COMM-275 Lecture 5: Comm 275 lgbt press
18 Jan 2019
School
Department
Course
Professor
November 13, 2018
Gay and Lesbian Press
• Mainstream media not at all supportive at first
• With all the other rights and anti-war movements coming to the front after WW2,
gays and lesbians had to wait
• But like we saw in the past, those who became activists in the gay and lesbian
rights mvmnt gained their experience from the women’s rights mvmntthe
mainstream media treated them with disdain and churches denounced them.
Bullying was common. Few outwardly declared their homosexuality
• But the war pulled many ppl, men and women, away from home where they
gained new sexual freedom, including the chance to experiment with
homosexuality
• Large cities such as LA, san fran, and NY became post-war drawing points for
those seeking new lifestyles
• First gay publications: Vice Versa- lesbian magazine
o By Lisa Ben
o “America’s gayest Magazine”
o Started in June 1947
o Monthly magazine
o Aimed at creating a rallying place for lesbians
o Not militant in any way
o Meant to create a community for gay and lesbian people
o Provided a format adopted by many other gay and lesbian publications
that came later
o Did not advocate for any rights
o Ppl who published in the paper wrote under pseudonyms
o Lasted only 9 months but set the stage for a whole new genre of dissident
press
o Lisa Ben was an anagram of “lesbian”
▪ Did not revealed her true identity
▪ Real name: Edith Eyde (found later)
• The 1960s
o Gay and lesbian activists began to adopt tactics of protest and picketing
from civil rights and anti-war movements
o 3 publications were leaders: The Ladder, The Homosexual Citizen, and
Drum
o Franklin Kameny, fired from his federal job for homosexuality, fought in the
courts and lost but became an activist leader in the movement. He
founded the Mattachine Society in DC and the publication homoexual
Citizen
o In 1971, Kameny was the first openly gay candidate for Congress in 1971.
His Slogan: “Gay is Good”
o He was convinced gays and lesbians could not win their rights with
arguments alone. He believed more public action was needed
o Helped organize the first gay rights march on Washington in 1965
