SF rad BEFORE Stonewall

RADICAL QUEERITY in pre-Stonewall SF

Dear Zenger's,
[ mgconlan [at] earthlink.net ]

Each summer, LGBT Pride celebrations recall Stonewall (June 1969) --
as if that were the precise moment when a cautious Fifties-style "homophile" movement was suddenly
replaced by a radical "gay liberation" movement.
That's the New York City legend, retold around the globe.



But in San Francisco, queerstory was more complex.
Queer bars enjoyed more autonomy than in NYC. SF's radical phase started earlier, and not all at once. "Gay Area" queers became radicalized by their participation in beat and hippie subcultures, in civil rights and peace movements, in "sexual freedom", in the "underground press", et cetera.
SF post-Mattachine queer groups arose several years before Stonewall, in the mid-Sixties.

In SF's Tenderloin, circa 1966, a tranny/sexworker/queer subculture flourished, and even staged its own mini-riot. The rioters were represented politically by Vanguard,
a radical gay rights group.

For more on pre-Stonewall SF queerstory; please read
"WIDE OPEN TOWN: a history of queer San Francisco to 1965";
and "THE EMPRESS IS A MAN: stories from the life of José Sarria";
and "GAY BY THE BAY".

Also please watch a new documentary film,
"SCREAMING QUEENS: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria".

-- SF queer
June 2005

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Notes for IndyBay.org (SF Gay Area) readers:

San Diego celebrates Pride in July.

Zenger's content may be found online,
at the San Diego Independent Media Center website:

[ http://www.sdimc.org ]


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