The Stonewall Reader
A study guide of the New York Public Library’s 2019 book ‘The Stonewall Reader.’
Summary, part 2
Before Stonewall
“Throughout history, there have been cycles of freedom and repression”
To understand Stonewall, it is important to understand the history of gender and sexuality. Resistance has become a way for LGBTQ+ people to make space for self-expression. One of the biggest difficulties for the gay and lesbian community at the time was a lack of political language that expressed their experiences. In addition, this community was not a racial/ethnic group but viewed as mentally and morally deviant which, to this day, is a hurdle that many LGBTQ+ activists face when fighting for equal rights. White notes that there is a relationship between repression and resistance, so political organizing was occurring in many other facets of U.S. society such as the Civil Rights and women’s rights movement. For gay and lesbian organizers, it was the homophile movement of the 1950s.
“Zami: A New Spelling of My Name” by Audre Lorde
“I remember how being young and Black and gay and lonely felt.”
Lorde talks about being Black and Gay in 1950s New York. The intersection of gender and race for Black women in the gay community was difficult. Lorde described Black lesbians as “the invisible but visible sisters” (48). Lorde also addresses the racism that exists in these spaces for the gay community. At a gay bar, Lorde is asked for her ID even though she was clearly older than 21. The bouncer justifies this by stating “you can never tell with Colored people.” (48) There is a continued questioning of acceptance that Lorde struggles with.
“City of Night” by John Rechy
Rechy talks about their time living in New York City. Police raids happened often around New York. The gay community was seen as the “undesirables.” Sexual relationships in the community for gay men were often happening in semi-public spaces like dark movie theaters and bathrooms. The act of sex had to be hidden from the rest of society.
“A Restricted Country” by Joan Nestle
Riis Park was a place of congregation for the gay community. It was referred to as a “gay beach,” implying that there was a certain freedom to be open there. Nestle writes, “I drank in the spectacle of Lesbian and gay men’s sensuality” (p. 68).
That space though was not completely free. It had its intrusions, as Nestle described:
“Whenever I turned away from the ocean to face the low cement wall that ran along the back of our beach, I was forced to remember that we were always watched: by teenagers on bikes, pointing and laughing, and by more serious starters who used telescopes to focus in on us. But we were undaunted. Even the cops deciding to clean up the beach by arresting men whose suits were judged too minimal, hauling them over the sand into paddy wagons, did not destroy our sun” (p. 68)
When a young man drowned at the beach, onlookers including Nestle formed a circle around the deceased man and his lover. The crowd followed behind the police as they carried the young man away and “The freaks had turned into a people to whom respect must be paid” (p. 69). This all happened as onlookers continued to stare. It was a preview of the power in this community when brought together (ibid).
“Lesbians United” by Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon
Martin and Lyon are the co-founders of the first lesbian civil and political rights organization in the United States, Daughter of Bilitis (DOB). Formed in 1955, the idea for the organization originated from a woman named Marie, who had come from the Philippines. Marie had envisioned a space for lesbians to convene and socialize outside of gay bars. Building upon Marie’s idea, DOB started with eight women who met to create a constitution for the organization (p. 75). DOB was intended to be a lesbian social club with parties and discussions for its members. The club created a community and a space to find others with similar experiences. The official mission statement of the club was:
The purpose of the Daughters of Bilitis, a women’s organization to aid the Lesbian in discovering her potential and her place in society, was spelled out. The organization was to encourage and support the Lesbian in her search for her personal, interpersonal, social, economic, and vocational identity. The DOB social functions would enable the Lesbian to find and communicate with others like herself, thereby expanding her social world outside the bars. She could find in the discussion groups opportunity for the interchange of ideas, a chance to talk openly about the problems she faced as a Lesbian in her everyday life (p. 83).
DOB also published The Ladder, a newsletter for members of the club. The Ladder’s 1st edition president message was a call to action:
“Challenging the women who received it (everybody we knew or had heard of, friends of friends of friends) to join us in the effort to bring understanding to and about the homosexual minority by adding the feminine voice and viewpoint to a mutual problem already being dealt with by the men of Mattachine and ONE” (p. 85).
Over time, DOB experienced a rift caused by differing opinions on how it should be operated and conduct itself (p. 79). The rift led to people deciding to leave DOB and create other lesbian social clubs, such as the Quatrefoil and Hale Aikane. Many were started by former DOB members.
Chapters popped up all over the country, including Boston and New Orleans, and globally in Melbourne, Australia. However, DOB continued to face challenges such as outreach. In addition, there was a general fear of being on the mailing list or the membership records because members did not want to be outed by association (p. 87).
“Gay is Good” by Franklin Kameny
Kameny wrote letters to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1961 demanding civil rights for gay people in America. He stated that Gay people are like any other minority group in America, but are not seen as such (p. 93). People were less willing to tolerate the abuse, repression, and discrimination conducted in America against gay people, many of which were facilitated by the government. This led to resistance and demands for rights (p. 94).
Kamney suggests that gay people are deserving of protection and assistance from the government in the same way other groups receive. The government has established practices and policies that prohibit people from doing their jobs. For example, there are stipulations on what jobs you can work based on an individual's sexuality. Gay Americans were being treated like second-class citizens in a place where they have the privilege of citizenship: “You have said: ‘Ask not what can your country do for you, but what you can do for your country.’ I know what I can best do for my country, but my country’s government, for no sane reason, will not let me do it” (p. 96).
Kameny suggests ways the government can rectify these issues.
Specifically, the government can:
End exclusion from Federal Employment,
End discriminatory, Exclusionary, and Harshly Punitive Treatment by the Armed Services, and
End Denial of Security Clearances to Homosexuals as a Group or Class.
Generally, the government can:
Take accountability in their lack of acknowledgment of activists from the gay community in their effort for social and legal rights in America. (p. 101)
Begin to meet with representatives of the LGBT+ community and work with them to discuss solutions, and
Eliminate the hostility, enmity, and animosity the government provides the LGBTQ+ population.
In conclusion, Kamney asks that the challenges of this community be given fair and unbiased consideration (103).