Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to a political position in the United States serving as San Francisco City Supervisor. One year after his controversial election, he was murdered alongside San Francisco mayor, George Moscone. The shooter was a fellow politician, Dan White, who was an outspoken anti-gay conservative.

Why I chose Harvey Milk?

In his speech titled the speech of hope, he urges the public to fight for equality. I always supported the idea of equality in human rights. If everyone is created equal, every existence in the world is made equal, why would we treated the minorities, underachievers and homosexual differently. I think it is rather discriminating against life that are regarded as less than perfect. Harvey Milk is a inspirational as he challenge his masculinity, revealing his true self which separates himself from the public representation of a real man. Real man often dominates in public to gain social status. He shattered his own moral values which could eliminate his potential carrier in politics in  the name of fighting for equal rights until he was assassinated doing just that.

The discourses of Harvey Milk are Homosexuality, Masculinity and his career as a supervisor.


1) Homosexuality

The context of certain discourses is affected by its surroundings. During 1970s San Francisco, California. In most western culture, back in the 70s, homosexuality were considered a public disgraced. During that time the traditional Christianity prohibited homosexuality, while medical professions diagnosed homosexual as a mental disease. Homosexuals were living in isolation, making their immoral behavior hidden from the public eye. In November 1978, Californians perverted gays or lesbians from teaching in public school. Thus making the ideology of homosexual in Harvey Milk’s era to be abnormal, unnatural, immoral, disgusting, dirty, a mental disease, perverted, illegal and sinful.

2)Masculinity

As a man, masculinity plays role not just to men’s physical appearance but also to their own sexuality. Sexual orientation of men can alter their degree of masculinity. It is their sexuality that acts like a “magnet” to influence the public perception of masculinity. Often Heterosexual and metro sexual men are represented as more masculine than homosexual man. And often do the public’s perception and response to Harvey Milk as a gay man to question on “how manly he is” ”. Being homosexual has challenged his status as a man. The ideology of masculinity of a harvey Milk are strong, brave, unattractive, un cool, emotional, individualist and free-spirited.

3) Supervisor

A political supervisor as a cultural framework in relation to Harvey Milk career. The ideology of Harvey Milk as a political supervisor are hard working, educated, articulate, influential, rhetorical, intelligent and authoritative.

Counter discourse

A counter discourse is described as the opposite of discourse. It is when the ideology of the discourse changes due to external surroundings such as time and space as well as cultural differences. Nowadays in most western cultures, the public are more open to accept homosexuality as a result of gay rights movement. In fact it has been a culture now to see the rises of new generation of sexual orientation such bisexual and transsexual. If Harvey Milk would have live in the present day, where the external surrounding in most western culture has changed upon legalization of homosexuality by law. The ideology of Harvey Milk’s homosexuality could shift to an exact opposite of the first ideology of homosexuality during the course of his life. The ideology of his homosexuality if he lived in the present time of san Francisco, would be natural, normal and legal

The politics behind Harvey Milk

Politics is defined as the struggle over meaning. Those who are discriminated, prejudiced and violated are some of the group of individual who struggle to find meaning. In a case of Harvey Milk, he struggle over the meaning of being the “perfect political supervisor”. He was not privileged like any other politicians who often represent themselves with a clean or innocent man like an “empty canvas” with no scandals on the public eye. While Harvey Milk has to struggle to gain reputation to search the meaning of success in the political world when his public persona has been questioned due to his immoral behavior. His career has been criticized upon his sexual orientation. He search for the meaning of masculinity, being a real man. His level of masculinity was lowered due to his sexuality. Is being honest and fighting for human rights not a masculine characteristic of a man. He search for the meaning of equality due to his homosexuality that has labeled him as a disgusting individual, a cynical and mentally retarded man. His struggle in his carrier as a politician. Finding himself in the position of cultural disgraced, strengthen his view on politics more than people like us view the meaning of struggling over the meaning.

References:
D’Emilio, John. Sexual politics, sexual communities: The making of homosexual minorities in the United States, 1940-1970 (2nd edition). 1998. The university of Chicago press, London.