1971: Four “reformed” homosexuals go on The David Susskind Show to tout their conversions to heterosexuality and praise the therapy of sometime poet and literary critic Eli Siegel, whose doctrine of “Aesthetic Realism” teaches that homosexuality is the result of a distorted philosophical view of the world. Aesthetic Realists-who never use the word “homosexuality” but … Read More
1970: The Advocate estimates there are approximately 6,817,000 gay men and lesbians living in the United States. 1971: The French leftist newspaper, Tout, edited by Jean-Paul Sartre, calls for complete sexual liberation in France, including the right of individuals to be freely and openly homosexual. French police begin massive seizures of the publication on the grounds that it is … Read More
1971: In defiance of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, a federal judge grants U.S. citizenship to a 24-year old gay man from Cuba, ruling that an applicant’s homosexuality cannot, in itself, bar a person from becoming a citizen. 1986: William Hurt wins the Best Actor Oscar for his role as an imprisoned homosexual window … Read More
1971: Idaho decriminalizes homosexual acts between consenting adults, but before the law can take effect, the legislature – under pressure from conservative and religious groups – reverses itself and votes to make them a felony again. 1982: Police raid a Washington, D.C. male escort service, “Friendly Models,” and cart away more than a dozen boxes … Read More
1971: More than two thousand protesters march on the steps of the Albany capitol building demanding an end to laws that discriminate against gays and lesbians.
1971: Village Voice columnist Jill Johnston comes out in her article, “Lois Lane is a Lesbian,” sparking a controversy between feminism and lesbianism that results in various Johnston antics, including simulating an orgy during a panel discussion moderated by Norman Mailer. 1972: The California DMV reports that while the majority of the 65,000 vanity license plates … Read More
1971: The New York Times publishes a front page story with the headline “More Homosexuals aided to become Heterosexual”
1971: Look magazine includes a gay couple from Minnesota – Jack Baker and Mike McConnell as part of that week’s cover article on “The American Family”. Baker and McConnell are also noteworthy as they are the first same-sex couple in the U.S. to be granted a marriage license.
1971: Novelist Merle Miller comes out in a New York Times Magazine essay entitled “What it Means to Be a Homosexual”. He later says, “I don’t see any great rush of people lining up to declare themselves as homosexual. Who is to say they should do so? I think, however, it is rather important. For … Read More
1971: In its final report to Pres. Nixon, the National Commission on Reform of Federal Criminal Laws urges the abolition of all U.S. laws prohibiting homosexual acts between consenting adults.