Gay Men And Mutilation Of Nose Cartilage For Gay Women

INTRODUCTION In 1779, Thomas Jefferson proposed a law that would mandate castration for gay men and mutilation of nose cartilage for gay women and Jefferson was considered very liberal for his time. The United States of America would be geared to reject and isolate gays from the start of its formation. In fact, prior to 1962, sodomy was a felony in every state, punished by a lengthy term of imprisonment or hard labor. Before the 20th century, when religion played a bigger role in the daily lives of Americans, many people opposed homosexuality and those who practiced it because they felt it was a sin. God did not approve of homosexuality, so neither would they. This would lead to the scarce amount of openly gay people in the United States during this time to be tremendously discriminated against and ostracized by society. Homophobia would be passed on for generations and generations. In the United States, as early as the turn of the 20th century several groups worked in hiding to avoid persecution and to advance the rights of homosexuals, but little is known about them. A better documented group is Henry Gerber’s Society for Human Rights, formed in Chicago in 1924. It only existed for a few months before disbanding due to the arrests of several of the Society s members. Still, it was officially recognized due to having received a charter from the state of Illinois, and produced the first American publication for gays, Friendship and Freedom. The book states, among other