<> ",#(7),01444'9=82. 0000005704 00000 n By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Historian Lillian Faderman declared, "Its very establishment in the midst of witch-hunts and police harassment was an act of courage, since members always had to fear that they were under attack, not because of what they did, but merely because of who they were. When she realized what she had missed, she contacted the Daughters of Bilitis and the Mattichine Society and made a proposal for them to jointly sponsor a protest march. Historian Marcia Gallo writes "They recognized that many women felt shame about their sexual desires and were afraid to admit them. As the DOB gained members, their focus shifted to providing support to women who were afraid to come out. [25] The DOB also gave awards to men who were allied with them, whom they called "Sons of Bilitis", or S.O.B. 0000005924 00000 n [31] The editorship of The Ladder changed from Del Martin to Barbara Gittings.

Martin and Lyon quickly became romantically involved, and moved together to San Francisco in 1953. Web. The original purpose of the organization was to provide an alternative social space for lesbians outside of bars, which were subject to raids, arrests, and harassment. D. S. "Readers Respond." a comment that was met with applause.[30]. endobj Younger members did not share the concerns of older members; they were more moved by revolutionary tactics. 15 0 obj Longtime DOB member Helen Sandoz, who had taken over editing it after an interim period after Barbara Gittings left, was so burdened by the responsibilities that it was affecting her relationship. One of Gittings’s priorities was aligning the DOB with the East Coast Homophile Organizations (ECHO), a coalition of other social and political clubs for gays and lesbians. Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. "Different Daughters: A History of the Daughters of Bilitis and the Rise of the Lesbian Rights Movement", "Mirrors: Portrait of a Lesbian Transsexual", "Out For Good: The Struggle to Build a Gay Rights Movement in America", "Guide to the Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Papers, 1924-2000 (Collection No. Several times when NYC police, without warrants, illegally entered DOB's lesbian center in lower Manhattan, Simpson stood between the police and the DOB women. 69–91. [16], The early gay rights movement, then called the Homophile Movement, was centered around the Mattachine Society, formed in 1950. xref DOB leaders moved the list from its headquarters and later found out that San Francisco police had searched the office after its removal.

/ID[]/Info 13 0 R [11], By 1959 there were chapters of the DOB in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Rhode Island along with the original chapter in San Francisco. Who are you? <>

By 1972, The Ladder had run out of funds and it folded. Most notably, on the eve of January 1, 1965, several homophile organizations in San Francisco, California, including the DOB, the CRH, the Society for Individual Rights, and the Mattachine Society, held a fund-raising ball for their mutual benefit at California Hall on Polk Street.

[21] Even the FBI was curious enough to attend meetings to report in 1959, "The purpose of the DOB is to educate the public to accept the Lesbian homosexual into society."[12]. As each of the 600-plus persons entering the ball approached the entrance, the police took photographs. "What Concrete Steps Can Be taken to Further the Homophile movement? 0000001118 00000 n [5] In October 1955, eight women - four couples - met to provide each other with a social outlet.

One of the women's priorities was to have a place to dance, as dancing with the same sex in a public place was illegal. Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The national convention held in 1962 was also notable, this time for its being covered on television. /T 15838
Daughters of Bilitis The scene was 1950’s America where laws prohibited the congregating of “sex perverts”, a term in which homosexuals, crossdressers and transgender folk were routinely lumped in. The Video Project began in 1987 and was sponsored by the Lesbian Herstory Educational Foundation Inc. "Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon." The rise of the feminist movement throughout the United States also caused tension among group members, who began to split ideologically between emphasizing gay rights and women’s rights. Willer pointed out the problems specific to lesbians were job security and advancement, and family relationships (child custody and visitation). It lasted for fourteen years and became a tool of education for lesbians, gay men, researchers, and mental health professionals. From the start they had a clear focus to educate other women about lesbians, to reduce their self-loathing brought on by the socially repressive times. endobj /Prev 15829 1993-13)", Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin Lahusen gay history papers and photographs, 1855-2009 (bulk 1963-2007), The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Daughters_of_Bilitis&oldid=980844079, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Daughters of Bilitis, Boston Chapter Records, 1974–1986 (1 linear foot) are housed at the, This page was last edited on 28 September 2020, at 19:58. Education of the public...leading to an eventual breakdown of erroneous taboos and prejudices... Come to think of it, I don't know what I mean...."[23] The blurb was reprinted in the March issue of The Ladder. 0000000890 00000 n [22] Even the FBI was curious enough to attend meetings to report in 1959, "The purpose of the DOB is to educate the public to accept the Lesbian homosexual into society."[13]. /Resources 17 0 R The organization began as a small, secret social club for lesbians, starting with just eight members. Ripberger, Ann. L.H.N. 31 0 obj endstream [51] Because LaPorte took the list over state lines, pursuing it would have been a federal matter, and the Daughters did not have the resources to see it through. [7] The name was chosen for its obscurity; even Martin and Lyon didn't know what it meant. The gay couple introduced Martin and Lyon to another lesbian couple, one of whom suggested a social club for lesbians. "[31] Martin and Lyon joined the newly formed Council on Religion and the Homosexual (CRH) to develop a dialogue between organized religion and gays and lesbians. A windfall came to the group when an anonymous donor who refused for her name to be recorded, known only to the DOB as "Pennsylvania," began donating large sums of money to the DOB: $100,000 over five years.

As the DOB began to gain traction, they decided to begin publishing a small newsletter for members of the organization. Bilitis was a female character who was romantically associated with Sappho, the female Greek lyric poet. Who are you? "What Concrete Steps Can Be taken to Further the Homophile movement? [33], In 1964, Martin and Lyon began to control less of the organization, saying, "We felt that if the organization had any validity at all it couldn't be based on two people, it had to be able to stand and grow on its own. When Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon discovered its loss, they assumed the police or FBI had confiscated it. 's, which included their lawyer, photographer, and members of the Mattachine Society who assisted them with the convention. By the time the 1968 convention was held in Denver, less than two dozen women attended.[37]. [26] In the 1970s, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon reflected that by contemporary standards, the early ideals of the DOB for integration and adjustment of the lesbian into society were outmoded, but they remembered that in the 1950s and early 1960s many gay men and lesbians considered those ideals unreachable, and many of them considered their approach radical. One such grateful reader was “L.H.N.,” a playwright from New York, who wrote in the May 1957 issue to say. Investigation of the penal code as it pertain to the homosexual, proposal of changes,...and promotion of these changes through the due process of law in the state legislatures. The DOB leadership attempted another national convention in Denver in 1968, with a turnout of less than 30.

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