_bisexuality )
4. Amazons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazons )

[Note on language: Language is fluid and ever evolving.  Terminology and usages change from era to era, culture to culture, and even person to person.  While we have endeavored to use terminology that is respectful to the individuals and communities mentioned in this series, some of the language may be considered offensive or problematic today or in the future.  When trying to decide what language to use, it is important to follow the lead of individuals and communities, listening to current best practices.  GLAAD’s Media Reference Guide (https://www.glaad.org/reference/terms ) is a great resource for this.  We welcome feedback, comments, questions, and constructive criticism, so if you see anything that could use updating, please let the author know and we will take your concerns into consideration. Contact: Charles Davis, cdavis114@icloud.com]