Date of Completion
2017
Document Type
Honors College Thesis
Department
History
Thesis Type
College of Arts and Science Honors, Honors College
First Advisor
Paul Deslandes
Keywords
gay men, 1970s, Hartford, Burlington, community development, LGBT History
Abstract
In June 1969 riots broke out in response to police abuse and humiliation at the Stonewall Inn, a mafia owned gay bar in Greenwich Village, New York City. Following the events of late June 1969 was a decade of identity development during which gay men established themselves as a distinct circle within American society. The 1970s allowed for expansion of communication, creation of social institutions designed for and by gay men, and an expansion of traditional communities like Christianity. Over the course of the decade, an unprecedented rate of community building took place, and contrary to popular belief, this development boomed in places other than major U.S. cities. In Hartford, Connecticut and Burlington, Vermont burgeoning gay social circles defined themselves in ways similar to gay men and women in New York City and other metropolises, but on their own specific, regional terms.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Ganci, Matthew J., "Creating Community: Cultural Experiences of Gay Men in Hartford, Connecticut and Burlington, Vermont from 1969 until 1981" (2017). UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses. 215.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses/215