Save Our Children From Homosexuality Pamphlet
This is a pamphlet from the Save Our Children anti-LGBTQ+ movement formed in 1977 Miami, Florida in response to an ordinance banning any sexual discrimination in housing, employment, and public services. The leader of the movement, Anita Bryant believed the ordinance was directly preventing her from teaching biblical morality to her children since it required Christian schools to follow the ordinance's guidelines of hiring instructors without discrimination of sexuality.
Save Our Children is considered the first organized opposition to the gay rights movement. The Pamphlet featured here is a classic example of fearmongering and entrenched biblical customs to demonize any kind of homosexuality as perverted and wrong, as well as a perpetuation of a White, Christian, Eurocentric view on morality. The propaganda strategies within this pamphlet linger throughout all of political history, providing a polarizing template to dump info in, whether it's factual or not, making people believe they are in danger if they do not align with the propaganda party.
These stereotypes persist now in today's political climate, while the gay rights movement has more of a platform to speak on than before, and would become a staple argument of the conservative movement. Those who consider themselves affiliated with any political party now have the expectation to fly off the handle for their party and defend it with their lives, at times anonymously, in person and online. A result of this is over-identification with one's party and judging others solely on their political affiliations. It has gotten to the point where most individuals no longer feel as though they can speak on these matters or debate in general for fear of having any sort of heated argument or being ostracized for having a differing opinion. Even though human rights should not be up for debate or be politicized period, propaganda pamphlets like this have injected this meaning into human rights issues by automatically affiliating them with a political party and chastising anyone who disagrees with the party's stance on the matter.
