Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Gay San Francisco: A History
Getting Organized:
1960s-1970s
In the 1960s, police raids of gay
gatherings were common, often
resulting in public exposure of
the arrested and affecting
livelihoods. In 1961, José Sarria,
a drag performer at the Black
Cat Café, made history by
running for the Board of
Supervisors as an openly gay
man. Although he wasn't
elected, he proved there was
a “gay vote” and inspired the
founding of the Tavern Guild,
the country's first gay business
association.
Guests at the 1965 fundraising
ball for the Council on Religion
and the Homosexual (CRH)
were harassed and
photographed by police as they
entered. The American Civil
Liberties Union intervened,
ultimately helping gays win
legal support including a
community police liaison officer.
Another pivotal event was
New York's Stonewall riots in
1969. Once gay people had
stood up to police, they were
no longer content with mere
acceptance. “Liberation” and
“pride” became the movement's
watchwords. Gays wanted not
The history of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
(LGBT) community in San Francisco is in some ways the story of
the gay movement itself. The city has been a mecca for gay
people for much of its existence, and social and political gains
made here have had reverberations across the globe. The
community is now more diverse than ever, spread out across
the entire city, not just the Castro
(see p138)
, and you can hold
hands with your same-sex partner anywhere from the Financial
District to Pacific Heights. This sense of freedom was a hard-
won battle fought in the political arena of San Francisco.
re-entry for troops, and
gay soldiers had numerous
“off-limits” bars and private
gatherings to choose from.
Also, for the first time in the
military's history, homosexuals
were being sought out and
dishonorably discharged, and
many of these men chose to
settle in San Francisco rather
than risk stigmatization
back home.
The 1950s, however, heralded
the real beginnings of a gay
social consciousness, with the
founding of several “homophile”
organizations, which
emphasized emotional rather
than sexual components of
same-gender coupling and
advised assimilation within
heterosexual society.
Foremost among
these groups were
the Mattachine
Society, which first
advanced the idea
of gay people as an
oppressed minority,
and the Daughters
of Bilitis, the first
lesbian socio-political
organization in the
United States.
The bohemian Black Cat Café, Montgomery
Street, opened in 1933
The Early Days:
1849-1960
The California Gold Rush of 1849
drew scores of adventurers to
the Bay Area, and its rough-and-
tumble atmosphere helped
establish its reputation for
sexual license. Life along the
Barbary Coast offered freedom
from the conservative mores
of the rest of the country, and
by the beginning of the 20th
century the city was already
being called “Sodom by the Sea.”
During World War II, the city's
gay population positively
exploded. San Francisco was a
main point of deployment and
The colorful Gay Pride Parade celebrates the city's gay
history, culture and community
2008
California Supreme
Court overturns state's
ban on same-sex
marriage. This was
soon invalidated
by Proposition 8
1970
First San
Francisco Gay Pride
Parade, called “Gay-In”
1948
Alfred Kinsey's
groundbreaking
Sexual Behaviour
in the Human
Male is published
2002
First
purpose-built
LGBT center
opens
1955
Daughters
of Bilitis, the
nation's first
lesbian group,
is formed
1974
First Castro
Street Fair
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
1981
First case of
Kaposi's sarcoma
(AIDS-related cancer)
2004
Mayor
Newson allows
same-sex
marriages but
these are later
annulled
1964
Life
magazine
article “Homosexuality
in America” names
San Francisco “the
capital of the
gay world”
2012
California
Court rules
Proposition 8
unconstitutional
1930s
First gay bars
appear, including
artists' hangout,
the Black Cat
Café, and Mona's,
a lesbian bar
1969
Police raid the Stonewall Inn in New
York. Ensuing riots signal the start of the
modern gay liberation movement
