This document explores how disco music in the 1970s brought the values of marginalized groups in society, like the Black American community and the LGBTQIA community, into the mainstream. Disco originated in underground clubs and was championed by these minority groups, but then became hugely popular across America with the rise of venues like Studio 54 in New York City. The commercial success of disco introduced the values and dance styles of Black and LGBTQIA cultures to the wider public during that era.

1. Counterculture: Disco in America
From Stonewall to Studio 54

2. Aim: to explore how disco brought
the values from marginalised groups
of society to the mainstream during
the 1970s.

3. Stonewall Riots
 Who was involved?
 What happened?
 What do the initials LGBTQIA stand for?
 Why did it happen?

4. Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nFxpQG7nBQ
 ‘Queen’
 ‘Drag Queen’

5. Sex vs. Gender
 What’s the difference?

6. Action Research
1. When was Studio 54 active in the 70s?
2. Who were the two founding members? What
happened to them?
3. Find some celebrities who frequented the
venue.
4. What kind of people went to Studio 54?
5. What kind of music was played at Studio 54?
6. What was the general attitude to sex?
7. What was the general attitude to drug use?

7. Documentary 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5fFz2xm7tw
‘disco was for everybody; it was an extension of
the society, it was a time when people could
forget their 9 – 5 troubles and go out and have
a blast.’

8. Documentary 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqyw0_xAD90
‘mix of black and gay dance aesthetics’
Why was disco the crossover point
for these two groups?

9. Conclusion
Think/pair/share this question:
what was the role that disco
had on society in the 1970s?

10. Final thoughts
Disco music was championed by the Black
American community and the LGBTQIA community.
These communities were outside of the dominant
hegemony of 70s America. When disco becomes
commercialised and sold to the wider public, the
values of those music makers are brought to the
attention of the rest of America.

11. Terminology
 Hegemony
 Zeitgeist
 Cultural capital
 Values
 Counterculture