There are certainly various moments in history that can be interpreted as pioneering for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. One event in particular, however, sparked awareness and a call to action that would previously never have been possible to conceptualize in the United States. This unforgettable incident, the Stonewall Riots of 1969, altered the public's view of the gay community and arguably sparked the next revolution in an entirely new civil rights movement. In the early hours of June 28, 1969, members of the gay community were forced to begin a series of intense protests when New York police began raiding the Stonewall Inn, a popular gathering place for drag queens and members of the LGBT community, in Greenwich Village. This event was one of the first times in history that the enraged citizens of this community actually took a stand that would permanently change not only their lives, but also the lives of countless men and women for many years to follow. In response to this event, the Gay Liberation Front, an organization that identified the mistreatment of gay individuals as systemic and fundamentally unjust, formed to instill a new language and style of homosexuality. However, the GLF ultimately ran aground over identity politics and criticism regarding its apparent favoring of white gays and perceived disdain for white lesbians and people of color. However, it was innovative in that it was one of the first organizations advocating for gay equality that borrowed ideas and ways of operating from protestors and anti-war groups such as the Black Panthers. The Stonewall riots demonstrated how powerful and tenacious the gay community is capable of being and setting a precedent that e...... middle of paper ......tions and educating themselves in a more relatable and less scientifically intimidating, which will ultimately lead to destigmatization. Furthermore, Treichler argues that although society has become more progressive in understanding that AIDS is as much a heterosexual as a homosexual disease, this progress does not necessarily disintegrate the “fantasy” surrounding the issue (i.e. ideas about “safe sex,” etc. ). learning from science will obviously be very helpful in understanding the concept of AIDS in its most basic form, but using this information consciously and pragmatically – and knowing that the sometimes contradictory information you receive may not necessarily be using the correct discourse to indicate what it “really” means AIDS – it will allow us to make sense of the disease as a complete and organized whole.