Forging Gay Identities: Organizing Sexuality in San Francisco, 1950-1994

291 Pages·2002·58.083 MB·English

by  Elizabeth A. Armstrong

SOC O:..C)Y ::,A At'\.C E~8 AN S'"uC. "''
"Forging Gay Identities is simultaneously an exem
plary study of the evolution of San Francisco's
gay community and movement after 1950 and
a groundbreaking synthesis of organization and
the gay
social movement theory. Others have gestured
and lesbian struggle for toward such a synthesis in recent years, but
Armstrong pulls it off. Both'fields will be richer
visibility and rights has
for her efforts."
succeeded in combining a
Doug McAdam, Stanford University
unified group identity with
"Forging Gay Identities should raise the level of
the celebration of individ-
sociological sophistication in gay and lesbian
ual differences. Forging Gay
studies while interesting students of culture,
Identities explores how this social movements, and inequality. This is a well
conceived and provocative new work."
happened, tracing the evo
Frank Dobbin, Princeton University
lution of ga:y life and orga-
nizations in San Francisco "In disclosing precisely how the lesbian and gay
rights movement was simultaneously a cultural,
from the 1950s to the mid-
political, and organizational process, Forging Gay
1990s.
Identities offers a powerful model for rethinking
the significance of identity politics. This absorb
ing work will be must reading for scholars of
Elizabeth A. Armstrong social movements and organizations, or anyone
who wants a better understanding of how gay
is an assistant professor in the
politics have evolved over the past fifty years."
Department of Sociology at
Indiana University. Wendy Espeland, Northwestern University
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
www.press.uchicago.edu
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-02694-7
J.TJ!][' .
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Cover illustrations: Tcp, Courtesy Rink Foto. Middle,
Courtesy Rink Foto. Botwm, Courtesy Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexuai,Transgender Historical Society, Gay by the Bay
Collection. Background, Courtesy Oakland Tribune.
Gay
Forging Identities
Or&anizin& Sexuality in San
Fran~isco,
1950-1994
ELIZABETH A. ARMSTRONG
The University of Chicago Press I Chicago & London
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2002 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2002
Printed in the United States of America
11 10 09 08 2 3 4 5
ISBN: 0-226-02693-0 (cloth)
ISBN: 0-226-02694-9 (paper)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Armstrong, Elizabeth A.
Forging gay identities: organizing sexuality in San Francisco, 1950-1994 f
Elizabeth A. Armstrong.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-226-02693-0 (cloth)-ISBN 0-226-02694-9 (pbk.)
1. Gays-California-San Francisco-Identity. 2. Gays-California-San
Francisco-Political activity-History-20th century. 3. Gay liberation
movement-California-San Francisco-History-20th centuty. I. Title.
HQ76.3.U52 S263 2002
305.9'0664'0979461-dc21
200200&
9The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI 239.48-1992.
To my parents

CONTENTS
List of Tables and Figures ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Note on Use ofldentity Terms xix
1. The Transformation of the Lesbian JG ay Movement 1
Part I. Forging a Gay Identity Movement
2. Beginnings: Homosexual Politics and Organizations,
1950-1968 31
3. Innovation: Gay Liberation and the Origins of Coming Out,
1969-1970 56
4. Opportunity: Gay Liberation and the Decline of the New Left,
1969-1973 81
5. The Crystallization of a Gay Identity Movement,
1971-1973 97
Part II. Consequences of Field Formation
6. Success: Growth of a Gay Identity Movement in the 1970s 113
7. Exclusions: Gender, Race, and Class in the Gay Identity
Movement, 1981-1994 134
8. Challenge: The Effect of AIDS on the Gay Identity Movement,
1981-1994 154
9. Continuity and Change: The Gay Identity Movement in the 1980s
and 1990s 176
vii
viii Contents
Part Ill. Conclusion
10. Institutions, Social Movements, and American
Political Culture 193
Appendix: Constructing a Database of San Francisco's
Lesbian/Gay Organizations 205
Notes 213
Works Cited 247
Index 261
TABLES AND FIGURES
.>
Tables
1.1 Homophile, gay liberation, gay identity, and other lesbian/gay
organizations founded in San Francisco, by time period 16
1.2 Interest group, redistributive, and identity political logics 17
1.3 Political logics and gay organizations 20
1.4 Diversification of gay identity organizations 22
3.1 Homophile, gay liberation, and gay identity organizations
founded in San Francisco, 1968-71 80
A.1 Resource guides coded by type, 1963-94 207
A.2 Organizational information collected 210
Figures
1.1 Lesbian/gay nonprofit organizations in San Francisco,
1950-94 15
1.2 Homophile, gay liberation, and gay identity organizations in San
Francisco, 1964-94 17
2.1 The Vector 40
2.2 Homophile organizations in San Francisco, 1950-68 52
3.1 Gale Whittington and Leo Laurence in the Berkeley Barb,
March 1969 65
3.2 Gay liberationist burns his Society for Individual Rights
membership card, October 1969 66
3.3 "Aren't You Guys Jumping on the Wrong Bandwagon(,"
September 1970 77
4.1 Homosexuals against the war, November 1969 88
ix
X Tables and Figures
4.2 Gay liberation organizations and periodicals in San Francisco,
1968-76 92
5.1 Homophile, gay liberation, and gay identity organizati.ons in San
Francisco, 1968-80 101
6.1 Gay identity organizations in San Francisco, 1969-87 116
6.2 Men in the Castro district, 1976 120
6.3 Lesbian/ gay nonprofit and sexual commercial organizations in
San Francisco, 1964-79 121
6.4 Harvey Milk in San Francisco's 1978 Gay Freedom Day
Parade 130
6.5 White Night riots, May 21, 1979 131
6.6 The first lesbian and gay march on Washington, 1979 132
7.1 Lesbian and feminist organizations in San Francisco,
1964-94 142
7.2 Lesbian marchers in San Francisco's 1977 Gay Freedom Day
Parade 145
7.3 Gay American Indians in the 1985 Lesbian/Gay Freedom Day
Parade 149
7.4 Racially specific gay identity organizations in San Francisco,
1970-94 150
7.5 African American lesbians in San Francisco's 1982 Lesbian/Gay
Freedom Day Parade 152
8.1 AIDS organizations in San Francisco, 1981-94 163
8.2 ACT UP in the 1989 Lesbian/Gay Freedom Day Parade 165
8.3 Lesbian/gay nonprofit and AIDS organizations in San Francisco,
1980-94 170
8.4 Cover of San Francisco AIDS Foundation HIV Resource Guide,
1995-96 172
9.1 Queer Nation, 1990 181
A.l Resource guides coded per year 208