In short, the area was an incubator for oppositional attitudes toward convention and traditional authority and these attitudes spread across the country.
Cultural critic Daniel Harris, has also proposed that "diva worship," among male homosexuals, was another factor that unwittingly contributed to gay militancy. Since homosexual males had no other gay positive images, many projected themselves either into the tragic and resilient Judy Garland ("the ultimate bellwether of the docile gay masses"), or the "invincible personas" portrayed by the likes of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. In short, homosexuals "recycled the refuse of popular culture and reconstituted it into an energizing force."Homosexual militancy was also nurtured by the politicized atmosphere of the time. Since the 1950s, Mattachine, ONE, and Daughters of Bilitis had publicly advocated for respect and civil rights for homosexuals. In the 1960s, the activities and gains of the Civil Rights Movement and other social movements also promoted a new sense of hope and assertiveness among politicized homosexuals.
For some gay men, the death of Judy Garland a few days before the Stonewall uprising, symbolically transformed the stereotype of the quiet, suffering homosexual. Activist Alkarim Jivani observed that "Garland had been the archetypal gay icon because she represented bravery through adversity, but that bravery was characterized by a passive stoicism.
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