Table 1.
Historic Events by Three Generational Cohorts of LGBTQ Older Adults.
| Ages in years when experienced |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historic event | Year of event | Invisible (born 1920–1934) | Silenced (born 1935–1949) | Pride (born 1950–1964) |
|
| ||||
| Emergence of medical discourse of “sexual inversion” as illness | ~1860s | |||
| First known use of term “homosexual” in English language | 1892 | |||
| US immigration law modified to ban “persons with abnormal sexual instincts” from entering the United States | 1917 | |||
| First of Invisible Generation born (1920–1934) | 1920 | 0 | ||
| Society for Human Rights founded, first gay rights organization in US founded (disbanded in 1925) | 1924 | 0–4 | ||
| Harlem Renaissance emerges, revolutionizing sexual identity, desire, and behavior in urban spaces of color and creating art and literature inclusive of an expansive sexuality | 1925 | 0–5 | ||
| New York Assembly amends the state’s obscenity code to ban the appearance or discussion of homosexuality on the public stage | 1927 | 0–7 | ||
| Great Depression begins | 1929 | 0–9 | ||
| First of Silenced Generation born (1935–1949) | 1935 | 1–15 | 0 | |
| World War II begins | 1939 | 1–19 | 0–4 | |
| World War II ends | 1945 | 11–25 | 0–10 | |
| Alfred Kinsey states that sexual orientation lies on a continuum from exclusively homosexual to exclusively heterosexual | 1948 | 14–28 | 0–13 | |
| First of Pride Generation born (1950–1964) | 1950 | 16–30 | 1–15 | 0 |
| Lavender Scare, a witch-hunt against homosexuals begins | 1950 | 16–30 | 1–15 | 0 |
| Homosexuality designated mental illness in DSM-I | 1952 | 18–32 | 3–17 | 0–2 |
| Christine Jorgensen is the first known American to receive gender reassignment surgery | 1952 | 18–32 | 3–17 | 0–2 |
| Mandated firing of federal and civilian homosexual employees | 1953 | 19–33 | 4–18 | 0–3 |
| McCarthy hearings broadcast on television | 1954 | 20–34 | 5–19 | 0–4 |
| Illinois becomes first state to decriminalize sodomy | 1962 | 28–42 | 13–27 | 0–12 |
| Civil Rights Act | 1964 | 30–44 | 15–29 | 0–14 |
| Stonewall Riots | 1969 | 35–49 | 20–34 | 5–19 |
| Homosexuality as pathology removed from DSM-II-R | 1973 | 39–53 | 24–38 | 9–23 |
| Gender identity differentiated from homosexuality in DSM-III | 1980 | 46–60 | 31–45 | 16–30 |
| 159 cases reported of what would come to be known as HIV/AIDS | 1981 | 47–61 | 32–46 | 17–31 |
| Total US AIDS cases reported1: 733,374; dead: 429,825 | 1989 | 55–69 | 40–54 | 25–39 |
| “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military policy enacted | 1994 | 60–74 | 45–59 | 30–44 |
| First protease inhibitors approved; HIV/AIDS soon becomes chronic | 1995 | 61–75 | 46–60 | 31–45 |
| Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) enacted | 1996 | 62–76 | 47–61 | 32–46 |
| US Supreme Court rules sodomy laws unconstitutional | 2003 | 69–83 | 54–68 | 39–53 |
| Massachusetts first state to legalize same-sex marriage | 2004 | 70–84 | 55–69 | 40–54 |
| Federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act adds sexual orientation as protected class in hiring practices; does not include gender ID | 2007 | 73–87 | 59–64 | 43–57 |
| Matthew Shepard and James Boyd Jr. Hate Crime Protections Act expands hate crime protections to include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability | 2009 | 75–89 | 60–74 | 45–59 |
| Hospital visitation rights are revised to allow patients to designate their own visitors, including same-sex partners and non-traditional family | 2010 | 76–90 | 61–75 | 46–60 |
| “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military policy ended | 2011 | 77–91 | 62–76 | 47–61 |
| Supreme Court strikes down Section III of DOMA | 2013 | 79–93 | 64–78 | 49–63 |
| Gender Identity Disorder becomes Gender Dysphoria in DSM-5 | 2013 | 79–93 | 64–78 | 49–63 |
| Same-sex marriage legalized in US | 2015 | 81–95 | 66–80 | 51–65 |
| Stonewall Inn designated national monument | 2016 | 82–96 | 67–81 | 52–66 |
| Transgender military ban repealed | 2016 | 82–96 | 67–81 | 52–66 |
| Transgender military ban reinstated | 2017 | 83–97 | 68–82 | 53–67 |
| Danica Roem becomes first openly transgender person to be elected and serve in any U.S. state legislature | 2017 | 83–97 | 62–82 | 53–67 |
| Pete Buttigieg becomes first out gay man to run for U.S. president | 2019 | 85–99 | 64–84 | 55–69 |
| Stonewall Riots 50th anniversary | 2019 | 85–99 | 64–84 | 55–69 |
| “They” becomes Merriam Webster’s word of the year | 2019 | 85–99 | 64–84 | 55–69 |
| Supreme Court rules civil right law protects LGBT employee from being fired | 2020 | 86–100 | 66–86 | 57–71 |