Different Daughters: A History of the Daughters of Bilitis and the Rise of the Lesbian Rights Movement - Hardcover

Gallo, Marcia M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786716347 ISBN 13: 9780786716340

Publisher: Avalon Publishing Group, 2006

Synopsis

Traces the story of the world's first organization committed to lesbian civil rights and empowerment, describing how it was launched alongside its gay male counterpart, the Mattachine Society, in response to the oppressive anti-homosexual climate of the McCarthy era, in an account that surveys its contributions and evolution over the course of two decades.

About this title

Book Description

The first book devoted to the history of the first lesbian rights organization-Daughters of Bilitis-which shattered the silence around lesbianism beginning in the 1950s and brought lesbian political concerns for the first time to the women's movement

Synopsis

Nearly fifteen years before the birth of gay liberation, the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) was the world's first organization committed to lesbian visibility and empowerment. Like its predominantly gay male counterpart, the Mattachine Society, DOB was launched in response to the oppressive anti-homosexual climate of the McCarthy era, when lesbian and gay people were arrested, fired from jobs, and had their children taken away simply because of their sexual orientation. It was against this political backdrop that a circle of San Francisco lesbians formed a private club where lesbians could meet others in a safe, affirming setting. The small social group evolved over the next two decades into a national organization that counted more than a dozen chapters, and laid the foundation for today's lesbian rights movement. Different Daughters chronicles this movement and the women who fought the church and state in order to change not only our nation's perception of homosexuality but how lesbians see themselves. Marcia Gallo has interviewed dozens of former DOB members, many of whom have never spoken on record. Through its leaders, magazine, and network of local chapters, DOB played a crucial role in creating lesbian identity, visibility, and political strategies in Cold War America. "

Edition details

• Publisher: Avalon Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0786716347
• ISBN 13: 9780786716340
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336