Abstract
The Stonewall Uprising is one of the most impactful events and widely commemorated to queer collective memory in the United States, yet it is often misremembered as the ‘origin’ of gay rights activism. The memory of the Stonewall Uprising has long since reached mythological proportions, and with it the actions and people who participated have become mythology themselves. This IS seeks to demythologize what happened during the Stonewall Uprising, and answer why the Uprising occurred by drawing on the existing scholarship and newspapers, legal cases, and writings from the time. To start with ‘why’ there are countless factors from the weather to the geopolitical climate of the era, but not all factors are equally impactful. The causes examined within this project are queer spaces with particular deference to bars, queer lives, societal oppression (police, laws, sexology, and homophobia to name a few), and the politics of respectability practiced by the homophile movement. This project answers the ‘what’ happened through the creation of a digital experience using Unity Engine that recreates the Stonewall Inn on June 28th, 1969, the beginnings of the Uprising, and some surrounding historical context and events. In answering these two questions this study seeks to shed light upon the watershed event that is the Stonewall Uprising.
Advisor
Ng, Margaret
Second Advisor
Palmer, Dan
Department
Computer Science; History
Recommended Citation
Fowler, Greyson G., "The Stonewall Uprising: Memory, Myth, Movement" (2026). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 13522.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/13522
Disciplines
History of Gender | Other Computer Engineering | Public History | Social History
Keywords
Queer, LGBTQIA+, Activism
Publication Date
2026
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2026 Greyson G. Fowler