Behind the mask of respectability: Reconsidering the mattachine society and male homophile practice, 1950s and 1960s

Journal of the History of Sexuality

Volumn 10, Issue 1, 2001, Pages 78-116

  Meeker, Martin ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0035626001     PISSN: 10434070     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/sex.2001.0015     Document Type: Article

References (187)

1. Though often called the first gay rights organization, the Mattachine Society had at least one recorded ancestor in the United States, Chicago's Society for Human Rights founded in 1924; see Jonathan Ned Katz, Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. (New York: Crowell, 1976), 385-97, and John Loughery, The Other Side of Silence: Men's Lives and Gay Identities: A Twentieth-Century History (New York: Henry Holt, 1998), 53-55.
2. Though often called the first gay rights organization, the Mattachine Society had at least one recorded ancestor in the United States, Chicago's Society for Human Rights founded in 1924; see Jonathan Ned Katz, Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. (New York: Crowell, 1976), 385-97, and John Loughery, The Other Side of Silence: Men's Lives and Gay Identities: A Twentieth-Century History (New York: Henry Holt, 1998), 53-55.
3. Benchmark histories of Stonewall include John D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983); Martin Duberman, Stonewall (New York: Plume, 1993); and Marc Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves: Lesbian and Gay Philadelphia, 1945-1972 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000).
4. Benchmark histories of Stonewall include John D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983); Martin Duberman, Stonewall (New York: Plume, 1993); and Marc Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves: Lesbian and Gay Philadelphia, 1945-1972 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000).
5. Benchmark histories of Stonewall include John D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983); Martin Duberman, Stonewall (New York: Plume, 1993); and Marc Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves: Lesbian and Gay Philadelphia, 1945-1972 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000).
6. Documentaries that discuss the homophile movement include Robert Rosenberg and Greta Schiller, dirs., "Before Stonewall" (1984); and a forthcoming documentary on Mattachine founder Harry Hay, directed by Eric Slade. The Joe Goode Performance Group recently introduced its performance piece, "Undertaking Harry" (2000), which takes on the "theme" of Harry Hay.
7. Documentaries that discuss the homophile movement include Robert Rosenberg and Greta Schiller, dirs., "Before Stonewall" (1984); and a forthcoming documentary on Mattachine founder Harry Hay, directed by Eric Slade. The Joe Goode Performance Group recently introduced its performance piece, "Undertaking Harry" (2000), which takes on the "theme" of Harry Hay.
8. Works that contain all or part of this narrative have been appearing for more than two decades; they include Nan Alamilla Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town: Charting the Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Communities through the Mid-Twentieth Century" (Ph.D. diss., Brown University, 1995); Steven Capsuto, Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 1930s to Present (New York: Ballantine, 2000); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991); Katz, Gay American History; Salvatore Licata, "Gay Power: A History of the American Gay Movement, 1908-1974" (Ph.D. diss., University of Southern California, 1978); Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Molly McGarry and Fred Wasserman, Becoming Visible (New York: Penguin Studio, 1998); Schwules Museum, Berlin, and Akademie der Künste, Berlin, "Goodbye to Berlin? 100 Jahre Schwulenbowegung," historical exhibit at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin (17 May-17 August 1997); Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves; and Rodger Streitmatter, Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America (Boston: Faber and Faber, 1995). A few works have presented an alternative historiography; for example, see Michael Bronski, Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility (Boston: South End Press, 1984), 80-85, 144-49.
9. Works that contain all or part of this narrative have been appearing for more than two decades; they include Nan Alamilla Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town: Charting the Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Communities through the Mid-Twentieth Century" (Ph.D. diss., Brown University, 1995); Steven Capsuto, Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 1930s to Present (New York: Ballantine, 2000); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991); Katz, Gay American History; Salvatore Licata, "Gay Power: A History of the American Gay Movement, 1908-1974" (Ph.D. diss., University of Southern California, 1978); Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Molly McGarry and Fred Wasserman, Becoming Visible (New York: Penguin Studio, 1998); Schwules Museum, Berlin, and Akademie der Künste, Berlin, "Goodbye to Berlin? 100 Jahre Schwulenbowegung," historical exhibit at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin (17 May-17 August 1997); Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves; and Rodger Streitmatter, Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America (Boston: Faber and Faber, 1995). A few works have presented an alternative historiography; for example, see Michael Bronski, Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility (Boston: South End Press, 1984), 80-85, 144-49.
10. Works that contain all or part of this narrative have been appearing for more than two decades; they include Nan Alamilla Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town: Charting the Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Communities through the Mid-Twentieth Century" (Ph.D. diss., Brown University, 1995); Steven Capsuto, Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 1930s to Present (New York: Ballantine, 2000); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991); Katz, Gay American History; Salvatore Licata, "Gay Power: A History of the American Gay Movement, 1908-1974" (Ph.D. diss., University of Southern California, 1978); Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Molly McGarry and Fred Wasserman, Becoming Visible (New York: Penguin Studio, 1998); Schwules Museum, Berlin, and Akademie der Künste, Berlin, "Goodbye to Berlin? 100 Jahre Schwulenbowegung," historical exhibit at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin (17 May-17 August 1997); Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves; and Rodger Streitmatter, Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America (Boston: Faber and Faber, 1995). A few works have presented an alternative historiography; for example, see Michael Bronski, Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility (Boston: South End Press, 1984), 80-85, 144-49.
11. Works that contain all or part of this narrative have been appearing for more than two decades; they include Nan Alamilla Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town: Charting the Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Communities through the Mid-Twentieth Century" (Ph.D. diss., Brown University, 1995); Steven Capsuto, Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 1930s to Present (New York: Ballantine, 2000); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991); Katz, Gay American History; Salvatore Licata, "Gay Power: A History of the American Gay Movement, 1908-1974" (Ph.D. diss., University of Southern California, 1978); Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Molly McGarry and Fred Wasserman, Becoming Visible (New York: Penguin Studio, 1998); Schwules Museum, Berlin, and Akademie der Künste, Berlin, "Goodbye to Berlin? 100 Jahre Schwulenbowegung," historical exhibit at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin (17 May-17 August 1997); Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves; and Rodger Streitmatter, Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America (Boston: Faber and Faber, 1995). A few works have presented an alternative historiography; for example, see Michael Bronski, Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility (Boston: South End Press, 1984), 80-85, 144-49.
12. Works that contain all or part of this narrative have been appearing for more than two decades; they include Nan Alamilla Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town: Charting the Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Communities through the Mid-Twentieth Century" (Ph.D. diss., Brown University, 1995); Steven Capsuto, Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 1930s to Present (New York: Ballantine, 2000); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991); Katz, Gay American History; Salvatore Licata, "Gay Power: A History of the American Gay Movement, 1908-1974" (Ph.D. diss., University of Southern California, 1978); Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Molly McGarry and Fred Wasserman, Becoming Visible (New York: Penguin Studio, 1998); Schwules Museum, Berlin, and Akademie der Künste, Berlin, "Goodbye to Berlin? 100 Jahre Schwulenbowegung," historical exhibit at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin (17 May-17 August 1997); Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves; and Rodger Streitmatter, Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America (Boston: Faber and Faber, 1995). A few works have presented an alternative historiography; for example, see Michael Bronski, Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility (Boston: South End Press, 1984), 80-85, 144-49.
13. Works that contain all or part of this narrative have been appearing for more than two decades; they include Nan Alamilla Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town: Charting the Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Communities through the Mid-Twentieth Century" (Ph.D. diss., Brown University, 1995); Steven Capsuto, Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 1930s to Present (New York: Ballantine, 2000); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991); Katz, Gay American History; Salvatore Licata, "Gay Power: A History of the American Gay Movement, 1908-1974" (Ph.D. diss., University of Southern California, 1978); Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Molly McGarry and Fred Wasserman, Becoming Visible (New York: Penguin Studio, 1998); Schwules Museum, Berlin, and Akademie der Künste, Berlin, "Goodbye to Berlin? 100 Jahre Schwulenbowegung," historical exhibit at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin (17 May-17 August 1997); Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves; and Rodger Streitmatter, Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America (Boston: Faber and Faber, 1995). A few works have presented an alternative historiography; for example, see Michael Bronski, Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility (Boston: South End Press, 1984), 80-85, 144-49.
14. Works that contain all or part of this narrative have been appearing for more than two decades; they include Nan Alamilla Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town: Charting the Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Communities through the Mid-Twentieth Century" (Ph.D. diss., Brown University, 1995); Steven Capsuto, Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 1930s to Present (New York: Ballantine, 2000); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991); Katz, Gay American History; Salvatore Licata, "Gay Power: A History of the American Gay Movement, 1908-1974" (Ph.D. diss., University of Southern California, 1978); Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Molly McGarry and Fred Wasserman, Becoming Visible (New York: Penguin Studio, 1998); Schwules Museum, Berlin, and Akademie der Künste, Berlin, "Goodbye to Berlin? 100 Jahre Schwulenbowegung," historical exhibit at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin (17 May-17 August 1997); Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves; and Rodger Streitmatter, Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America (Boston: Faber and Faber, 1995). A few works have presented an alternative historiography; for example, see Michael Bronski, Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility (Boston: South End Press, 1984), 80-85, 144-49.
15. Works that contain all or part of this narrative have been appearing for more than two decades; they include Nan Alamilla Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town: Charting the Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Communities through the Mid-Twentieth Century" (Ph.D. diss., Brown University, 1995); Steven Capsuto, Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 1930s to Present (New York: Ballantine, 2000); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991); Katz, Gay American History; Salvatore Licata, "Gay Power: A History of the American Gay Movement, 1908-1974" (Ph.D. diss., University of Southern California, 1978); Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Molly McGarry and Fred Wasserman, Becoming Visible (New York: Penguin Studio, 1998); Schwules Museum, Berlin, and Akademie der Künste, Berlin, "Goodbye to Berlin? 100 Jahre Schwulenbowegung," historical exhibit at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin (17 May-17 August 1997); Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves; and Rodger Streitmatter, Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America (Boston: Faber and Faber, 1995). A few works have presented an alternative historiography; for example, see Michael Bronski, Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility (Boston: South End Press, 1984), 80-85, 144-49.
16. Works that contain all or part of this narrative have been appearing for more than two decades; they include Nan Alamilla Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town: Charting the Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Communities through the Mid-Twentieth Century" (Ph.D. diss., Brown University, 1995); Steven Capsuto, Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 1930s to Present (New York: Ballantine, 2000); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991); Katz, Gay American History; Salvatore Licata, "Gay Power: A History of the American Gay Movement, 1908-1974" (Ph.D. diss., University of Southern California, 1978); Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Molly McGarry and Fred Wasserman, Becoming Visible (New York: Penguin Studio, 1998); Schwules Museum, Berlin, and Akademie der Künste, Berlin, "Goodbye to Berlin? 100 Jahre Schwulenbowegung," historical exhibit at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin (17 May-17 August 1997); Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves; and Rodger Streitmatter, Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America (Boston: Faber and Faber, 1995). A few works have presented an alternative historiography; for example, see Michael Bronski, Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility (Boston: South End Press, 1984), 80-85, 144-49.
17. Works that contain all or part of this narrative have been appearing for more than two decades; they include Nan Alamilla Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town: Charting the Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Communities through the Mid-Twentieth Century" (Ph.D. diss., Brown University, 1995); Steven Capsuto, Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 1930s to Present (New York: Ballantine, 2000); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991); Katz, Gay American History; Salvatore Licata, "Gay Power: A History of the American Gay Movement, 1908-1974" (Ph.D. diss., University of Southern California, 1978); Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Molly McGarry and Fred Wasserman, Becoming Visible (New York: Penguin Studio, 1998); Schwules Museum, Berlin, and Akademie der Künste, Berlin, "Goodbye to Berlin? 100 Jahre Schwulenbowegung," historical exhibit at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin (17 May-17 August 1997); Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves; and Rodger Streitmatter, Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America (Boston: Faber and Faber, 1995). A few works have presented an alternative historiography; for example, see Michael Bronski, Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility (Boston: South End Press, 1984), 80-85, 144-49.
18. Works that contain all or part of this narrative have been appearing for more than two decades; they include Nan Alamilla Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town: Charting the Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Communities through the Mid-Twentieth Century" (Ph.D. diss., Brown University, 1995); Steven Capsuto, Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 1930s to Present (New York: Ballantine, 2000); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991); Katz, Gay American History; Salvatore Licata, "Gay Power: A History of the American Gay Movement, 1908-1974" (Ph.D. diss., University of Southern California, 1978); Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Molly McGarry and Fred Wasserman, Becoming Visible (New York: Penguin Studio, 1998); Schwules Museum, Berlin, and Akademie der Künste, Berlin, "Goodbye to Berlin? 100 Jahre Schwulenbowegung," historical exhibit at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin (17 May-17 August 1997); Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves; and Rodger Streitmatter, Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America (Boston: Faber and Faber, 1995). A few works have presented an alternative historiography; for example, see Michael Bronski, Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility (Boston: South End Press, 1984), 80-85, 144-49.
19. Works that contain all or part of this narrative have been appearing for more than two decades; they include Nan Alamilla Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town: Charting the Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Communities through the Mid-Twentieth Century" (Ph.D. diss., Brown University, 1995); Steven Capsuto, Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 1930s to Present (New York: Ballantine, 2000); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991); Katz, Gay American History; Salvatore Licata, "Gay Power: A History of the American Gay Movement, 1908-1974" (Ph.D. diss., University of Southern California, 1978); Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Molly McGarry and Fred Wasserman, Becoming Visible (New York: Penguin Studio, 1998); Schwules Museum, Berlin, and Akademie der Künste, Berlin, "Goodbye to Berlin? 100 Jahre Schwulenbowegung," historical exhibit at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin (17 May-17 August 1997); Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves; and Rodger Streitmatter, Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America (Boston: Faber and Faber, 1995). A few works have presented an alternative historiography; for example, see Michael Bronski, Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility (Boston: South End Press, 1984), 80-85, 144-49.
20. D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities. Other histories preceded D'Emilio's monograph; among them are Katz, Gay American History, and Licata, "Gay Power."
21. D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities. Other histories preceded D'Emilio's monograph; among them are Katz, Gay American History, and Licata, "Gay Power."
22. D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities. Other histories preceded D'Emilio's monograph; among them are Katz, Gay American History, and Licata, "Gay Power."
23. David Allyn, Make Love, Not War: The Sexual Revolution: An Unfettered History (Boston: Little, Brown, 2000), 151-52.
24. The phrase "retreat to respectability" comes from D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 75-91.
25. This practice may be likened to a good drag performance where homosexuals, the ingroup, know the performer is a man in woman's clothes while most heterosexual members of the audience, the out-group, either do not know the score or are sufficiently confused and thus unable to "straighten-out" the situation. I thank Gerard Koskovich for supplying this analogy.
26. Though the name "Mattachine Society" was used throughout the organization's life, I have made a distinction between the "Mattachine Foundation" led by Harry Hay and others in Los Angeles (1951-53), and the "Mattachine Society" led by Hal Call, Don Lucas, and, for a few years, Ken Burns (1953-67). For more complete accounts of the Mattachine Society's founding, see Marvin Cutler, ed., Homosexuals Today (Los Angeles: ONE, 1956); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 57-74; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Eric Marcus, Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990 (New York: HarperCollins, 1992); Streitmatter, Unspeakable; and Stuart Timmons, The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement (Boston: Alyson, 1990). On the origin of the Mattachine name, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; also see "Mattachine - What Does It Mean?" Mattachine Review, November-December 1955, 29. For gay life in Los Angeles, see E. Michael Gorman, "The Pursuit of the Wish: An Anthropological Perspective on Gay Male Subculture in Los Angeles," in Gay Culture in America, ed. Gilbert Herdt (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992), 87-106 .
27. Though the name "Mattachine Society" was used throughout the organization's life, I have made a distinction between the "Mattachine Foundation" led by Harry Hay and others in Los Angeles (1951-53), and the "Mattachine Society" led by Hal Call, Don Lucas, and, for a few years, Ken Burns (1953-67). For more complete accounts of the Mattachine Society's founding, see Marvin Cutler, ed., Homosexuals Today (Los Angeles: ONE, 1956); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 57-74; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Eric Marcus, Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990 (New York: HarperCollins, 1992); Streitmatter, Unspeakable; and Stuart Timmons, The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement (Boston: Alyson, 1990). On the origin of the Mattachine name, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; also see "Mattachine - What Does It Mean?" Mattachine Review, November-December 1955, 29. For gay life in Los Angeles, see E. Michael Gorman, "The Pursuit of the Wish: An Anthropological Perspective on Gay Male Subculture in Los Angeles," in Gay Culture in America, ed. Gilbert Herdt (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992), 87-106 .
28. Though the name "Mattachine Society" was used throughout the organization's life, I have made a distinction between the "Mattachine Foundation" led by Harry Hay and others in Los Angeles (1951-53), and the "Mattachine Society" led by Hal Call, Don Lucas, and, for a few years, Ken Burns (1953-67). For more complete accounts of the Mattachine Society's founding, see Marvin Cutler, ed., Homosexuals Today (Los Angeles: ONE, 1956); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 57-74; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Eric Marcus, Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990 (New York: HarperCollins, 1992); Streitmatter, Unspeakable; and Stuart Timmons, The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement (Boston: Alyson, 1990). On the origin of the Mattachine name, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; also see "Mattachine - What Does It Mean?" Mattachine Review, November-December 1955, 29. For gay life in Los Angeles, see E. Michael Gorman, "The Pursuit of the Wish: An Anthropological Perspective on Gay Male Subculture in Los Angeles," in Gay Culture in America, ed. Gilbert Herdt (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992), 87-106 .
29. Though the name "Mattachine Society" was used throughout the organization's life, I have made a distinction between the "Mattachine Foundation" led by Harry Hay and others in Los Angeles (1951-53), and the "Mattachine Society" led by Hal Call, Don Lucas, and, for a few years, Ken Burns (1953-67). For more complete accounts of the Mattachine Society's founding, see Marvin Cutler, ed., Homosexuals Today (Los Angeles: ONE, 1956); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 57-74; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Eric Marcus, Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990 (New York: HarperCollins, 1992); Streitmatter, Unspeakable; and Stuart Timmons, The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement (Boston: Alyson, 1990). On the origin of the Mattachine name, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; also see "Mattachine - What Does It Mean?" Mattachine Review, November-December 1955, 29. For gay life in Los Angeles, see E. Michael Gorman, "The Pursuit of the Wish: An Anthropological Perspective on Gay Male Subculture in Los Angeles," in Gay Culture in America, ed. Gilbert Herdt (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992), 87-106 .
30. Though the name "Mattachine Society" was used throughout the organization's life, I have made a distinction between the "Mattachine Foundation" led by Harry Hay and others in Los Angeles (1951-53), and the "Mattachine Society" led by Hal Call, Don Lucas, and, for a few years, Ken Burns (1953-67). For more complete accounts of the Mattachine Society's founding, see Marvin Cutler, ed., Homosexuals Today (Los Angeles: ONE, 1956); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 57-74; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Eric Marcus, Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990 (New York: HarperCollins, 1992); Streitmatter, Unspeakable; and Stuart Timmons, The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement (Boston: Alyson, 1990). On the origin of the Mattachine name, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; also see "Mattachine - What Does It Mean?" Mattachine Review, November-December 1955, 29. For gay life in Los Angeles, see E. Michael Gorman, "The Pursuit of the Wish: An Anthropological Perspective on Gay Male Subculture in Los Angeles," in Gay Culture in America, ed. Gilbert Herdt (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992), 87-106 .
31. Though the name "Mattachine Society" was used throughout the organization's life, I have made a distinction between the "Mattachine Foundation" led by Harry Hay and others in Los Angeles (1951-53), and the "Mattachine Society" led by Hal Call, Don Lucas, and, for a few years, Ken Burns (1953-67). For more complete accounts of the Mattachine Society's founding, see Marvin Cutler, ed., Homosexuals Today (Los Angeles: ONE, 1956); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 57-74; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Eric Marcus, Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990 (New York: HarperCollins, 1992); Streitmatter, Unspeakable; and Stuart Timmons, The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement (Boston: Alyson, 1990). On the origin of the Mattachine name, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; also see "Mattachine - What Does It Mean?" Mattachine Review, November-December 1955, 29. For gay life in Los Angeles, see E. Michael Gorman, "The Pursuit of the Wish: An Anthropological Perspective on Gay Male Subculture in Los Angeles," in Gay Culture in America, ed. Gilbert Herdt (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992), 87-106 .
32. Though the name "Mattachine Society" was used throughout the organization's life, I have made a distinction between the "Mattachine Foundation" led by Harry Hay and others in Los Angeles (1951-53), and the "Mattachine Society" led by Hal Call, Don Lucas, and, for a few years, Ken Burns (1953-67). For more complete accounts of the Mattachine Society's founding, see Marvin Cutler, ed., Homosexuals Today (Los Angeles: ONE, 1956); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 57-74; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Eric Marcus, Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990 (New York: HarperCollins, 1992); Streitmatter, Unspeakable; and Stuart Timmons, The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement (Boston: Alyson, 1990). On the origin of the Mattachine name, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; also see "Mattachine - What Does It Mean?" Mattachine Review, November-December 1955, 29. For gay life in Los Angeles, see E. Michael Gorman, "The Pursuit of the Wish: An Anthropological Perspective on Gay Male Subculture in Los Angeles," in Gay Culture in America, ed. Gilbert Herdt (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992), 87-106 .
33. Though the name "Mattachine Society" was used throughout the organization's life, I have made a distinction between the "Mattachine Foundation" led by Harry Hay and others in Los Angeles (1951-53), and the "Mattachine Society" led by Hal Call, Don Lucas, and, for a few years, Ken Burns (1953-67). For more complete accounts of the Mattachine Society's founding, see Marvin Cutler, ed., Homosexuals Today (Los Angeles: ONE, 1956); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 57-74; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Eric Marcus, Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990 (New York: HarperCollins, 1992); Streitmatter, Unspeakable; and Stuart Timmons, The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement (Boston: Alyson, 1990). On the origin of the Mattachine name, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; also see "Mattachine - What Does It Mean?" Mattachine Review, November-December 1955, 29. For gay life in Los Angeles, see E. Michael Gorman, "The Pursuit of the Wish: An Anthropological Perspective on Gay Male Subculture in Los Angeles," in Gay Culture in America, ed. Gilbert Herdt (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992), 87-106 .
34. Though the name "Mattachine Society" was used throughout the organization's life, I have made a distinction between the "Mattachine Foundation" led by Harry Hay and others in Los Angeles (1951-53), and the "Mattachine Society" led by Hal Call, Don Lucas, and, for a few years, Ken Burns (1953-67). For more complete accounts of the Mattachine Society's founding, see Marvin Cutler, ed., Homosexuals Today (Los Angeles: ONE, 1956); D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 57-74; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence; Eric Marcus, Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990 (New York: HarperCollins, 1992); Streitmatter, Unspeakable; and Stuart Timmons, The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement (Boston: Alyson, 1990). On the origin of the Mattachine name, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities; also see "Mattachine - What Does It Mean?" Mattachine Review, November-December 1955, 29. For gay life in Los Angeles, see E. Michael Gorman, "The Pursuit of the Wish: An Anthropological Perspective on Gay Male Subculture in Los Angeles," in Gay Culture in America, ed. Gilbert Herdt (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992), 87-106 .
35. Though this account of the Mattachine Foundation and the Mattachine Society differs significantly from D'Emilio's, his Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 58-70, still provides the most complete account of the Foundation's early years.
36. Mattachine Society, "Statement of Purpose" (1951) reprinted in We Are Everywhere: A Historical Sourcebook of Gay and Lesbian Politics, ed. Mark Blasius and Shane Phelan (New York: Routledge, 1997), 283-84.
37. Mattachine Society, "Statement of Purpose" (1951) reprinted in We Are Everywhere: A Historical Sourcebook of Gay and Lesbian Politics, ed. Mark Blasius and Shane Phelan (New York: Routledge, 1997), 283-84.
38. Ibid., 284.
39. Romayne Cox, promotional letter, the Mattachine Foundation, Inc., 12 June 1952, box 1, Don Lucas Papers, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society of Northern California Archive (hereafter cited as GLBTHS-NC).
40. Jim Kepner remembered that upon joining the Mattachine Society in the early 1950s, "The people who ran it had allowed rumors to circulate that some very influential people were behind it. The phrase 'senators and generals' was one of the first I heard"; Kepner quoted in Marcus, Making History, 46-47.
41. An undated newspaper clipping of the mid-1950s carries the headline "All Male Dance Raided" above a report that "the affair was sponsored by the Mattachine Society, a national organization with headquarters here [San Francisco] dedicated to promoting better public understanding of homosexuality"; although none of the revelers were arrested, the party was upset when the amateur bartender was arrested for serving alcohol without a license, clearly a form of harassment not exercised against most other groups that were predominantly white and middle class. For the clipping, see FBI report, box 17, Lyon-Martin Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Prior to the 1951 California Supreme Court decision Stoumen v. Reilly, a gathering of homosexuals could be labeled disorderly and subject to regulations similar to those of houses of prostitution; attending an early meeting of the Mattachine thus put one in the same legal universe as if one were frequenting a brothel, see Sol M. Stoumen, Appellant, v. George R. Reilly, et al., Respondents, 37 C2d 713; 234 P2d 969 (28 August 1951).
42. Paul Coates, "Well, Medium and RARE," Los Angeles Mirror, 12 March 1953, newspaper clipping, box 1, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
43. IbId.
44. Though Coates's warning was issued specifically regarding the organization's funds and the absent treasurer, several historians have mistakenly interpreted it as a direct reference to the fear of Communism; see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 76; and Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 226.
45. Though Coates's warning was issued specifically regarding the organization's funds and the absent treasurer, several historians have mistakenly interpreted it as a direct reference to the fear of Communism; see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 76; and Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 226.
46. Ernestine Stahlhut, assistant secretary, State Bar of California, to Marilyn Rieger, 6 April 1953, box 1, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
47. Paul Coates, "Well, Medium and RARE."
48. Marilyn Rieger to Paul Coates, 13 March 1953, box 1, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. An anonymous leader of the Mattachine Foundation also wrote to Coates, answering some of his concerns and concluding with the statement that "it is the purpose of the Foundation to turn as much light on the homosexual as possible. If his intentions are criminal, let that be exposed; but if the possibility exists that society's treatment of him is criminal, let that be known also"; Mattachine Foundation to Paul Coates, 15 March 1953, box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
49. Marilyn Rieger to "Gentlemen," The Mattachine Foundation, Inc., 26 March 1953, box 1, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. The "Discussion Groups" Rieger mentioned were the "first older" of the Foundation.
50. Mrs. D. T. Campbell was the mother of founding member Konrad Stevens and Romayne Cox was his sister; Mrs. Henry Hay was Harry Hay's mother. All of these women were married and presumably heterosexual.
51. "Mrs. Henry Hay" to Marilyn Rieger, 14 April 1955, box 1, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. It is my suspicion that it wasn't "Mrs. Henry Hay" who wrote this letter, but her son, Henry [Harry] Hay, who did most of the work. His mother was mainly a figurehead who merely lent her name for the letterhead and articles of incorporation.
52. Ibid.; For that matter, the words of "Mrs. Henry Hay" hardly support the notion that the early Foundation was a daringly radical organization, as numerous historians have contended.
53. On the persecution of homosexuals in United States in the late 1940s and 1950s, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 40-53; Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, 139-58; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 199-251. For general histories of the Cold War and McCarthyism, see David Caute, The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge under Truman and Eisenhower (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978); Margot Henriksen, Dr. Strangelove's America: Society and Culture in the Atomic Age (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); David Oshinsky, A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy (New York: Free Press, 1983); Ellen Schrecker, Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America (Boston: Little, Brown, 1998); Stephen Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991).
54. On the persecution of homosexuals in United States in the late 1940s and 1950s, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 40-53; Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, 139-58; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 199-251. For general histories of the Cold War and McCarthyism, see David Caute, The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge under Truman and Eisenhower (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978); Margot Henriksen, Dr. Strangelove's America: Society and Culture in the Atomic Age (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); David Oshinsky, A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy (New York: Free Press, 1983); Ellen Schrecker, Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America (Boston: Little, Brown, 1998); Stephen Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991).
55. On the persecution of homosexuals in United States in the late 1940s and 1950s, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 40-53; Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, 139-58; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 199-251. For general histories of the Cold War and McCarthyism, see David Caute, The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge under Truman and Eisenhower (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978); Margot Henriksen, Dr. Strangelove's America: Society and Culture in the Atomic Age (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); David Oshinsky, A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy (New York: Free Press, 1983); Ellen Schrecker, Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America (Boston: Little, Brown, 1998); Stephen Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991).
56. On the persecution of homosexuals in United States in the late 1940s and 1950s, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 40-53; Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, 139-58; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 199-251. For general histories of the Cold War and McCarthyism, see David Caute, The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge under Truman and Eisenhower (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978); Margot Henriksen, Dr. Strangelove's America: Society and Culture in the Atomic Age (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); David Oshinsky, A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy (New York: Free Press, 1983); Ellen Schrecker, Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America (Boston: Little, Brown, 1998); Stephen Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991).
57. On the persecution of homosexuals in United States in the late 1940s and 1950s, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 40-53; Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, 139-58; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 199-251. For general histories of the Cold War and McCarthyism, see David Caute, The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge under Truman and Eisenhower (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978); Margot Henriksen, Dr. Strangelove's America: Society and Culture in the Atomic Age (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); David Oshinsky, A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy (New York: Free Press, 1983); Ellen Schrecker, Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America (Boston: Little, Brown, 1998); Stephen Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991).
58. On the persecution of homosexuals in United States in the late 1940s and 1950s, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 40-53; Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, 139-58; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 199-251. For general histories of the Cold War and McCarthyism, see David Caute, The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge under Truman and Eisenhower (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978); Margot Henriksen, Dr. Strangelove's America: Society and Culture in the Atomic Age (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); David Oshinsky, A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy (New York: Free Press, 1983); Ellen Schrecker, Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America (Boston: Little, Brown, 1998); Stephen Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991).
59. On the persecution of homosexuals in United States in the late 1940s and 1950s, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 40-53; Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, 139-58; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 199-251. For general histories of the Cold War and McCarthyism, see David Caute, The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge under Truman and Eisenhower (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978); Margot Henriksen, Dr. Strangelove's America: Society and Culture in the Atomic Age (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); David Oshinsky, A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy (New York: Free Press, 1983); Ellen Schrecker, Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America (Boston: Little, Brown, 1998); Stephen Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991).
60. On the persecution of homosexuals in United States in the late 1940s and 1950s, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 40-53; Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, 139-58; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 199-251. For general histories of the Cold War and McCarthyism, see David Caute, The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge under Truman and Eisenhower (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978); Margot Henriksen, Dr. Strangelove's America: Society and Culture in the Atomic Age (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997); David Oshinsky, A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy (New York: Free Press, 1983); Ellen Schrecker, Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America (Boston: Little, Brown, 1998); Stephen Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991).
61. D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 77.
62. [Chuck Rowland], "Opening Talk: California State Constitutional Convention of the Mattachine Society," 11 April 1953, box 1, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
63. th, 1953. The new Society has created a magnificent unity and in this unity has earned the right and the privilege to the property of the name MATTACHINE. Its mission fulfilled beyond its greatest expectations, the Foundation is happy to declare itself in a state of dissolution" (box 1, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC).
64. Although ONE grew out of the Foundation, the original focus was on publishing a magazine a id not on building a membership organization devoted to public relations and social services (though some of this would come later in the organization's history). On ONE Magazine and ONE, Inc., see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 72-73, 108-10; W. Dorr Legg, ed., Homophile Studies in Theory and Practice (San Francisco: GLB, 1994); and Joseph Hansen, A Few Doors West of Hope: The Life and Times of Dauntless Don Slater (Los Angeles: Homosexual Information Center, 1998).
65. Although ONE grew out of the Foundation, the original focus was on publishing a magazine a id not on building a membership organization devoted to public relations and social services (though some of this would come later in the organization's history). On ONE Magazine and ONE, Inc., see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 72-73, 108-10; W. Dorr Legg, ed., Homophile Studies in Theory and Practice (San Francisco: GLB, 1994); and Joseph Hansen, A Few Doors West of Hope: The Life and Times of Dauntless Don Slater (Los Angeles: Homosexual Information Center, 1998).
66. Although ONE grew out of the Foundation, the original focus was on publishing a magazine a id not on building a membership organization devoted to public relations and social services (though some of this would come later in the organization's history). On ONE Magazine and ONE, Inc., see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 72-73, 108-10; W. Dorr Legg, ed., Homophile Studies in Theory and Practice (San Francisco: GLB, 1994); and Joseph Hansen, A Few Doors West of Hope: The Life and Times of Dauntless Don Slater (Los Angeles: Homosexual Information Center, 1998).
67. In February 1952, Dale Jennings, one of the Foundation's founding members, was arrested and charged with "lewd and dissolute behavior" after being entrapped by a plainclothes police officer in a Los Angeles park. Rather than acquiesce and pay a fine - as was common practice - Jennings challenged the charge in court with the help of the ad hoc Citizen's Committee to Outlaw Entrapment which grew out of the Foundation. The charges against Jennings, who admitted he was a homosexual while denying he was guilty of the charges, were dropped after the jury was deadlocked. The main activity of the Citizen's Committee was to provide moral support for Jennings and to publicize the "victory"; neither Jennings nor the Committee, however, used the trial to defend men who engaged in public sex or solicitation. See D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 70-71.
68. This leads me further to the conclusion that the widely posited similarities between Communists and homosexuals in the 1950s require reconsideration. Or, perhaps, a study of the problems experienced by homosexuals because of enforced secrecy might also shed some light on the problems experienced by Communists in the pursuit of their goals in the 1950s.
69. When Hal Call's photograph appeared in Life magazine's article, "Homosexuality in America," in June 1964, he became among the first publicly identified homosexuals to have his picture appear with his permission in a mass-market publication. See Paul Welch with photographs by Bill Eppridge, "Homosexuality in America," Life, 26 June 1964, 70.
70. When Hal Call's photograph appeared in Life magazine's article, "Homosexuality in America," in June 1964, he became among the first publicly identified homosexuals to have his picture appear with his permission in a mass-market publication. See Paul Welch with photographs by Bill Eppridge, "Homosexuality in America," Life, 26 June 1964, 70.
71. Mattachine Foundation, "Membership Pledge," reprinted in We Are Everywhere, 284.
72. My ideas about the Mattachine Society's mask of respectability were developed in collaboration with historian Paul Gabriel, who conducted an exhaustive series of videotaped interviews with Mattachine leader Donald S. Lucas from 1996 through 1999; for the videotapes see "Shedding a Straight Jacket," Oral History Collection, GLBTHS-NC. The theme of public vs. shielded activities was first presented in "The Illusion of Conformity: Sleight-of-Hand Activism in San Francisco, 1950s-1960s - The Papers of Donald S. Lucas," exhibition curated by Paul Gabriel and Martin Meeker, James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center, San Francisco Main Public Library, 23 October 1999-20 January 2000. For an article about the exhibit, see David Lamble, "Magician Don Lucas's Reappearing Act," San Francisco Frontiers, 2 December 1999, 33-34. The homophiles were not the only activists in the 1950s and 1960s to employ the illusion of conformity. For instance, feminist activist and author Betty Friedan hid her activism behind the acceptable veneer of a middle-class housewife; see Daniel Horowitz, Betty Friedan and the Making of The Feminine Mystique: The American Left, the Cold War, and Modern America (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. 1998).
73. My ideas about the Mattachine Society's mask of respectability were developed in collaboration with historian Paul Gabriel, who conducted an exhaustive series of videotaped interviews with Mattachine leader Donald S. Lucas from 1996 through 1999; for the videotapes see "Shedding a Straight Jacket," Oral History Collection, GLBTHS-NC. The theme of public vs. shielded activities was first presented in "The Illusion of Conformity: Sleight-of-Hand Activism in San Francisco, 1950s-1960s - The Papers of Donald S. Lucas," exhibition curated by Paul Gabriel and Martin Meeker, James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center, San Francisco Main Public Library, 23 October 1999-20 January 2000. For an article about the exhibit, see David Lamble, "Magician Don Lucas's Reappearing Act," San Francisco Frontiers, 2 December 1999, 33-34. The homophiles were not the only activists in the 1950s and 1960s to employ the illusion of conformity. For instance, feminist activist and author Betty Friedan hid her activism behind the acceptable veneer of a middle-class housewife; see Daniel Horowitz, Betty Friedan and the Making of The Feminine Mystique: The American Left, the Cold War, and Modern America (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. 1998).
74. See Hal Call, "Breakthrough: When Will It Come?" Mattachine Review, April-September 1964, 5.
75. As a result of the expanding scope of the organization's activities, the Society's offices grew from a single-room office eventually to occupy almost the entire third floor of the building at 693 Mission Street; on some of the activities, see Guy Wright, "A Self-Help Organization for Men of the Third Sex," News-Call Bulletin, 25 July 1961, 21.
76. Gayle Rubin points out that publicity inevitably transforms small organizations staffed by volunteers as the isolated and curious seek answers, help, and community from the organizations; see Rubin, "The Outcasts: A Social History," in The Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader, ed. Pat Califia and Robin Sweeney (Los Angeles: Alyson, 1996), 339-46.
77. ["Salomeo Aquino," pseudonym] to "The President, The Mattachine Society," 11 September 1961, box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
78. Ibid.
79. Ibid.
80. [Salomeo Aquino] to "Mr. Lucas," 23 July 1962, box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
81. All quotations in this paragraph are from "Calling Shots," Mattachine Review, January 1959, 27-28.
82. F. K., "Office Traffic Increases," San Francisco Area Council Mattachine Society Newsletter, November 1958, 4.
83. "Standard Operating Procedures," Board Minutes, 13 September 1954, box 1, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
84. Ibid.
85. The assertion that the policy never changed is based on my reading of all remaining Mattachine Society documents preserved in the Don Lucas collection; the only change in procedure - though not policy - started occurring in the 1960s as the Society itself began handling more cases on its own and, in some instances, as psychologists and doctors began referring patients to the "lay counselors" at the Society.
86. "Coming out" in this passage refers both to entering the gay world and to revealing oneself as homosexual in the public sphere in the United States; this second sense of "coming out" was pioneered by the homophiles as a political strategy with the goal of challenging the tw n problems suffered by homosexuals during the period: invisibility and stereotyping. See "Office Traffic Increases," 4; also see "Social-Service Dept. 'Swamped'," San Francisco Area, Council Mattachine Society Newsletter, February, 1959, 3, 7.
87. "Coming out" in this passage refers both to entering the gay world and to revealing oneself as homosexual in the public sphere in the United States; this second sense of "coming out" was pioneered by the homophiles as a political strategy with the goal of challenging the tw n problems suffered by homosexuals during the period: invisibility and stereotyping. See "Office Traffic Increases," 4; also see "Social-Service Dept. 'Swamped'," San Francisco Area, Council Mattachine Society Newsletter, February, 1959, 3, 7.
88. The Mattachine Society records, for example, document one man who sought legal aid after he was arrested on charges of public indecency (sec. 215 and 647.5) in the bathroom of a Woolworth's store in downtown San Francisco. He eventually received a conviction and was sentenced to a $155 fine, thirty days in jail, and a suspended one-year probation. See "Legal Aid and Referrals," 20 October 1960, box 4, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Another man, experiencing emotional rather than legal trouble, dropped by the Mattachine Society offices because he was "very upset over his homosexual feelings [due to the fact that] at the present he has been living in [a] house where he has formed an emotional attachment to another male in the same house [who] is being married in two weeks and will be leaving"; the counse or at the Mattachine Society noted that the "client was so agitated on first talking that he could hardly speak. Stuttered and intermittently lost speech control. However after some 30 to 45 minutes of talking [he] was alright and spoke quite regularly." The counselor referred the young man to a gay-friendly psychiatrist who would help him become comfortable with his feelings. See the several documents titled "Personal Lay Counseling" and "Legal Aid and Referrals," 1960-62, box 4, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
89. The Mattachine Society records, for example, document one man who sought legal aid after he was arrested on charges of public indecency (sec. 215 and 647.5) in the bathroom of a Woolworth's store in downtown San Francisco. He eventually received a conviction and was sentenced to a $155 fine, thirty days in jail, and a suspended one-year probation. See "Legal Aid and Referrals," 20 October 1960, box 4, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Another man, experiencing emotional rather than legal trouble, dropped by the Mattachine Society offices because he was "very upset over his homosexual feelings [due to the fact that] at the present he has been living in [a] house where he has formed an emotional attachment to another male in the same house [who] is being married in two weeks and will be leaving"; the counse or at the Mattachine Society noted that the "client was so agitated on first talking that he could hardly speak. Stuttered and intermittently lost speech control. However after some 30 to 45 minutes of talking [he] was alright and spoke quite regularly." The counselor referred the young man to a gay-friendly psychiatrist who would help him become comfortable with his feelings. See the several documents titled "Personal Lay Counseling" and "Legal Aid and Referrals," 1960-62, box 4, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
90. The Mattachine Society records, for example, document one man who sought legal aid after he was arrested on charges of public indecency (sec. 215 and 647.5) in the bathroom of a Woolworth's store in downtown San Francisco. He eventually received a conviction and was sentenced to a $155 fine, thirty days in jail, and a suspended one-year probation. See "Legal Aid and Referrals," 20 October 1960, box 4, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Another man, experiencing emotional rather than legal trouble, dropped by the Mattachine Society offices because he was "very upset over his homosexual feelings [due to the fact that] at the present he has been living in [a] house where he has formed an emotional attachment to another male in the same house [who] is being married in two weeks and will be leaving"; the counse or at the Mattachine Society noted that the "client was so agitated on first talking that he could hardly speak. Stuttered and intermittently lost speech control.
91. See Don Lucas interview by Paul Gabriel, 1998-99, Oral History Collection, GLBTHS-NC. Also see Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town," 123-32, which makes a brief mention of aid provided by the Mattachine Society to the victims of a raid on a lesbian bar.
92. Historians who have looked at gay life in rural areas in the United States argue that homosexuals were not as isolated as previously thought. The evidence of the Mattachine Society records, however, complicates this notion by demonstrating that in some rural areas, many homosexuals remained isolated. On gay life in the rural South, see John Howard, ed., Carryin' On in the Lesbian and Gay South (New York: New York University Press, 1997); and idem., Men Like That: A Southern Queer History (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999).
93. Historians who have looked at gay life in rural areas in the United States argue that homosexuals were not as isolated as previously thought. The evidence of the Mattachine Society records, however, complicates this notion by demonstrating that in some rural areas, many homosexuals remained isolated. On gay life in the rural South, see John Howard, ed., Carryin' On in the Lesbian and Gay South (New York: New York University Press, 1997); and idem., Men Like That: A Southern Queer History (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999).
94. ["Thomas J. Forman," pseudonym] to the Mattachine Society, 29 March 1962, box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
95. Ibid.
96. Ibid.
97. [Thomas J. Forman] to the Mattachine Society, 16 April 1962, box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
98. [Thomas J. Forman] to Don Lucas, 30 June 1962, box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
99. Ibid.
100. Ibid.
101. Don Lucas to [Thomas J. Forman], 5 October 1962, box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Only a small portion of the correspondence received by the Society remains; virtually no record exists of the thousands of telephone calls and office visits except for documentation that they happened (see note 50). That Forman's plea was "not uncommon" is demonstrated by the few hundred remaining letters and is reinforced by the impressions given by Hal Call and Don Lucas in their interviews with me.
102. Ibid.
103. See "Comparative Statistics for a 12 Month Period - Mail Received," box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Also see "Office Calls Statistics," "Telephone Calls Statistics," and vRecord Mail Received," box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Comparative statistics exist only for 1960-1961 and 1961-1962; for later statistics, see Call, "Breakthrough: When Will It Come?" 5.
104. See "Comparative Statistics for a 12 Month Period - Mail Received," box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Also see "Office Calls Statistics," "Telephone Calls Statistics," and vRecord Mail Received," box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Comparative statistics exist only for 1960-1961 and 1961-1962; for later statistics, see Call, "Breakthrough: When Will It Come?" 5.
105. See "Comparative Statistics for a 12 Month Period - Mail Received," box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Also see "Office Calls Statistics," "Telephone Calls Statistics," and vRecord Mail Received," box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Comparative statistics exist only for 1960-1961 and 1961-1962; for later statistics, see Call, "Breakthrough: When Will It Come?" 5.
106. See "Comparative Statistics for a 12 Month Period - Mail Received," box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Also see "Office Calls Statistics," "Telephone Calls Statistics," and vRecord Mail Received," box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Comparative statistics exist only for 1960-1961 and 1961-1962; for later statistics, see Call, "Breakthrough: When Will It Come?" 5.
107. See "Comparative Statistics for a 12 Month Period - Mail Received," box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Also see "Office Calls Statistics," "Telephone Calls Statistics," and vRecord Mail Received," box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. Comparative statistics exist only for 1960-1961 and 1961-1962; for later statistics, see Call, "Breakthrough: When Will It Come?" 5.
108. [Thomas J. Forman] to Don Lucas, 24 March 1963, box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
109. Ibid.
110. Dr. Joel Fort often served as the liaison between the Society and professionals working in mental institutions; see Dr. Joel Fort interview by Paul Gabriel, 30 July 1997, GLBTHS-NC.
111. All quotes in this paragraph are from Lucas interview by Gabriel, tape 10, GLBTHS-NC.
112. As far as I can tell, most of the Mattachinc Society's "clients" were men; generally, when they received letters from women, whether lesbians or "uestioning," Mattachine referred them to the Daughters of Bilitis, its sister organization in San Francisco run by and for lesbians.
113. Don Lucas discusses his work with homosexual youth in his interviews with Paul Gabriel, Oral History Collection, GLBTHS-NC.
114. Allyn, Make Love, Not War, 152.
115. Don Lucas, interview by the author, San Francisco, 11 September 1999.
116. Pan-Graphic's first book was Helen Branson's Gay Bar (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1957). In addition to publishing originals, Pan-Graphic published reprints of important reports and transcripts of broadcasts otherwise unavailable to the gay reader; see The Homosexual in Our Society, transcribed radio program, moderated by Elsa Knight Thompson (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1959); John Reavis, Jr., The Rejected, transcribed television program (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1961); and Ernest Van Den Haag, The Social Setting of Homosexuality (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1963).
117. Pan-Graphic's first book was Helen Branson's Gay Bar (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1957). In addition to publishing originals, Pan-Graphic published reprints of important reports and transcripts of broadcasts otherwise unavailable to the gay reader; see The Homosexual in Our Society, transcribed radio program, moderated by Elsa Knight Thompson (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1959); John Reavis, Jr., The Rejected, transcribed television program (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1961); and Ernest Van Den Haag, The Social Setting of Homosexuality (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1963).
118. Pan-Graphic's first book was Helen Branson's Gay Bar (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1957). In addition to publishing originals, Pan-Graphic published reprints of important reports and transcripts of broadcasts otherwise unavailable to the gay reader; see The Homosexual in Our Society, transcribed radio program, moderated by Elsa Knight Thompson (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1959); John Reavis, Jr., The Rejected, transcribed television program (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1961); and Ernest Van Den Haag, The Social Setting of Homosexuality (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1963).
119. Pan-Graphic's first book was Helen Branson's Gay Bar (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1957). In addition to publishing originals, Pan-Graphic published reprints of important reports and transcripts of broadcasts otherwise unavailable to the gay reader; see The Homosexual in Our Society, transcribed radio program, moderated by Elsa Knight Thompson (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1959); John Reavis, Jr., The Rejected, transcribed television program (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1961); and Ernest Van Den Haag, The Social Setting of Homosexuality (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1963).
120. See James Baldwin, Giovanni's Room (New York: Dial, 1956); Robert Lindner, Must You Conform? (New York: Rinehard, 1956) - of particular interest to Dorian readers was chapter 2, "Homosexuality and the Contemporary Scene"; and Donald Webster Cory [Edward Sagarin], The Homosexual in America: A Subjective Approach (New York: Greenberg, 1951).
121. See James Baldwin, Giovanni's Room (New York: Dial, 1956); Robert Lindner, Must You Conform? (New York: Rinehard, 1956) - of particular interest to Dorian readers was chapter 2, "Homosexuality and the Contemporary Scene"; and Donald Webster Cory [Edward Sagarin], The Homosexual in America: A Subjective Approach (New York: Greenberg, 1951).
122. See James Baldwin, Giovanni's Room (New York: Dial, 1956); Robert Lindner, Must You Conform? (New York: Rinehard, 1956) - of particular interest to Dorian readers was chapter 2, "Homosexuality and the Contemporary Scene"; and Donald Webster Cory [Edward Sagarin], The Homosexual in America: A Subjective Approach (New York: Greenberg, 1951).
123. For an overview of the censorship battles in the 1950s and 1960s, see Allyn, Make Love, Not War, 54-70, and Edward de Grazia, Girls Lean Back Everywhere: The Law of Obscenity and the Assault on Genius (New York: Random House, 1992).
124. For an overview of the censorship battles in the 1950s and 1960s, see Allyn, Make Love, Not War, 54-70, and Edward de Grazia, Girls Lean Back Everywhere: The Law of Obscenity and the Assault on Genius (New York: Random House, 1992).
125. Advertisement for Dorian Book Service Quarterly in Town Talk, July 1964, 1.
126. "Worth Looking Into?" Dorian Book Service Quarterly, First Quarter, 1960.
127. "Report to Subscribers," Dorian Book Service Quarterly, Fourth Quarter, 1960.
128. "Ant -Censorship Publications of Note," Dorian Book Service Quarterly, Second Quarter, 1961, 9.
129. See "Why Is Sex So Shocking?" Dorian Book Service Quarterly, Second Quarter, 1961, 20; "Big Brother Comes to Dallas," Dorian Book Service Quarterly, Fourth Quarter, 1961, 4 ; and "Censorship Is Insidious in Results," Dorian Book Service Quarterly, Second Quarter, 1962, 16.
130. See "Why Is Sex So Shocking?" Dorian Book Service Quarterly, Second Quarter, 1961, 20; "Big Brother Comes to Dallas," Dorian Book Service Quarterly, Fourth Quarter, 1961, 4 ; and "Censorship Is Insidious in Results," Dorian Book Service Quarterly, Second Quarter, 1962, 16.
131. See "Why Is Sex So Shocking?" Dorian Book Service Quarterly, Second Quarter, 1961, 20; "Big Brother Comes to Dallas," Dorian Book Service Quarterly, Fourth Quarter, 1961, 4 ; and "Censorship Is Insidious in Results," Dorian Book Service Quarterly, Second Quarter, 1962, 16.
132. A few years after Call stopped publishing the Quarterly, he actually expanded his support of the anti-censorship movement by providing expert witnesses for the defense of publishers of male physique photographs who had been indicted on obscenity charges; see Allyn, Make Love, Not War, 324 n. 18.
133. Hal Call to Paul Elder & Co., 27 June 1957, box 2, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
134. On the distinction between "erotic realism" and "pornography," see Allyn, Make Love, Not War, 58; and Jay Gertzman, Bookleggers and Smuthounds: The Trade in Erotica (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999).
135. On the distinction between "erotic realism" and "pornography," see Allyn, Make Love, Not War, 58; and Jay Gertzman, Bookleggers and Smuthounds: The Trade in Erotica (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999).
136. Don Lucas quoted in Gertzman, Bookleggers and Smuthounds, 63.
137. Hal Call to Paul Elder & Co., 27 June 1957.
138. "Censorship Scene: Dorian Seeks Review on Customs Ruling", Dorian Book Service Quarterly, Third Quarter, 1962, 4-5.
139. "Customs Backs Down," Dorian Book Service Quarterly, Fourth Quarter, 1962, 2.
140. Though the editors of the Quarterly changed regularly, the mainstays were Call, Lucas, Lewis Christie, Earl Holbrook, and Rolland Howard.
141. The occasion for the news-heavy issue was the conviction of two Mattachine Society confidants and co-conspirators, Wallace Maxey and Sanford Aday, on obscenity charges in Michigan; they were sentenced to a total of forty years in prison but were later freed when the Supreme Court liberalized obscenity laws; see "Erosion of Our Freedom to Read," Dorian Book Quarterly, First Quarter, 1964, 2.
142. For discussions of the Mattachine Society's attitudes toward bar patrons, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 185; and Streitmatter, Unspeakable, 39.
143. For discussions of the Mattachine Society's attitudes toward bar patrons, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 185; and Streitmatter, Unspeakable, 39.
144. A certain number of male and female homosexuals in the United States in the twentieth century have encountered problems with the law while cross-dressing in public; see Elizabeth Kennedy and Madeline Davis, Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community (New York: Routledge, 1993), 180. The majority of those arrested on such charges, however, have been transgender individuals; I thank Susan Stryker for helping me with this point.
145. On the Black Cat Café, see Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town," 181-87; D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 186-88; Michael Gorman, The Empress Is a Man: Stories from the Life of José Sarria (New York: Harrington Park Press, 1998), 113-219; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 150, 171, 216, 262, 411.
146. On the Black Cat Café, see Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town," 181-87; D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 186-88; Michael Gorman, The Empress Is a Man: Stories from the Life of José Sarria (New York: Harrington Park Press, 1998), 113-219; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 150, 171, 216, 262, 411.
147. On the Black Cat Café, see Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town," 181-87; D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 186-88; Michael Gorman, The Empress Is a Man: Stories from the Life of José Sarria (New York: Harrington Park Press, 1998), 113-219; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 150, 171, 216, 262, 411.
148. On the Black Cat Café, see Boyd, "San Francisco Was a Wide-Open Town," 181-87; D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 186-88; Michael Gorman, The Empress Is a Man: Stories from the Life of José Sarria (New York: Harrington Park Press, 1998), 113-219; Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 150, 171, 216, 262, 411.
149. See Sol M. Stoumen, Appellant, v. George R. Reilly, et al., Respondents.
150. "A Note to Dorian Readers," Dorian Book Quarterly, Fourth Quarter, 1963, 27.
151. No copies of the guide are known to survive; for Call's account, see Hal Call, interview by the author, 13 October 1998.
152. [Brice Baird], Le Guide Gris, 3d ed. (San Francisco, 1962); also see Brice Baird, Le Guide Gris (The Grey Guide) (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1968); idem., Le Guide Gris, 9th ed (San Francisco: Mattachine Society, 1972). Copies of the publication are available in the collection of bar guides held by the GLBTHS-NC.
153. [Brice Baird], Le Guide Gris, 3d ed. (San Francisco, 1962); also see Brice Baird, Le Guide Gris (The Grey Guide) (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1968); idem., Le Guide Gris, 9th ed (San Francisco: Mattachine Society, 1972). Copies of the publication are available in the collection of bar guides held by the GLBTHS-NC.
154. [Brice Baird], Le Guide Gris, 3d ed. (San Francisco, 1962); also see Brice Baird, Le Guide Gris (The Grey Guide) (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1968); idem., Le Guide Gris, 9th ed (San Francisco: Mattachine Society, 1972). Copies of the publication are available in the collection of bar guides held by the GLBTHS-NC.
155. See the guide's first edition: The Address Book (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1964). A publisher's note at the beginning of the fifth edition of The Address Book, published in 1969, reads, "I regret that with the fifth publication of THE ADDRESS BOOK, I have decided to sever a happy relationship with former publishers. However, I feel that my readers can best be served by the greater distribution offered by CALAFRAN ENTERPRISES, INC." Thus Damron parted ways with Call and Pan-Graphic Press.
156. See the guide's first edition: The Address Book (San Francisco: Pan-Graphic Press, 1964). A publisher's note at the beginning of the fifth edition of The Address Book, published in 1969, reads, "I regret that with the fifth publication of THE ADDRESS BOOK, I have decided to sever a happy relationship with former publishers. However, I feel that my readers can best be served by the greater distribution offered by CALAFRAN ENTERPRISES, INC." Thus Damron parted ways with Call and Pan-Graphic Press.
157. Town Talk was likely published as Call's response to the success of the city's first gay bar newspaper, Citizen's News; the latter was published by Guy Strait, a San Francisco sexual liberationist who was both a colleague and a rival of Call and the Mattachine Society.
158. Town Talk was likely published as Call's response to the success of the city's first gay bar newspaper, Citizen's News; the latter was published by Guy Strait, a San Francisco sexual liberationist who was both a colleague and a rival of Call and the Mattachine Society.
159. "Mattachine Auctions Scheduled in August for Three Locations," Town Talk, August 1964, 1.
160. "Mattachine Operation Assured As Result of Benefit Auctions," Town Talk, September 1964, 2.
161. The name of the column, "Vidi, Vici, Veni" (I saw, I conquered, I came), is a sexual innuendo playing on the ancient Latin saying, "Veni, Vidi, Vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered).
162. "Strumpet's Gall: Bartenders for Private Parties," Town Talk, December 1964, 1.
163. See "Soiree on New Year's Day Will Benefit Church Council," Town Talk, December 1964, 1. For more on the California Hall ball, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 192-95; and Marcus, Making History, 147-65.
164. See "Soiree on New Year's Day Will Benefit Church Council," Town Talk, December 1964, 1. For more on the California Hall ball, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 192-95; and Marcus, Making History, 147-65.
165. See "Soiree on New Year's Day Will Benefit Church Council," Town Talk, December 1964, 1. For more on the California Hall ball, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 192-95; and Marcus, Making History, 147-65.
166. On Sarria and the Court System, see Gorman, The Empress Is a Man.
167. Although the relationship of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon of the Daughters of Bilitis with the lesbian bar culture was complicated, they nonetheless heralded the building of bridges between bar patrons and homophile activists. In defending José Sarria's efforts to form the Imperial Court, Martin defended the leadership role assumed by the drag queen: "Must we perpetuate," Martin asked, "erroneous, though 'respectable,' concepts of what is masculine and what is feminine? Must all homosexuals conform to the middle class, 'respectable' image? Does the attire really communicate the man?" Del Martin to Evander [Smith], 3 December 1965, Lyon-Martin Papers, GLBTHS-NC.
168. Bill Reque, interview by the author, San Francisco, 8 September 1999.
169. Mike Caffee, interview by the author, San Francisco, 26 July 1999.
170. Perry Wood, interview by the author, San Francisco, 2 April 1998.
171. Call, "Breakthrough: When Will It Come?" 6. For more on the impact of Life's "Homosexuality in America" on San Francisco and the United States, see Martin Meeker, "Come Out West: Communication and the Gay and Lesbian Migration to San Francisco, 1940s-1960s" (Ph. D. diss., University of Southern California, 2000).
172. Call, "Breakthrough: When Will It Come?" 6. For more on the impact of Life's "Homosexuality in America" on San Francisco and the United States, see Martin Meeker, "Come Out West: Communication and the Gay and Lesbian Migration to San Francisco, 1940s-1960s" (Ph. D. diss., University of Southern California, 2000).
173. Call, "Breakthrough: When Will It Come?" 6. For more on the impact of Life's "Homosexuality in America" on San Francisco and the United States, see Martin Meeker, "Come Out West: Communication and the Gay and Lesbian Migration to San Francisco, 1940s-1960s" (Ph. D. diss., University of Southern California, 2000).
174. On the Oscar Wilde Bookshop, see Duberman, Stonewall, 163-66. Advertisements for Adonis appeared six months before the opening of the Oscar Wilde Bookshop.
175. Mattachine Society, Inc., "Sex Education Film Series" brochure, ca. 1968, "Gay Publications and Promo Materials" folder, "Homophile Organizations in San Francisco" box, Ephemera Collection, GLBTHS-NC.
176. Call really began linking commercialism and activism in the early 1960s when he published Town Talk and the first gay bar guides. At about the same time, other activists around the country started doing the same thing; among them was Clark Polak in Philadelphia. See Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves, 226-58.
177. Call really began linking commercialism and activism in the early 1960s when he published Town Talk and the first gay bar guides. At about the same time, other activists around the country started doing the same thing; among them was Clark Polak in Philadelphia. See Stein, City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves, 226-58.
178. On the tactics of early distributors of erotica, see Gertzman, Bookleggers and Smuthounds, 15-48.
179. Mattachine Society, Inc., "Sex Education Film Series" brochure.
180. Ibid.
181. Years later, early Mattachine founder Chuck Rowland still held Call in contempt, saying that "this rotten son of a bitch turned our sacred Mattachine into a cock suck-off club. It made me sick to my stomach when I first heard about that." Quoted in Eric Marcus, Making Historty, 35.
182. Other founding homophile activists Hal Call, Del Martin, and Phyllis Lyon also played important roles in the founding and expansion of the CRH.
183. On Vinguard, see Members of the Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California [Susan Stryker], "MTF Transgender Activism in the Tenderloin and Beyond, 1966-1975: Commentary and Interview with Eliot Blackstone," GLQ 4, no. 2 (1998): 349-72.
184. Mattachine Society, Inc., "Proposal for Confronting the Tenderloin Problem," ca. 1966, box 3, Don Lucas Papers, GLBTHS-NC. I suspect that Don Lucas authored this document.
185. Paul Gabriel, "No Fooling: Pre-Stonewall Activists Made a Difference," Our Stories: The Newsletter of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society of Northern California 15, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 3, 8; Gabriel is currently at work on an in-depth study of the coalitions that formed the Central City Poverty Program under the directorship of Don Lucas.
186. On the FBI's surveillance of the Mattachine Society and other homophile organizations, see the several FBI, CIA, and Naval Intelligence reports (released through the Freedom of Informal ion Act) located in box 17, Lyon-Martin Papers, GLBTHS-NC; on the move to revoke Mattachine Society Washington's nonprofit status, see Loughery, The Other Side of Silence, 266-67.
187. For more on the 1959 mayoral campaign scandal, see D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 119-22.