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The Way We Were: Lesbians in the 1950s

© Debra L. Stang

Ah, the 1950s. On television, Leave It To Beaver portrayed the ideal nuclear family. In schools, fear of hydrogen bombs sent children scrambling under their desks during "duck and cover" drills. Rosa Parks made history in Alabama, the country battled communism at home and abroad, and Elvis Presley gyrated his way to super-stardom.

Aside from sinister hints about the perils of unnatural love, homosexuality lay far outside of mainstream consciousness, but gays and lesbians were there. In fact, according to Lillian Faderman in Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth Century America, it was during the repressive 1950s that "lesbian subculture grew and defined itself more clearly than ever before."

According to Faderman, upper and middle class lesbians of the 1950s were usually discreet about their sexual orientation, entertaining lovers privately and sometimes marrying a man for cover and companionship.

But among working class lesbians, the 1950s saw an active bar and sports scene (even then, softball teams were a great place to meet dykes!) and a heavy emphasis on butch-femme roles in relationships. Although the pulp fiction of the day portrayed butches as evil seducers and femmes as their innocent, really-heterosexual-all-along victims, in reality femmes were by no means passive puppets. Like their butch counterparts, they identified as lesbians, took personal risks to seek out other lesbians, and participated actively in the subculture.

Unfortunately, lesbians who would not or could not select a role were derisively referred to as "kikis" and were viewed with suspicion by other working-class lesbians. This made sense, given that undercover police or FBI agents sometimes infiltrated lesbian bars. A woman who didn't dress right or who didn't know how to "talk gay" was likely to be an undercover cop, so other lesbians steered clear. An arrest, of course, could cost a woman her job, her housing, her family, her friends, and sometimes her very life.

The 1950s also saw gays and lesbians taking the first tentative steps towards what would eventually become a large, vibrant, and diverse civil rights movement.

The following timeline outlines some important events in lesbian history of the 1950s. You may be surprised at what your high school teacher left out!

1950. Joseph McCarthy initiates his anti-communist witch hunt, which soon expands to other marginalized groups including gays and lesbians.

1950. The Mattachine Foundation is founded in Los Angeles. Its members are mainly gay men, but a few lesbians participate. Initially, the Mattachine Foundation is a radical group focused on developing a gay subculture and challenging unfair laws. The threat of McCarthy's wrath, however, frightens some members, and by 1953, the Mattachine Foundation begins to move towards a more conservative position of promoting assimilation and tolerance for homosexuals.