the daughters of bilitis
The nation's first lesbian organization - the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) - was born in 1955 in San Francisco. The group originally began as a meeting group of lesbian couples organized by Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin. It was meant to help connect gay women with each other during a time when it was very taboo to be an out lesbian. Lyon and Martin were frustrated at the limited outlets for socialization and wanted to create a space for communication and interaction. As Lyon put it, "I didn't really find out that lesbians existed until I met the woman that I spent the rest of my life with" (Anti Defamation League). The name of the group was meant to be a secret allusion to "Songs of Bilitis", a series of poems written about Bilitis, a resident of the Isle of Lesbos. Ostensibly, lesbians would understand the group's purpose by its name while nonlesbians (aka the general public) would be unaware of its connotations. This would allow the group to operate in secret while still attracting new members.
While the group was intended to be social at first, they began to delve into more political activities as it grew. These included hosting forums on homosexuality, researching LGBT issues, and offering support to other lesbians. In this way, it mirrored the inception of the Mattachine Society, an organization founded for homosexual men. Both had social roots but also worked to advocate the homosexual cause and fight stereotyping and discrimination.
The DOB published a popular monthly magazine, The Ladder, which contained creative works like poetry and fiction as well as more serious information like psychological testimony and research on homosexuality. A section where readers could write in was also very popular. Interestingly, the magazine's editors encouraged an adaptation to the mainstream and advised women to avoid cross dressing or dressing butch for fear of appearing too different. This was meant to help lesbians avoid detection and police confrontation but also subconsciously worked to suppress their sexuality - the exact thing they were fighting to exalt.
Lesbian women across the country were just as frustrated with the lack of spaces for socialization as those in San Francisco. New Yorker Lorraine Hansberry wrote a letter to The Ladder asking why it was that the DOB and Mattachine Society were absent in her city. Furthermore, she wanted to know why the West Coast seemed to be on the forefront of gay organization. “What is it in the air out there? Pioneers still? Or a toucher circumstance which inspires battle?” A desire to organize was clearly shared across the lesbian population, but the DOB in San Francisco were the first to take active steps towards making it a reality.
The organization did spread rather quickly and chapters opened up in other cities including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. However, the group did not attain the same levels of membership as its male counterparts. This could be attributed to a variety of reasons, including its stifling assimilationist message. In addition, the group primarily targeted white, middle class women, necessarily excluding a number of minority lesbians. Unfortunately, the group was disbanded in the 1960's due to internal disagreements. Several leaders wanted to integrate the feminist movement into the group's agenda, but this went against Martin and Lyon's original vision. The Ladder separated from the group, and by the early '70's both the group and publication had died out. However, while the initial group no longer remains, numerous other lesbian and feminist organizations were created in later years with the memory of the DOB's efforts. Furthermore, the DOB should be commended for its courage and the important purpose it served: connecting lesbians across the country during a time where open homosexuality was tenuous.
[read more about the Daughters movement from the Anti-Defamation League]
[read more about the history of the Daughters of Bilitis on FoundSF]