“WHAT A GORGEOUS DYKE!”: CULTIVATING THE DAUGHTERS OF BILITIS LESBIAN IDENTITY, 1955-1975

Abstract

In October of 1955, eight women gathered in San Francisco, California to form the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB). Together, these women pioneered a new path for lesbian rights and forever altered the public perception of lesbianism in the United States as the first lesbian homophile movement. What began as a social club for lesbians to escape the frequently raided gay bars, over time, became a nationally recognized organization dedicated to integrating the lesbian woman into society and educating the heterosexual American public about the lesbian. This thesis uses the Daughters of Bilitis as a focal point for understanding the lesbian experience and identity in twentieth century America. It also explores the development of numerous, and distinct, lesbian subcultures centered around issues of class, generational conflicts, race, and political radicalism. DOB emphasized the notion of the “average lesbian,” an identity set apart from the culturally dominant image of the tough lesbian bar crowd that permeated heterosexual society. In doing so, this thesis argues that DOB created a second mainstream lesbian identity for the latter half of the twentieth century and that a more accurate interpretation of DOB results when we see them as revolutionary without exception.