ABSTRACT
The 1950s have long been recognized as a pivotal time for the development of the gay and lesbian rights movement in the United States because of the founding of the homophile movement: the predominantly male Mattachine Society formed in Los Angeles in 1951 and the all-female Daughters of Bilitis in San Francisco in 1955.' These first gay and lesbian political organizations made a radical break with tradition by bringing lesbians and gays together to improve the conditions of their lives. They shepherded gays and lesbians into the political process and initiated a dialogue between gays and lesbians and the rest of the society. However, their goals and style were deeply affected by the values of the dominant society. Rather than claim distinct lesbian and gay identities and confront the negative consequences, the homophile organizations attempted to prove that lesbians and gay men were no different from other people. 1 Their primary concerns were education of the public, the adjustment of the homosexual to society, the participation in research projects by professionals, and revision of the legal system. Both the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis remained relatively small during the 1950s; Mattachine had a mere two hundred and thirty members with only
seven stable chapters and Daughters of Bilitis, one hundred and ten members with only four chapters. 3 In the case of Daughters of Bilitis, they consciously tried to separate themselves from bar lesbians whom they saw as vulgar and limited.4
