---
title: "Gay and Lesbian Movements — AP Euro Definition & Guide"
description: "Gay and lesbian movements were post-1945 European campaigns for civil rights and legal acceptance, a core example of social change in AP Euro Topic 9.14."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-euro/key-terms/gay-and-lesbian-movements"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP European History"
unit: "Unit 9"
---

# Gay and Lesbian Movements — AP Euro Definition & Guide

## Definition

Gay and lesbian movements were organized social and political campaigns in post-1945 Europe that pushed to expand civil rights, decriminalize homosexuality, and win social acceptance, achieving major legal victories in Western Europe while facing more resistance in the East.

## What It Is

Gay and lesbian movements were organized efforts by homosexual individuals and their allies to win legal protections, decriminalize homosexuality, and gain social acceptance in Europe after World War II. In [AP Euro](/ap-euro "fv-autolink") terms, they're one of the headline examples of how European society and culture transformed in the late 20th century, alongside feminism, [secularization](/ap-euro/key-terms/secularization "fv-autolink"), and shifting family structures.

The key phrase the CED uses is "varying degrees of success," and that phrase is doing real work. Britain decriminalized homosexuality in England and Wales in 1967, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001, and much of Western Europe followed with anti-discrimination laws and civil partnerships. Meanwhile, [communist](/ap-euro/unit-9/context-cold-war-contemporary-europe/study-guide/tMdX4w3SkXpVHCjat9SK "fv-autolink") governments in Eastern Europe largely suppressed these movements, and even after 1989, progress there has been slower and more contested. That East-West gap is exactly the kind of nuance AP Euro wants you to notice.

## Why It Matters

This term lives in **Topic 9.14 (20th- and 21st-Century Culture, Arts, and Demographic Trends)** in [Unit 9](/ap-euro/unit-9 "fv-autolink"), supporting learning objective **9.14.A**: explain how and why European culture changed from the period following World War II to the present. Gay and lesbian movements are evidence for the "how" part of that LO. Post-1945 Europe saw a broad expansion of who counted as a full citizen with full rights, and these movements show liberal ideas about [individual rights](/ap-euro/key-terms/individual-rights "fv-autolink") being extended to a group that had been criminalized for centuries. They also connect to the CED's point that organized religion stayed active in European life (KC-4.3.III), because Christian churches were often the loudest opponents of these legal changes, making this a great example of the secular-religious tension that runs through late 20th-century Europe.

## Connections

### Second-wave feminism (Unit 9)

[Feminism](/ap-euro/unit-6/19th-century-social-reform/study-guide/598FGndVJssQqO6lZr2G "fv-autolink") and gay rights are the twin rights movements of post-1945 Europe. Both grew out of the same 1960s-70s climate of social protest, and both used the language of individual civil rights. If an exam question asks about expanding rights after WWII, these two usually travel together.

### [Eastern Europe (Unit 9)](/ap-euro/key-terms/eastern-europe)

The phrase "varying degrees of success" is mostly about geography. Western European countries decriminalized homosexuality and eventually legalized same-sex marriage, while communist and post-communist [Eastern Europe](/ap-euro/key-terms/eastern-europe "fv-autolink") resisted. Comparing the two regions is a ready-made comparison argument.

### [Ideology (Units 5-9)](/ap-euro/key-terms/ideology)

Gay and lesbian movements are 19th-century [liberalism](/ap-euro/key-terms/liberalism "fv-autolink") playing out a century later. The core liberal idea that individuals have rights the state must protect kept expanding to new groups, from middle-class men to workers to women to LGBTQ+ people. That's a continuity thread you can run across multiple units.

### [Baby boom (Unit 9)](/ap-euro/key-terms/baby-boom)

Both terms sit in Topic 9.14 as evidence of changing demographics and family life after WWII. The traditional nuclear-family model of the baby boom era loosened over the following decades, and growing acceptance of gay and lesbian relationships is part of that same redefinition of family in Europe.

## On the AP Exam

On the multiple-choice section, this term shows up in identification-style stems. You might be asked which term describes "organized efforts by homosexual individuals seeking legal protections and social acceptance in post-1945 European society," or what gay and lesbian movements worked to protect (answer: civil rights and individual freedoms). No released FRQ has used this term verbatim, but it's strong evidence for LEQs and DBQs about post-1945 social and cultural change. The smart move is pairing it with feminism to argue that European society broadly expanded individual rights after WWII, then adding the East-West contrast to show you understand "varying degrees of success" rather than claiming uniform progress.

## gay and lesbian movements vs Second-wave feminism

Both are post-1945 rights movements in Unit 9, and exam questions sometimes lump them together as examples of social change. The difference is the target. Second-wave feminism fought for women's equality in work, law, and reproductive rights (think Simone de Beauvoir and 1960s-70s activism), while gay and lesbian movements fought to decriminalize homosexuality and win legal recognition for same-sex relationships. Same era, same liberal-rights logic, different group and different specific goals.

## Key Takeaways

- Gay and lesbian movements were organized post-1945 campaigns in Europe to decriminalize homosexuality, win legal protections, and gain social acceptance.
- The CED phrase to remember is "varying degrees of success," meaning Western Europe made major legal gains while Eastern Europe lagged under communism and after.
- Concrete milestones include Britain's 1967 decriminalization in England and Wales and the Netherlands legalizing same-sex marriage in 2001, the first country in the world to do so.
- These movements support learning objective 9.14.A by showing how European culture and society changed from the post-WWII period to the present.
- Pair this term with second-wave feminism on essays to argue that post-1945 Europe extended liberal ideas of individual civil rights to previously excluded groups.
- Opposition from organized religion makes these movements a good example of the secular-versus-religious tension in late 20th-century European culture.

## FAQs

### What were the gay and lesbian movements in AP Euro?

They were organized social and political movements in post-1945 Europe that worked to decriminalize homosexuality, expand civil rights, and win social acceptance for LGBTQ+ people. AP Euro covers them in Topic 9.14 as evidence of late 20th-century cultural and social change.

### Did gay and lesbian movements succeed everywhere in Europe?

No, and that's the exact point the CED makes with "varying degrees of success." Western European countries like Britain (decriminalization in 1967) and the Netherlands (same-sex marriage in 2001) made major legal gains, while communist and post-communist Eastern Europe saw far less progress.

### How are gay and lesbian movements different from second-wave feminism?

Both are post-1945 rights movements in Unit 9, but feminism targeted women's equality in work, law, and reproductive rights, while gay and lesbian movements targeted decriminalization of homosexuality and legal recognition of same-sex relationships. On essays, they work best together as parallel examples of expanding individual rights.

### What unit of AP Euro covers gay and lesbian movements?

Unit 9 (Cold War and Contemporary Europe), specifically Topic 9.14 on 20th- and 21st-century culture, arts, and demographic trends. It supports learning objective 9.14.A on how and why European culture changed after World War II.

### Which country was the first to legalize same-sex marriage?

The Netherlands, in 2001. It was the first country in the world to do so, which makes it a useful piece of specific evidence for the Western European "success" side of any argument about these movements.

## Related Study Guides

- [9.14 20th- and 21st-Century Culture, Arts, and Demographic Trends](/ap-euro/unit-9/21st-century-culture-arts-demographic-trends/study-guide/rxa2123n4dbvPTAmDi4K)

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