LGBT Movements in The United States - Mattachine Society

Mattachine Society

The Mattachine Society was perhaps one of the earliest and influential American gay movement groups. Formed in Los Angeles in 1950 as the International Bachelors Fraternal Order for Peace and Social Dignity, by William Dale Jennings, along with seven other gay men, it rapidly began to influence gay society and politics. It later adopted the name The Mattachine Society in reference to the society Mattachine, a French medieval masque group that supposedly traveled broadly using entertainment to point out social injustice. The name symbolized the fact that gays were a masked people, who lived in anonymity.

The Mattachine founders attempted to use their personal experience as gay men to redefine the meaning of gay people and their culture in the United States and set goals for cultural and political liberation.

In 1951, the Society adopted a Statement of Missions and Purpose. This statement stands out today in the history of the gay liberation movement by identifying two important themes. First, it called for a grassroots movement of gay people to challenge anti-gay discrimination, and second, it recognized the importance of building a gay community.

The society also began sponsoring discussion groups in 1951, which provided Lesbian and gay men an ability to openly share feelings and experiences. For many, this was the first opportunity to do so, and such meetings were often highly emotional affairs. Attendance at the Mattachine Society meetings dramatically increased over the next few years, and such discussion groups spread throughout the United States, even beginning to sponsor social events, write newsletters and publications, and hold fundraisers.

A group within the Mattachine Society, ONE, incorporated and produced ONE magazine. It was independent from the Society, but its first editor and most of its editorial board were members of the society. The Los Angeles Postmaster seized and refused to mail copies of ONE Magazine in 1954 on grounds that it was "obscene, lewd, lascivious and filthy." This action led to prolonged court battles which had significant influence on gay and lesbian movements. In 1958, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously in One, Inc. v. Olesen that the mere discussion of homosexuality was not obscene, and the magazine continued to be published and distributed until 1972.

The Society became highly active in protesting police entrapment and oppressive tactics and policies toward gay men.

Because of the communist leanings of some of the Society's members, particularly its primary founder, and its political actions, the society was forced to endure heavy pressure and public scrutiny during the anti-communist McCarthyism period. In a column of the Los Angeles newspaper in March 1953 in regards to the Society, it was called a "strange new pressure group" of "sexual deviants" and "security risks" who were banding together to wield "tremendous political power."

This article created a panic among society members and resulted in public meetings of gay people. These were attended by delegates representing hundreds of discussion group participants. A strong coalition of conservative delegates emerged that challenged the societies goals, even the idea that gay people were a legitimate minority group, because they thought such things would encourage hostility among the mainstream public. The Society board members disagreed, but fearing consequences of government investigation of society activities, the original founders resigned in 1953, and the organization was turned over to the conservative elements who began a restructure of it.

The former goals were revised. Rather than social change, they advocated accommodation, and rather than mobilizing gay people, they sought the support of the psychiatric profession who they believed held the key to reform. This, however, had a devastating effect as discussion group attendance declined and many local chapters folded. The national structure was dissolved in 1961, and even the New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco chapters remained active for only a few more years. The societies' political and social influence continued to decrease after the Los Angeles News article.

Other organizations used the name "Mattachine" that were not formally associated with the original Mattachine Society or its national structure. For example, Chicago’s Mattachine Midwest, established in 1965 was a completely independent organization. Other organizations such as the San Francisco Society for individual Rights, Gay Liberation Front, and Gay Activists Alliance became dominant in the gay liberation movement after Mattachine declined. Because of its failure to adapt to the increasing militancy of gay men and lesbians, the Mattachine faded away after the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969.