LGBT Networks

Lack of Connection

These conditions created a quandary for those seeking LGBT connections. On the one hand, “coming out” as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, or queer often offered a sense of relief and a potential for belonging. On the other hand, coming out created a separation from the previously occupied “straight” spaces. Without an established presence, LGBT networks had to build on other social networks based on class, sex, race, and ethnicity.

Various spaces play integral parts in LGBT networks. Many public spaces were located in urban areas. Bars, bathhouses, fitness clubs, gyms, and tearooms (“toilet rooms,” or bathrooms) offered places for gay males to seek others with some discretion. Lesbian audiences found their own bar scene emerging in the 1940s. Although often overlooked, smaller towns and rural communities also offered connections through homosocial (single-gender) gatherings and organizations. African American lesbians even met in people's private homes.

In the 1950s and 1960s, LGBT groups began to organize into what has been called the homophile movement, also called the Gay Liberation Movement. In general, these groups wanted to raise awareness of their mistreatment, gain more civil rights, and overall affirm their identities. Some groups, such as the Mattachine Society, Daughters of Bilitis, and Janus Society staged public demonstrations. In addition to meetings and other activities, the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis published materials. The Mattachine Society published the Mattachine Review, while Daughters of Bilities published Ladder. Other publications included One and DRUM. As obscenity laws eased, homosexual pulp novels also began circulating more widely. Further changes eased laws against public gathering and criminalization of homosexual sex acts, among others.

Emerging Connections

As a result, LGBT individuals became more visible and found more connections. For example, bookstores specializing in LGBT books opened in the 1960s, doubling as meeting places and community gathering centers. Bands and choruses began performing in the 1970s. One year after the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York's Greenwich Village, marches and parades began appearing in cities annually. Religious groups also serve as part of these networks. Some groups created their own divisions within established religions, such as Protestant, Catholic, Mormon, Unitarian Universalist, and Jewish. Some of these groups, including some Jewish networks, gained acceptance and recognition within their churches, while others, such as Catholics, struggled for that recognition and acceptance.

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