The Making of a Homosexual Minority, 1945-1970 (Chapters 4-7, 9-10)

THE MAKING OF A HOMOSEXUAL MINORITY, 19451970 (CHAPTERS 4-7, 9-10) JOHN D’EMILIO Erin Maher (chps. 4-7), Trevor Auman (chps. 9-10) Chapters 4-7 Henry Hay: “the man most responsible for the founding of the Mattachine Society” ● joined the Communist Party in the 1933 and was deeply involved with it for 15 years ● at the advice of party leaders, suppressed his homosexuality but in 1948 started moving towards started a political organization for homosexuals ● added Rowland, Hull, Jennings, and “R.” to party leadership ● structured Mattachine using Communist formations: hierarchical with Hay and co. as the “fifth order” and many small, independent cells as the first order ● allowed himself and the other members of the fifth order to be ousted to keep the society from being tainted by his communist association Mattachine Society: the first organization of the homophile movement ● started by Henry Hay with Communist party influence as a secretive, hierarchical group ● based on “discussion groups” that helped homosexuals think of themselves as an oppressed minority rather than deviants ● as the Citizens Committee to Outlaw Entrapment, distributed literature that led to donations that led to Dale Jennings pleading not guilty to lewd behavior while admitting to being a homosexual and getting his charges dropped (a “great victory”) ● after rapid expansion, suspicion about secretive fifth order, and a national meeting/debate, became a membership-based democratic organization headed by Hal Call and Kenneth Burns in 1953 ● switched from collective action to helping homosexuals adjust to society, advocating that homosexuals were respectable/just like heterosexuals, and looking to scientists and professionals to legitimate their claims (education of heterosexuals) ● started publishing the Mattachine Review in 1955 ● referred people to gay-friendly doctors/lawyers/etc ONE magazine: the homosexual owned, operated, written, themed magazine started in 1953 ● not technically a part of Mattachine, but originally closely linked ● took over the militancy of the original Mattachine after the power shift; maintained that homosexuals were the only experts about homosexual life ● along with Ladder and ONE, was a focus of the homophile movement and was used to expose entrapment/harassment, publish scientific theories on homosexuality, reach gays in more isolated locations ● had a small readership (Mattachine and DOB were quite small groups) ● sometimes Evelyn Hooker: sociologist who did a study on non-patient homosexuals and found them to be just as welladjusted as heterosexuals; used individuals found through Mattachine to do study Del Martin/Phyllis Lyon: lesbian, anti-bar-culture founders of Daughters of Bilitis and editors of the organizations monthly publication, the Ladder Daughters of Bilitis: a lesbian-only, Mattachine-esque foundation founded in 1955 ● worked collaboratively with Mattachine and ONE but recognized that issues like entrapment mainly affected gay men ● focused on self-help/education and was fairly anti-bar-culture and so did not have many working class women as members ● advocated lesbians dressing/acting like normal, heterosexual women to minimize harassment and portray a respectable view of lesbians ● referred people to gay-friendly doctors/lawyers/etc Fear kept people from joining the movement; ultimately it fractured when it failed to reach more homosexuals and/or dramatically change how they were viewed by society CHAPTER 9 – CIVIL RIGHTS AND DIRECT ACTION: THE NEW EAST COAST MILITANCY, 1961 – 1965 Major points Shift in the 1960s from assimilationist strategies to militancy (growing social activism during Kennedy’s presidency) – we can no longer hide, be respectable, bow to the norms of society Break with previous movements’ awe for the professional community (recall the one organization that had someone come and speak who told them they were all sick and needed help) Using Black Civil Rights Movement as a model—“direct-action techniques” I just love this quote: “We are interested in obtaining rights for our respective minorities AS Negroes, AS Jews, and AS HOMOSEXUALS. Why we are Negroes, Jews, or Homosexuals is totally irrelevant, and whether we can be changed to Whites, Christians, or heterosexuals is equally irrelevant.” Push against employment discrimination Push against the medical model of homosexuality as a sickness—“acquired illness susceptible to cure” (major point of conflict between assimilationists and militants) – LET’S CHANGE OUR OWN SELF-CONCEPTIONS Potential IDS Frank Kameny Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard, taught at Georgetown before working for U.S. Army Map Service, barred by the Civil Service Commission in 1957 from working for the federal government (not just fired) – D’Emilio ties his education to spurning the reverence for professionals, which had been so prevalent in the 1950s movements He had a Ph.D. but was fucking penniless by 1959, Jesus Christ—took the fight into his own hands Founded Washington Mattachine Society with Jack Nichols, took the organization in a very militant direction—“We owe apologies to no one” Worked against government discrimination with the help of the ACLU Randy Wicker Student at UT Austin, active in the civil rights movement, involved with the New York Mattachine, as well as ONE Wanted a gay rights movement “comparable to the Southern civil rights struggle” Created the Homosexual League of New York on his own in reaction to the cautionary politics of the New York Mattachine Society Pushed for publicity in the media—Village Voice, Harper’s, New York Post, etc.—“media breakthrough” Wicker was a major part of increasing the visibility of homosexuals in the early 60s Barbara Gittings Began to explore “different sexuality” while a theater student at Northwestern University Founded New York chapter of the DOB, became editor of the Ladder Influenced by the militancy of Kameny and Wicker, brought that militancy to the DOB through the Ladder, leading to major internal conflict, just as within the other organizations CHAPTER 10 – THE MOVEMENT AND THE SUBCULTURE CONVERGE: SAN FRANCISCO IN THE 1960S Major Points Growing cohesion of the movement in San Francisco – bars and bar patrons became political in a way they had not been in earlier movements Growing politicization thanks in part to anti-gay crackdowns in SF Beat poetry: “[Allen Ginsberg’s Howl’s] description of gay male sexuality as joyous, delightful, and indeed even holy turned contemporary stereotypes of homosexuality upside down”—“nonconformists rather than deviates” Police crackdown on the bars and abandonment of bars by Mattachine and DOB—neither one did anything about the “unrelenting assault upon ‘sex deviates’” Politicization of the bars—formation of the Tavern Guild, association of the owners of gay bars Support among Protestant clergy—STRAIGHT ALLIES Potential IDs Allen Ginsberg Beat poet, originally from NY, moved to SF His poem Howl glorified homosexuality and was part of a push for acceptance of homosexuality as natural North Beach “international headquarters of the so-called ‘Beat Generation’” Bohemian culture there fostered gay subculture, easy coexistence of beat and gay within the bars Black Cat Bar “where gay men, bohemian nonconformity, and police harassment most clearly converged” Bar owner filed suit rather than make the usual payoffs to police for running a gay bar Court found in 1951 that “no state law prohibited homosexuals from gathering in taverns,” essentially reversed by a state law in 1955 Jose Sarria o Employee, “master of male homosexual camp humor,” drag queen o Protested police harassment through his acts o Ran for city supervisor to call attention to the fact that “I had the right, being as notorious and gay as I was, to run for public office, because people those days didn’t believe you had rights.” o His candidacy as “forcing patrons to think about their identity, their sexual orientation, in political terms League for Civil Education (LCE) “Democratic alternative” to the Mattachine, founded by Guy Strait (lolz) Began printing the LCE News and distributing in bars—“constituted the first sustained attempt to bring the movement into the world of the gay bar” o “WE MUST FIGHT NOW” o Push for bar patrons to become political and vote as a bloc Society for Individual Rights September 1964 – positive affirmation of the homosexual, democratic process, allowing “all expressions of the homosexual community” Agreed on the need “to affirm the impulses that brought gay men into the bars” Emphasis on social functions, community-building Worked closely with/to the support the bars DAUGHTERS OF BILITIS: STATEMENT OF PURPOSE (1955) and “WHAT ABOUT THE DOB?” THE LADDER (1955) Trevor Auman MAIN THEMES Promote integration and assimilation, not deviance, militancy, etc. Be a force of education to help the lesbian become an “acceptable” part of society Education of the public Act as a base of participants for research on the homosexual What About the DOB? seems to be taking on a number of misconceptions about homophile organizations and homosexuals themselves (in a very placating, assimilationist manner, of course) o Social organization of respectable women o No minors allowed o Allow “various points of view on the homophile and related subjects” o Practical work towards law reform o “The ‘gay bar’ is no longer the only place where homosexuals may gather” FILM: THE CHILDREN’S HOUR (1961) WILLIAM WYLER, WITH AUDREY HEPBURN, SHIRLEY MACLAINE, AND JAMES GARNER CHELSEA SAVIT Characters Karen Wright, “Miss Wright”, played by Audrey Hepburn Martha Dobie, “Miss Dobie”, played by Shirley Maclaine Mary – schoolgirl who accuses Miss Wright and Miss Dobie of making “funny, strange” noises behind closed doors, that she saw things through a “keyhole” Dr. Joe Cardin – Karen’s fiancé Mrs. Lily Morter – Karen’s mother, headmistress of school Notable Quotes “It’s unnatural, it’s just as unnatural as it can be…You were always a jealous child.” –Headmistress to Martha, on Martha’s commitment to Karen “It’s unnatural. Her only interests are the school and Karen Wright. She has no interest in having a husband. A friendship between two women, well I’ve had many. But not this insane devotion.” “I feel so sick and dirty. I’ve ruined your life.” –Martha to Karen “Because I love you. Of course I love you too. But maybe I love you the way they said I love you, I mean I don’t know. I HAVE LOVED YOU THE WAY THEY SAID. There’s always been something long, for just as long as I can remember…I’M GUILTY. You’re guilty of nothing. I’ve lied night after night, it’s there, I don’t know how I don’t know why I did love you, I do love you. Maybe I’ve wanted you all these years.” –Karen and Martha, with Martha “confessing” her love to Karen. Synopsis Karen and Martha are two boarding school teachers who are very close friends, since college. They run a boarding school Wright and Dobie School for Girls with twenty students. One of the students, Mary, is a dirty little liar. She pretends to hear strange, unnatural things between Karen and Martha behind closed doors, and begins to spread a rumor by telling her grandmother during a car ride home. The grandmother doesn’t allow Mary to go back to school, and this starts a trend—the parents hear this rumor about their relationship, and they take their children home. Meanwhile, Karen and Martha are questioning what their friendship/relationship means and coping with their boarding school deteriorating. Eventually, even though Mary insists that the rumors are true, people eventually realize that they were all just rumors. But, Martha thinks that there was a line of truth in those rumors, and guiltily confesses what she now thinks was love for Karen. Karen is terribly confused, but she leaves her fiancé to stay around with Martha. At the end, Martha commits suicide. Themes 1. How the film depicts the relationship between the two women a. 1st – ambiguities between the boundaries of friendship and love b. 2nd – how representations of butch/femme are used to organize their relationship and depict the character of the true women involved 2. Watch for language: religious and other idioms a. Martha feels “guilty” of loving Karen in a way that is “unnatural.” i. Churches played key role in making people feel that they should be guilty. 3. Watch for what is said, what is whispered, and what is not said, but still communicated a. The word “sex” is never uttered in the film. Neither are the actual allegations against Martha and Karen. There is not a single cross word. 4. Gay response to antigay ideology: gay people internalize feelings, feel ashamed. Film epitomizes the understood experience of gay men and lesbians: with shame, despair, and self-hatred. Martha was isolated; she had no one to talk to. a. Final suicide: a supreme act of self-hatred, or a supreme act of expression of her love for Karen and her desire to free her? Overwhelming idea is that she’s overcome by shame and regret. THE REPRODUCTION OF BUTCH-FEMME ROLES: A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST APPROACH ELIZABETH LAPOVSKY KENNEDY AND MADELINE DAVIS Leah Chernoff Idea that sexuality is a social construct (it is created by human interaction with culture and history) Focuses on working class lesbian communities from 1930 to 1965 At the time, lesbian culture was almost exclusively developed in bars Butch-fem roles had enormous influence on the lesbian community o "Code of personal behavior" -- butch women felt they had to act a certain way, as did "femmes"; butch was supposed to be the pursuer, the doer, while the fem was supposed to take on a passive role; fem's pleasure = butch's fulfillment o "Social imperative" -- the community was organized by the presence of butch-fem roles; not only did the roles announce lesbians to the general public, they defined relations among lesbians; in order to participate in the lesbian community and feel accepted, one HAD to adopt one of the two roles Also an argument that butch women first took on that masculine role at the turn of the century in order to break free from the sense of invisibility of being a woman 1940s in Buffalo --> bar boom, growth of lesbian community/socialization, "element of defiance" 1950s -- butch lesbians begin to fight back against insults/derogatory remarks as part of their masculine character Sometimes people didn't naturally identify with one role or the other, and had to be taught how to be butch or femme Switching roles was common when trying to figure out preferences, but not within the course of one relationship (power dynamic was clear) Butches seen as more lesbian During this period, lesbians move from relative isolation to a more social community, but have to fit into certain roles within that community ORAL HISTORY AND THE STUDY OF SEXUALITY IN THE LESBIAN COMMUNITY BUFFALO, NEW YORK, 1940-1960 ELIZABETH LAPOVSKY KENNEDY AND MADELINE DAVIS Leah Chernoff A lot of women that frequented Buffalo gay bars were working class "Street dykes" emerge -- always ready to fight back A period of evolving sexuality and sexual mores Butch-fem roles an imperative (as made clear in the first reading) Butch expected to be the active partner in lovemaking "Stone butch" -- never wants to be touched, never allows her fem partner to reciprocate o Allowing a fem to take on sexual acts normally acted out by the butch blurred the line and messed up the social dynamic o "A butch's reputation was based on her performance with fems" (435) Being an absolute stone butch wasn't feasible for some; idea that a certain degree of mutuality was required to sustain a long-term relationship with another person Paradoxically, with the wider acceptance of new sexual practices in the period, butch-fem rules became stricter in order for people to feel like they had control over the changing world around them Sex becomes a more common conversation topic Oral sex becomes more socially acceptable Butches taught novice butches about sex AT THE SAME TIME, lesbians became more critical of women that didn't clearly stick to one role ("kikis") ZAMI: A NEW SPELLING OF MY NAME (176-256) AUDRE LORDE Hope Wilson 23: remembers being “young and Black and gay and lonely.” Setting: the ‘50s, in the Village. Downtown: few other visibly gay Black women; saw little gain in banding together. Huge split between the village gay scene and the college crowd (Lourde was in both). Later: Felicia (“Flee”): another Black lesbian in the Village. Neither do role-playing (butches vs. femmes); both are disparaged with the term “Ky-Ky.” Some proper Black ladies try to find Downtown girls to sleep with while their husbands are out Loose group of lesbian friends (all white except Lourde & Flee): “there was always somebody calling you on the telephone, to interrupt the fantasies of suicide. That is as good a working definition of friend as most.” Tried to build community, mutual support, sisterhood. Lourde doesn’t like the Bagatelle, the most popular lesbian bar in the Village; bouncer always asks for her ID to prove she’s 21 because she’s Black; but gay people supposedly can’t be racist because they know what it’s like to be oppressed Once she accepts her position as different from larger society & any sub-society – Black or Gay – feels she doesn’t have to try so hard. Doesn’t have to try to look femme, etc. This is why she can wear an Afro. 24: meets Muriel (white): they go to gay bars because they need the atmosphere of other lesbians, and gay bars were the only meeting places they knew paranoia of McCarthy years: rumors that plainclothes women in bars who could arrest you for transvestism (wearing fewer than three pieces of female attire). Muriel & Lourde fall in love, share their lonelinesses and the pain of both having dead loved ones 25: Rhea (Lourde’s roommate): sees plenty of clues that Lourde is gay but they never discuss it (Rhea’s political party (Communist?) is anti-gay), Rhea moves out because she is denounced in the party for living with a gay woman, and a Black one at that. 26: Muriel moves in. Lourde feels that it will last forever. Even Muriel thinks that all lesbians, Black or white, are equal in their outsiderhood. So Lourde only discusses Blackness with Felicia. Vida & Pet: two older Black gay-girls. Vida catches Lourde & Muriel stealing a melon. Muriel & Lourde believe love can solve everything 27: Lynn (white) moves in, joins Lourde & Muriel in communal sex; none of them has ever read/heard anything about more than two women loving each other at a time, so it’s unexplored territory. Lynn leaves and takes their savings. 29: “For some of us, role-playing [butch & femme] reflected... depreciating attitudes toward women... we recognized oppression as oppression, no matter where it came from” A girl named Dottie makes a big deal out of how she wishes she could tan like Lourde, won’t shut up about it; Lourde becomes furious Other Black girls in the Bagatelle are all butches because, being Black and gay and female, they need to appear tough, and also because of racist distortions of beauty; butches competed to have the most gorgeous femme, and “gorgeous” was defined by white male standards. These Black women commanded attention and admiration, and even they sometimes couldn’t get into the bar. “Being women together was not enough. We were different. Being gay-girls together was not enough... Being Black dykes together was not enough. We were different.” 30: Muriel sleeps with Jill. Lourde feels betrayed, intentionally pours boiling water on her hand. As their relationship falls apart: pain, rage, grief. “If Muriel and I could not make it together, what two women on earth could?” Muriel accidentally kills their kittens by leaving turpentine out, which the kittens eat. 31: re-meets Afrekete, another Black gay-girl. They are lovers, and then Afrekete leaves town. “We parted, reshaping ourselves the better for the exchange.” “A GAY DIARY, 1946-2954” DONALD VINING McLane Ritzel Donald Vining: born 1917, and received his MA from the Yale Drama School in 1941. Vining’s journal entries detail his day-to-day experiences while living as a gay man in the United States, possibly California. He details his many and varied sexual experiences with a handful of partners, namely Ken. His diary entries bring to light some characteristics of homosexuals at the time and the public attitudes towards them. He is arrested and put in jail for 15 days after being caught by the police while groping another man on the street. During this time in jail, he met a group of homosexuals who called themselves “girls,” which he didn’t like at first, but grew accustomed to. He seemed to find a kind of community and friend group in prison despite the circumstances. MASON MARTENS INTERVIEWED BY PROFESSOR CHAUNCEY IN 1985, ON HIS FIRST YEARS AT YALE, 1950-1953 McLane Ritzel Mason Martens attended Yale as an undergraduate student in the early 1950s. This short interview details his experience at Yale while living as a homosexual He didn’t really know there were many gays at Yale until he experienced the vibrant underground culture at a hangout place called George and Harry’s, now Naples Pizza Parlor, where many School of Music students hung out. He met a “very outrageous gay” man and realized that many of the friends around him were gay. He began to become very deeply involved with the gay social world at Yale. Martens highlights that it’s true that gay people do turn up in “certain professions and intellectual disciplines” like music and drama, or French. Martens mentions that JE was known for having a lot of gay people in the college, presumably because of the large support for classical music the college had. He didn’t have first gay sexual experience until 19 with graduate student during the middle of his junior year. MAIN TAKEAWAY: Yale’s gay social world was rampant and vibrant even as early as the 1950s. “GAY IN THE FIFTIES” MARTIN DUBERMAN DIARY EXCERPTS 1956-1958 McLane Ritzel Duberman was a Harvard graduate student (1956-57), and Yale assistant professor (1957-8) Duberman struggles with his sexuality and sees a therapist frequently and consistently while at Harvard and at Yale. He says he is “not capable of love” as he is promiscuous and seems to use people as sexual objects He seems to judge homosexuals as egotistical, self-centered, and flamboyant. And judges himself. He is increasingly hard on himself and constantly refers to his need for mental health attention. He seems to want something long-term but consistently attends bars and hooks up with individuals for single nights; “sex is the first rather than the final expression of the relationship.” He explains Yale’s view of homosexuality at the time, and it appears that it wasn’t taken lightly, but he does say that Yale wouldn’t have taken action if it was just suspicion that a man was gay. He seems to be in control of many aspects of his life, but during his sex-filled nights, he likes to be dominated, “the fantasy of being taken was more exciting than the actuality and the subsequent psychological upset…” He wanted to change, but felt a pull in both directions, between his knowledge and his sexual and emotional yearning. BECOMING A MAN PAUL MONETTE McLane Ritzel This memoir account documents Monette’s four-year experience as a student at Yale while trying to repress his feelings of homosexuality. He only had a couple of sexual encounters with men, but was unhappy and embarrassed by both He was attracted to a couple of his good male friends in college, but resisted making advances on them or even telling them the truth As a reader and poet, he took Harold Bloom’s course and fell in love with literature, “Poetry served as a sort of intellectual wallpaper to brighten up the closet.” He had a couple of female friends over a couple of summers, and was drawn to them intellectually but not sexually He found the Yale Dramat after being rejected from a fraternity, and was able to hang out with other queers, but could not embrace them because he was scared of his sexuality. “HERE BE DRAGONS” ON HARLEM AND GREENWICH VILLAGE, 1940s JAMES BALDWIN Alex Co Published in 1985 about Baldwin’s experiences in the 1950s Everyone is androgynous – every woman has some man in her and vice versa “the American ideal of sexuality appears to be rooted in the American ideal of masculinity.” Industrial Revolution commercialized the role of men and women; men became the propagators of property while women were the means by which that property was protected and handed down A man was therefore judged by the commercial value of what he owned “Dragons” were invading at this time, aka attempting to intimidate the morals of Baldwin’s time and place of which he was writing about It was difficult growing up in Harlem, but he always felt at home because everything was familiar As a younger child, he believed that he was ugly and could never fathom himself as an object of sexual interest Thirty-eight year old man falls in love with him and takes him around to show him off; Baldwin shows him his poetry and whatnot – the first really relatable man he comes across in Harlem Moved to Greenwich Village, where he was much less well-received, partly because he was both black and gay – double marginalization There were no X-rated movies at the time but there were certainly X-rated audiences – burgeoning desire for sex in many people? Baldwin learns that the male desire for a male roams everywhere Felt he seemed and sounded too much like a woman Found a friend in an Italian man who threatened to kill anyone who touched Baldwin From that, began working at The Calypso, a black West Indian restaurant This led to the desegregation of the San Remo because he went there with the Italian man When a mob came to the San Remo and yelled for Baldwin to come outside, the owners of the restaurant protected him – once he was in, he was in The present sexual revolution is neither sexual nor a revolution – more a “reaction to the spiritual famine of American life" THE MOTION OF LIGHT IN WATER ON HARLEM AND GREENWICH VILLAGE, 1940S (p. 218-24, 172-76) SAMUEL DELANEY ALEX CO THE MAKING OF A GAY ASIAN COMMUNITY AN ORAL HISTORY OF PRE-AIDS LOS ANGELES ( 11-22) ERIC C. WAT ALEX CO and DAVID LANGDON Gay Asian history in Los Angeles Reported feelings of almost denying their gay feelings, not wanting to be gay because of the racial backgrounds they came from But they also felt “uncomfortably straight” Some felt put off from the hyper feminine queens they encountered Even if someone were gay, he dated women because it was “a guy thing” – it would make it seem that maybe he wasn’t queer Many seemed confused by their sexual feelings toward men and tried to repress it or deny it in some way Before affirmative action opened up the way for many more minorities to attend college, only a few were able to – others enlisted in the military In the military, it was all about butching up No “gay pride” in the service – gay men had to meet during the night when it was dark, or off the base Red Scare and Lavender Scare of the 1950s drove many gay men and women back into the closet or prevented them from coming out Summary: Wat confronts the difficulty of navigating sexual communities within the Asian American community, which was simultaneously struggling to improve its own identity. A specific point of contention was the already questioned masculinity of Asian-American men, which many activists saw being exacerbated by homosexuality within the Asian Community. Specific Points: Racism complicates homophobia in communities of color For Asian men especially, who have suffered a long history of emasculation, their gay brothers become accomplices, even if unwitting ones, in the purveying of negatives stereotypes The rise of the Asian American movement in the late 1960s and 1970s owed much of its origins to Marxist-Leninist-Maoist thoughts that devalued homosexuality as a product of bourgeois decadence In the early Asian American movement, one of the big projects of activists was to “remasculinize” Asian men (both culturally and historically) Homosexuality was incompatible with the anti-racist strategies of the community Dominant feeling of isolation among gay Asian Americans, whose complicated identities led to a “schizophrenia” in their personal and political lives Complicated to negotiate political work as both Asian Americans and as gay men