My Web Artifact

Photo Credits:
Then - Michael Evans/New York Times
Now - Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Future - Ayandokunabosede/Clipartkey

The web-based artifact that I have created is a response to the fact that the advancement of LGBTQ+ rights only ever occurs upon protest, and politicians cannot be expected to enact laws supportive of LGBTQ+ rights unless there is public pressure from protestors. In fact, given a lack of a push for new LGBTQ+ rights, some politicians decide to take away rights from queer people. The format of the artifact begins with a large title on top stating “How LGBTQ+ rights come to exist…”, followed by three subheadings. These subheadings read “Then”, “Now”, and “In the future”. Under each of these is an image of an LGBTQ+ protest, with the “future” image being an illustration of a protest with silhouettes. In the footer, there is a line of text reading “Stop waiting around as lawmakers continue harming LGBTQ+ rights. Queer people must fight for their rights, or nothing will change”. This line is the most direct part of the artifact, actively highlighting the need for protest, as well as showing how politicians, when left alone, will not only not advance LGBTQ+ rights, but actively degrade them. This shows just how important it is to not only publicly pressure for equal rights, but to keep the pressure constant. The photograph underneath the “then” subtitle is taken a year after Stonewall, in June 1970, which was just 53 years ago. Looking at how much progress has been made since then, we cannot thank the politicians for “doing the right thing” and just handing queer people the right to marry or to exist. Those rights were hard fought and hard won thanks to the protesting and work of ordinary people, not lawmakers that all collectively decided that queer people should suddenly have a right to exist. Additionally, LGBTQ+ people still haven’t achieved equality, even today. It is imperative that protests continue, or else people like Ron Desantis will begin to degrade what limited rights they do have.