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WWII and the 1940s
The U.S. lesbian and gay movement would evolve in the 1950s influenced in part by WWII. Millions of Americans throughout the 1940s were uprooted from their communities due to the war and exposed to different cultures. The war also raised questions for people in the states regarding the treatment of minorities at home which played a role in the development of the Civil Rights and Gay and Lesbian Rights movements(Stein, 2012). -
Life Before the 1960s: Wendell Sayers
In 1945 Wendell Sayers started his private law practice in Denver. He worked on many civil rights and discrimination cases. In the 1960s he became the first Black assistant attorney general for the state of Colorado. In this interview he describes his experience growing up Black and Gay in the U.S. -
Publication of Kinsey's Book Sexual Behavior in the Human Male
"The decade’s most in fluential text addressing same-sex sex was Alfred Kinsey’s Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, which was followed by Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. As the titles suggested, Kinsey emphasized behaviors rather than identities, and he stated repeatedly that homosexuality was best conceptualized in these terms, thus rejecting the idea that homosexuals constituted a minority group" (Stein, 2012, p.44) This gave rise to important discussions regarding sexuality. -
Founding of the Mattachine Society
Harry Hay, a radical leftist, helped found the Gay Rights organization the Mattachine Society. He describes his experience in this interview.
"At a meeting with four other gay men in his Los Angeles home, Hay presented a proposal to pursue 'the heroic objective of liberating one of our largest minorities from the solitary confinement of social persecution and civil insecurity'" (Stein, 2012, p.46). -
Publication of Kinsey's Book Sexual Behavior of the Human Female
"The decade’s most in fluential text addressing same-sex sex was Alfred Kinsey’s Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, which was followed by Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. As the titles suggested, Kinsey emphasized behaviors rather than identities, and he stated repeatedly that homosexuality was best conceptualized in these terms, thus rejecting the idea that homosexuals constituted a minority group" (Stein, 2012, p.44) This gave rise to important discussions regarding sexuality. -
Founding of Daughters of Bilitis (DOB)
"DOB was formed in San Francisco in 1955, when Rose Bamberger, a Filipina American, persuaded her partner and three other lesbian couples to establish a social club that would serve as a home-based alternative to gay and lesbian bars. "(Stein, 2012, pp.55-56)
Activist Billye Talmadge discusses her experiences organizing in DOB. -
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Direct Action on the Rise
Direct actions in the fight for LGBT rights spread. Among others in "1967, Los Angeles homophiles organized a series of demonstrations —the largest with 200 participants at the Black Cat bar — to protest police abuse and harassment. In 1968, criticism of Los Angeles police practices continued at Griffith Park 'gay-ins, ' which were inspired by countercultural 'be-ins'"(Stein, 2012, p.76). -
The Emergence of "Gay Power"
Influenced by the radicalization of the civil rights movement, LGBT rights groups grow, and more direct actions are organized. The Advocate goes from a newsletter to a paper published by L.A. based organization PRIDE. The paper begins referring to "Gay Power" signifying the movement's radicalization(Stein, 2012). -
Stonewall Uprising
"In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a private club on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, prompted several days of rioting by thousands of New Yorkers"(Stein, 2012, p.79)
Important trans rights activist Sylvia Rivera describes her memory of the first moments of the stonewall riot (though it is disputed whether or not she was actually there.) -
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"Gay and Lesbian Liberation"
"Over the course of the 1970s and 1980s, gay and lesbian activists increasingly referred to their movement as 'gay liberation' or 'gay and lesbian liberation,' even when their politics diverged from the radicalism of GLF [Gay Liberation Front] and even after most GLFs disappeared"(Stein, 2012, p.82) -
Citations
Billye Talmadge, Tape 1 of 2 · Lesbian Herstory Archives AudioVisual Collections. (n.d.). http://herstories.prattinfoschool.nyc/omeka/items/show/406 Marcus, E. (n.d.). Making Gay History. https://makinggayhistory.com/ Stein, M. (2012). Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement. Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203122211