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helloitsthecynincalaesthete-blog · 4 years

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Annotated Bibliography

“16 Remarkable Historical Figures Who Were Transgender.” HistoryCollection.co, 31 Dec. 2018, https://historycollection.co/16-remarkable-historical-figures-who-were-transgender/5/.

This was a really cool thing to find because I only recognized one of the names on this list. The article lists all of their sources at the very bottom, and I Googled some of the names online to make sure the information matched up. It did, so I knew that I could trust the information. This type of article wouldn’t really have a conflict of interest or any bias. Each person’s story was plainly told the way that it happened.

I was drawn to this article because 1) I hadn’t addressed the transgender historical impact and 2) I was looking for stories that were more of the ‘heart-wrenching’ variety to continue the idea of mentioning the sacrifices that the LGBT community made. The story of Jennie Hodgers aka Albert Cashier stuck out the most to me, so I decided to use it in both the opinion series and the research essay. Jennie immigrated from Ireland to the US; she changed her name and identity on the boat ride over, so everyone in America only knew her as Albert Cashier. Albert was a Union solider during the Civil War. He would bait the Confederates into action and even escaped the custody of a Confederate soldier after being captured. After the war ended, Albert took up normal life, living off of his army pension. An accident revealed that Albert was genetically a woman. His army pension was revoked but he won it back in a court battle. He was committed to an insane asylum when his mental health started to decline, where he was forced to live and dress as a woman. Albert started to go a little crazy from the stress of not being able to live as the gender he identified with. He would use safety pins to fashion the skirts that he was forced to wear into trousers. He lived there until his death in 1915.

Bie, Søren. “Canonization: Joan of Arc.” Joan of Arc - Jeanne D'Arc (1412 – 1431), Joan of Arc 1412 - 1431, 7 Oct. 2019, https://www.jeanne-darc.info/biography/canonization/.

‘Canonization: Joan of Arc’ was written using information from the Catholic Encyclopedia and the National Library of France. The bibliography itself lists about one hundred sources, give or take. The information was very professionally researched which means that it should be accurate and reliable. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t bias. The author is Catholic, so the information is presented with religious bias. Sentences like “Our predecessor of blessed memory, Pope Benedict XV, who was deeply committed to the spiritual welfare of France, was thought give to this nation, noble of all, a pledge special benevolence.” Are scattered throughout every article on the website.

Although a little unorthodox, I’m going to use the information presented about Joan of Arc’s life in my research essay as an example of a transgender historical figure. I got the idea when I was looking for examples of transgender historical figures and found a small article about Joan of Arc being labeled as a ‘gay icon’; LGBT speculate that she was either transgender man or a lesbian. She was the one who came up with the idea to dress as a man. She continued to do so even after signing a plea deal saying that she wouldn’t and was burned at the stake for breaking her word. In the opinion series, I played around with stances from both sides: the religious version of the story and the LGBT presenting their own claims, all backed up by historically accurate examples from the website. Addressing the argument from both sides helped me refine the argument that I’m going to present in the research essay.

Gates, Henry Louis. “Bayard Rustin, the Gay Civil Rights Leader Who Organized the March on Washington.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 19 Sept. 2013, https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/100-amazing-facts/who-designed-the-march-on-washington/.

PBS is an incredibly reliable source. Most of their programs center around education. The article was published about 6 years ago but it’s written about the Civil Rights Movement that took place in the 1960’s. It’s highly unlikely that the information is outdated. The article doesn’t present any bias because, once again, PBS is an educational program. They present the information and events the way that they are.

I decided to use this article to address how the Civil Rights movement helped to foster the Gay Rights Liberation movement that happened in the 1960s-70s. Even though the Civil Rights movement was about liberation for African Americans, it also became a bolster for other minorities to push for equal rights as well. In a time where there was already such discrimination and persecution of African Americans, it seems unheard of that any of them would be openly gay. Bayard Rustin was not only openly gay, but he was also a key player in the success of the Civil Rights movement. He helped to organize the March on Washington. He taught Martin Luther King Jr. about Gandhi’s non-violent resistance. Rustin’s sexuality was used against him by other African Americans who disagreed with MLK’s peaceful protests. They threatened to spread rumors about Rustin and MLK being in a homosexual relationship. These men threatened one of their own people simply because they disagreed with how MLK was running things. Rustin stayed in the shadows and is often uncredited for all the work he’s done. Although not a tragic death or sacrifice, it was an important sacrifice nevertheless. I can use this example to address my theme of LGBT sacrifices throughout history.

History.com Editors. “Stonewall Riots.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 31 May 2017, https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots.

I’ve used History.com for many papers and I’ve found time and again that this is a quality website with accurate facts and stories. This website presents its information without little to no bias. The article was only written two years ago, so the section where it addresses the Stonewall Riots’ legacy is still applicable to today’s political climate. The only new thing that was influenced by the riots is the Equal Rights act that was presented earlier this year.

The Stonewall Riot happened in New York City in June 1969. At this time, sodomy had been decriminalized in a few states but was still illegal in most places. NYC had been a hub for LGBT culture since the 1800’s but it was illegal there. A lot of lowkey gay and drag bars started popping up; these places were a safe refuge where LGBT folk could be themselves. These places were constantly raided by the police as New York had passed a law that it was illegal to serve alcohol to LGBT people. Police were also looking to catch people engaging in illegal same-sex acts; people could be arrested for something as simple as holding hands. Isn’t that nuts?? Stonewall Inn was a refuge for gays and welcomed drag queens when other bars didn’t. The owners were usually tipped off before raids happened. One night, police raided the Stonewall Inn with no warning and started arresting workers and patrons. Those that were arrested were roughly handled, which sparked outrage among patrons and neighbors. A riot broke out and lasted a total of six days. These riots, an important event in LGBT history led to the creation of many gay rights organizations, like Gay Liberation Front, Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, and PFLAG. There's a reason that the Stonewall Riots are still widely discussed some 50 years later.

“HIV and AIDS --- United States, 1981--2000.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5021a2.htm.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has got to be the most accurate and trusted source out of these ten. I found this source when I was looking for information about the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. I knew that there was a stigma around gay men but that was basically it. This article only addresses the facts from 1981-2000 and was published in 2001, so I did look elsewhere to find up to date numbers for how many people had contracted and died from the disease. Gay men are most likely to contract the disease, with minorities not too far behind. Infections numbered as high as 150,000 per year and the 1980s but as social awareness and efforts for prevention increased, the number of infected individuals dropped to 40,000 by 1992. The LGBT community, mainly gay men, are still feeling the social impact of this rampant disease almost forty years later. Gay men aren’t allowed to donate blood or plasma for fear of infection, even if they test negatively for HIV. There is still a ton of negative social attitudes towards those with HIV or even just getting tested for the disease. This has prevented people from coming forward to be tested. They’re scared of the social impact if they do test positive for HIV. Because of this, a lot of infected people remain undiagnosed. Eighteen years after this report was made, scientists are still working on creating a preventative HIV vaccine.

Robson, Ruthann. Lesbianism in Anglo-American Legal History. CUNY School of Law, 1990, https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1321&context=cl_pubs.

Lesbianism in Anglo-American history was published in 1990. It discusses laws and punishments put into place for lesbians, or rather, the lack thereof. This source is almost thirty years old, but as it focuses solely on the history of lesbians, it isn’t necessary outdated. The end of the paper does address modern day lesbianism, but as a plea to not let the legal history of lesbians be shrouded or erased. A theme repeated throughout the paper is that there usually weren’t laws that made same-sex relationships between women illegal. The reason being that people often believed that it just wasn’t a thing or rather ‘impossible’ to behold. Queen Victoria straight up didn't believe that lesbians existed. "Queen Victoria's stance of ignorance on lesbianism which resulted in the 1885 Criminal Law Act not covering sexual activity between women." The American colonies seemed to have the most strict laws against lesbianism, which fell under the blanket term ‘sodomy’. However, it's not well known whether these laws were effective or if they were ever enforced.

There was a quote that inspired my argument and the last few paragraphs of my research paper. “My plea is one for the future: we are living legal history and we must not allow [lesbianism] to be obfuscated in that history, whether by deliberate concealment or benign neglect.” Although this paper is specifically about lesbians, I could just as easily put gays, or transgender folk, or LGBT people where the parenthesis are, and it would still make perfect sense. We cannot and will not allow our history to be erased. This was essentially the basis for the tone I used in my first paper for the opinion series. I wrote something along the lines of ‘We cannot be erased and we will not be erased! History is super gay!’ etc. I'm going for a softer approach in my actual research essay. I don't want to alienate the audience, so instead of a tough stance, I want it to be open ended, an invitation for change. The whole essay is based off of 'History is super gay!'. It's just not stated outright.

Erickson, Tyler. “Legalization of Gay Marriage--United States Supreme Court Declares It Unconstitutional for States to Deny Same-Sex Couples the Right to Marry: Immediate Impact of Gay Marriage in North Dakota.” North Dakota Law Review, vol. 91, no. 1, Oct. 2015, pp. 219–232. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn&AN=115834666

This paper outlines the impact of the case Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), wherein the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples are legally allowed to marry under the protection of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment. States must recognize gay marriages that happened in other states. “… the Court found the right of personal choice regarding marriage is an integral part of a person’s individual autonomy…the right to marry is a safeguard for families and their children, which connects it to similar fundamental rights…an individual’s right to marry is a keystone of the nation’s social order.” There were fourteen petitioners in four different states that insisted their marriages being recognized as legitimate. Marriage is a right for any given person. The officials who ruled against this said that if gay marriage was legalized, it would threaten the very institution of marriage itself. Their decision was overruled by the Supreme Court. The United States finally legalized gay marriage in all 50 states, 14 years after the Netherlands became the first country to do so. This paper addresses the changes that happened that led up to this historical event. Up until the 1950’s, homosexuality was viewed as immoral by the Western countries. It was illegal in most of them. Homosexuality was classified as a mental illness in the 1950’s. But more and more LGBT started living their lives out in the open due to social shifts and equal rights movements. In 1996, the Defense of the Marriage Act was passed, defining marriage as between a man and a woman. In 2003, Massachusetts overturned this and legalized gay marriage. Eventually, enough people challenged the laws that the whole country had to follow suit.

Burke, Monica. “7 Reasons Why the Equality Act Is Anything But.” The Heritage Foundation, The Heritage Foundation, https://www.heritage.org/gender/commentary/7-reasons-why-the-equality-act-anything.

‘7 Reasons Why The Equality Act Is Anything But’ was written by Monica Burke and published March 14, 2019. It’s immediately obvious after scanning the title and the mini bio about the author that this article is going to be biased, which makes it the perfect source to use when addressing the counterargument in my research essay. Burke was a research assistant for DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation, which provides her with some credibility. Burke’s first sentence, “Most Americans don’t want a nationwide bathroom requirement...” more or less erases the LGBT community and its allies.

As Burke lists the ways that the Equality Act could affect the community, her examples aimed at the religious population. A baker was sued for refusing to make a wedding cake for a same sex couple and won. The same baker was sued for refusing to make a gender-transition cake and was found guilty of gender discrimination. Burke reasons that people should be able to refuse things like this (aka discriminate) on religious grounds. The next example is of a teacher who refused to use a student’s preferred pronouns based on religious beliefs and was fired. She effectively uses ethos by stating that the Equality Act could get charities shut down. “Although same-sex couples have the opportunity to foster children through the state or every other agency in Philadelphia, the city canceled its contract with Catholic Social Services. The agency’s approved foster homes remain available while children languish on the waiting list.”

This article is effective to address my counterargument because the audience I’m trying to address is the non-LGBT community which is largely a religious population. I can address their concerns specifically.

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