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The Gay Liberation Front |
The Gay Liberation Front was a gay liberation organization that formed after the Stonewall Riots. One of the Front's first actions, in direct response to the Stonewall Riots, was a march through the Stonewall district, demanding gay rights. Having a very broad platform, the Gay Liberation Front supported other militant groups, including the Black Panther Party, and had heavy influences form the Communist party. Much of the GLF took an anti-capitalist stance, attacked the "nuclear family" standard, and called for a change in traditional ideals of gender roles. Eventually, the GLF became a multi-national organization, with a chapter in London, as well.
The Mattachine Society |
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The Mattachine Society was one of the first "homophile" organizations, if not the first major homophile organization. Founded by Harry Hay and a a group of other gay men, the Society began as an anonymous group in Los Angeles, with the hopes that it would expand outward into other cities. After successfully integrating itself into other cities, the Mattachine Split into a series of more regionally oriented organizations sharing the same goal: the promotion and promulgation of new laws, and the repealing of older laws, for the benefit of promoting equality on the basis of sexuality. The primary goals of the society are to unify homosexuals that felt alone, educate the US population towards ethical treatments of homosexual cultures, lead to the creation of prominent gay leaders, and assist gays that were victims of oppression.
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The Daughters of Bilitis |
The Daughters of Bilitis were the first lesbian political group within the United States. Formed in 1955, the Daughters of Bilitis were a pre-Stonewall group. However, the DOB set a good example for unknown numbers of lesbian and bisexual groups. The Daughters of Bilitis were founded by lesbian couple Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, and were heavily influenced by the Mattachine society. Unlike the male gay organizations, however, the Daughters of Bilitis attracted fewer members.The DOB was an exclusively Lesbian group, until the 1960's, where the women's movement began to influence the group's goals. Ultimately, however, this expansion into a more militant feminist group broke up the Daughters of Bilitis, and publication of the Ladder ceased in 1972.
The Black Panther Party:
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Psychological Contribution:
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New York Mattachine Society:
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Randolfe Wicker
Randolfe Wicker was one of the first gay activists to appear on television. In this interview, which aired in 1972, Wicker debunks traditional myths about homosexuality.
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Sigmund Freud
Well known psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud had a deterministic view on homosexuality, arguing that the development of homosexuality depended on certain biological and psychological factors, rather than on pathology. He believed that all people were actually naturally born bisexuals, only to swing to a certain side based on their experiences with parents and peers.
Freud's stance on homosexuality is interesting in that he supports it but only to an extent. A letter to the mother of one of his homosexual patients, shown below, does a fantastic job of demonstrating this. At first, he shows strong support for homosxual rights, telling this mother that homosexuality is nothing to be ashamed of. He believes that homosexuality is nothing that needs to be fixed and that it isnt an illness.
On the other side of that, however, Freud does still believe that heterosexuality is "normal" and that homosexuality is not.
Freud's stance on homosexuality is interesting in that he supports it but only to an extent. A letter to the mother of one of his homosexual patients, shown below, does a fantastic job of demonstrating this. At first, he shows strong support for homosxual rights, telling this mother that homosexuality is nothing to be ashamed of. He believes that homosexuality is nothing that needs to be fixed and that it isnt an illness.
On the other side of that, however, Freud does still believe that heterosexuality is "normal" and that homosexuality is not.
^actual copy of Freud's Letter |
April 9th 1935
PROF. DR. FREUD Dear Mrs [Erased], I gather from your letter that your son is a homosexual. I am most impressed by the fact that you do not mention this term yourself in your information about him. May I question you why you avoid it? Homosexuality is assuredly no advantage, but it is nothing to be ashamed of, no vice, no degradation; it cannot be classified as an illness; we consider it to be a variation of the sexual function, produced by a certain arrest of sexual development. Many highly respectable individuals of ancient and modern times have been homosexuals, several of the greatest men among them. (Plato, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, etc). It is a great injustice to persecute homosexuality as a crime – and a cruelty, too. If you do not believe me, read the books of Havelock Ellis. By asking me if I can help, you mean, I suppose, if I can abolish homosexuality and make normal heterosexuality take its place. The answer is, in a general way we cannot promise to achieve it. In a certain number of cases we succeed in developing the blighted germs of heterosexual tendencies, which are present in every homosexual in the majority of cases it is no more possible. It is a question of the quality and the age of the individual. The result of treatment cannot be predicted. What analysis can do for your son runs on a different line. If he is unhappy, neurotic, torn by conflicts, inhibited in his social life, analysis may bring him harmony, peace of mind, full efficiency, whether he remains a homosexual or gets changed. If you make up your mind he should have analysis with me — I don't expect you will — he has to come over to Vienna. I have no intention of leaving here. However, don't neglect to give me your answer. Sincerely yours with best wishes, Freud P.s. I did not find it difficult to read your handwriting. Hope you will not find my writing and my English a harder task. |
Successes of the Movement
Timeline
The following document is a timeline outlining some of the major events and accomplishments of the Gay Liberation Movement around the time of the famous Stonewall Riots of 1969. This timeline was adapted from an extensive timeline found in a book that was part of the Special Collections,
Long Road to Freedom: The Advocate History of the Gay and Lesbian Movement by Mark Thompson.
Long Road to Freedom: The Advocate History of the Gay and Lesbian Movement by Mark Thompson.