Special Collections:
Gittings-Lahusen Gay Book Collection
Because there were no specific collections that directly involved the Gay Liberation Movement of the Sixites, we chose to explore an extensive collection of gay-related books collected by gay rights pioneers Barbara Gittings and her partner Kay Tobin Lahusen. There were over 800 books in this collection so we selected a few books written in the 1950-80's timeline and just went from there. Here is a summary of what we found:
Psychiatric Opinion 8, no. 1 (1971)
In this source there were three separate articles that discussed the place of homosexuality in the psychological world. Each author demonstrated progressive Psychological views on homosexuality that came about after the Stonewall Riots as the movement was gaining significant footing.
Lawrence Hatterer - The author of one of the articles within this source argues that the times were changing and that psychiatrists needed to update their practices to be more current with the new realities of their day. In the midst of a sexual revolution sexuality could no longer be discussed in such a black and white manner. People were experimenting with their sexuality in a variety of ways and it was no longer plausible to characterize these people as 'ill' or 'criminal'. Homosexuality was becoming less of a taboo occurrence and they needed to accommodate based on the changing reality. This source is important because it shows how times were changing due to the successes of the Gay Liberation movement.
Franiklin Kameny, Ph.D. "
In this article, the author discusses the Gay Liberation Movement in terms of Psychiatry and how it had gained a significant amount of momentum in just a few short years. This source is important because it talks a lot about various important aspects of the movement, like the Stonewall Riots and how and why they were so successful.
Robert Seidenberg, M.D. "The Accursed Race" - In this article, the author makes an attempt to straighten out some of the common misconceptions and invalid attitudes that many psychiatrists had towards homosexuality. He describes how homosexuals had been negatively characterized in religious, legal and psychiatric settings, arguing that homosexuals were not the ones that needed to be "cured". The rest of society was. This primary source is important because it gives an account of what the general [negative] consensus towards homosexuality had been at the time. This source also makes connections between the Gay Liberation movement, Women's Movement, and Civil Rights Movements.
In this source there were three separate articles that discussed the place of homosexuality in the psychological world. Each author demonstrated progressive Psychological views on homosexuality that came about after the Stonewall Riots as the movement was gaining significant footing.
Lawrence Hatterer - The author of one of the articles within this source argues that the times were changing and that psychiatrists needed to update their practices to be more current with the new realities of their day. In the midst of a sexual revolution sexuality could no longer be discussed in such a black and white manner. People were experimenting with their sexuality in a variety of ways and it was no longer plausible to characterize these people as 'ill' or 'criminal'. Homosexuality was becoming less of a taboo occurrence and they needed to accommodate based on the changing reality. This source is important because it shows how times were changing due to the successes of the Gay Liberation movement.
Franiklin Kameny, Ph.D. "
In this article, the author discusses the Gay Liberation Movement in terms of Psychiatry and how it had gained a significant amount of momentum in just a few short years. This source is important because it talks a lot about various important aspects of the movement, like the Stonewall Riots and how and why they were so successful.
Robert Seidenberg, M.D. "The Accursed Race" - In this article, the author makes an attempt to straighten out some of the common misconceptions and invalid attitudes that many psychiatrists had towards homosexuality. He describes how homosexuals had been negatively characterized in religious, legal and psychiatric settings, arguing that homosexuals were not the ones that needed to be "cured". The rest of society was. This primary source is important because it gives an account of what the general [negative] consensus towards homosexuality had been at the time. This source also makes connections between the Gay Liberation movement, Women's Movement, and Civil Rights Movements.
"Coming Out!" by Jonathan Katz
In this secondary source, the Stonewall Riots are explored in the form of a play. The first scene is set at the Stonewall Riots, and different speakers talk about being proud of their identities while a narrator explains the what was going on during the riots. We can use this source to look at the Stonewall Riots in a bigger context and see how they fit into the bigger picture of the Gay Liberation Movement.
In this secondary source, the Stonewall Riots are explored in the form of a play. The first scene is set at the Stonewall Riots, and different speakers talk about being proud of their identities while a narrator explains the what was going on during the riots. We can use this source to look at the Stonewall Riots in a bigger context and see how they fit into the bigger picture of the Gay Liberation Movement.
Crimes Without Victims. by Edwin M. Schur.
The author, Edwin W. Schur, was the Acting Chairman of the Department of Sociology at Tufts University at the time of publication. In his book, he writes overall about the taboos and deviant behavior at the time. He writes about theories surrounding homosexuality, laws and the enforcement of anti-gay laws, as well as the community. Hopefully we can use this as a source to talk about the public feelings of homosexuals during the time period. This is a primary source.
The author, Edwin W. Schur, was the Acting Chairman of the Department of Sociology at Tufts University at the time of publication. In his book, he writes overall about the taboos and deviant behavior at the time. He writes about theories surrounding homosexuality, laws and the enforcement of anti-gay laws, as well as the community. Hopefully we can use this as a source to talk about the public feelings of homosexuals during the time period. This is a primary source.
Stephan, Marty's "Bitch: Summer's Not Forever", from Come Out!
The author of this article gives a first hand account of what it was like to attend the Stonewall Riots, and he describes what it was like to sing "We Shall Overcome" with a large group of people. He also talks about the Gay Liberation Front meetings and what it was like to experience discrimination in his place of employment. This primary source gives a good insight into the actual thoughts and feelings of someone who identified as gay during the time of the movement, and hopefully it will allow us a better understanding of how the liberation movement was experienced from a first hand account.
The author of this article gives a first hand account of what it was like to attend the Stonewall Riots, and he describes what it was like to sing "We Shall Overcome" with a large group of people. He also talks about the Gay Liberation Front meetings and what it was like to experience discrimination in his place of employment. This primary source gives a good insight into the actual thoughts and feelings of someone who identified as gay during the time of the movement, and hopefully it will allow us a better understanding of how the liberation movement was experienced from a first hand account.
We tried to incorporate as much of the Special Collections into our actual finished website, but the truth of the matter is, the collection was actually missing a lot of important aspects of the Gay Liberation Movement. In order to make up for that, we pulled together lots of other primary and secondary sources from online including interviews, TV programs, letters, and various documentaries. Combined with the few sources from Special Collections these sources, we believe these sources do a fine job at accurately summarizing what this huge and influential movement was, how it came to be, where it drew inspiration, etc. We hope you find something interesting!
Self Critique
Works Cited
- Altman, Dennis. Homosexual. New York: New York University Press, 1993.
- Carter, David. Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked The Gay Revolution. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2004.
- "Celebrating Black History Month: A Letter from Huey Newton to the Revolutionary Brothers and Sisters about the Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements." Abandon All Despair Ye Who Enter Here. Accessed December 10, 2014. http://www.blogcitylights.com/2013/02/04/a-letter-from-huey-newton-to-the-revolutionary-brothers-and-sisters-about-the-womens-liberation-and-gay-liberation-movements/.
- "Coming Out in the 1950s". Youtube Video. 25:48. Feb 23, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuTKpVug_ss.
- "Coming Out in the 1950s". Youtube Video. 14:40. January 19, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGOnoPnmeH4.
- "1950s Education on 'Homosexuals'". Youtube video. 10:12. January 29, 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmqNiFJyI28
- "Coming Out to My Dad, the Founder of Conversion Therapy (by Richard Socarides)". Youtube Video. 5:55. April 8, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sZMJ_-xqn4.
- "1960s Anti-Gay Lecture for Children". Youtube Video. 1:05. Feb 17, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltDZWQKNrCA
- Cusac, Anne-Marie (September 1999). "Harry Hay Interview". The Progressive. (http://www.progressive.org/mag_cusachay has an interview with Harry Hay).
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 1st ed. American Psychiatric Association, 1952.
- "Gay Activist Answers Questions 1972". Youtube video. 48:55. Aug. 12, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V4UrCExIMQ
- "Gay Is Good: The Letters of Franklin Kameny." Advocate.com. Accessed December 11, 2014. http://www.advocate.com/politics/2014/10/15/gay-good-letters-franklin-kameny?page=full.
- "Gay San Francisco as depicted by 1960s media." Youtube Video. 1:46. Mar 7, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHjTfGbn2wM
- Hatterer, Lawrence J., M.D. “The Homosexual Dilemma.” Pyschiatric Opinion 8, no. 1 (1971): 15-17.
- "Homosexuality and Mental Health." Homosexuality and Mental Health. Accessed December 11, 2014. http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/faculty_sites/rainbow/html/facts_mental_health.html.
- Kameny, Franklin E., Ph.D. “Gay Liberation and Psychiatry.” Pyschiatric Opinion 8, no. 1 (1971): 18-27.
- Katz, Jonathan. "Prologue: The Stonewall Resistance, June 27-29, 1969" Coming Out! (New York, NY), 1975.
- "Lavender Menace." About. http://womenshistory.about.com/od/feminism/a/lavender_menace.htm.
- "Letters of Note: Homosexuality Is Nothing to Be Ashamed of." Letters of Note: Homosexuality Is Nothing to Be Ashamed of. Accessed December 11, 2014. http://www.lettersofnote.com/2009/10/homosexuality-is-nothing-to-be-ashamed.html.
- "'Mad Men' Takes a Look at Gay Life in the '60s." Advocate.com. http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/television/2014/05/19/mad-men-takes-look-gay-life-60s
- "Remembering a 1966 'Sip-In' for Gay Rights." NPR. Accessed December 11, 2014. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91993823.
- Schiller, Greta. Before Stonewall. 1984. Film.
- Schur, Edwin M. Crimes Without Victims. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc, 1965.
- Seidenberg, Robert, M.D. “The Accursed Race.” Psychiatric Opinion 8, no. 1 (1971): 6-14.
- Socarides, C. W. "Homosexuality and Medicine." JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 1970, 1199-202.
- Stephan, Marty. "Bitch: Summer's Not Forever" Come Out! (New York, NY), 1970.
- "Stonewall Veterans Talk About the Night That Changed The World - Stonewall: Profiles of Pride". Youtube Video. 6:12. June 9, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nFxpQG7nBQ