The gay and lesbian liberation movement and its predecessor, the homophile movement that originated in the 1950s, have been relatively little studied by sociologists; yet theories of ethnic mobilization, especially competition theory, help us to understand the mobilization of lesbians and gay men. At the same time, lesbian/gay social movement activity provides an important critique of social movement theories. This article focuses on the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), a homophile organization for women founded in 1956. Competition theory furnishes a useful framework for understanding the transformation and decline of the DOB and its publication, the Ladder, at the end of the 1960s, but it cannot fully explain lesbian social and political organization. By viewing group identities as multiple and overlapping, new social movement theory contributes a more complete understanding of the Daughters of Bilitis and its relationship to other social movement groups in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abbott, S.
, and B. Love. 1971. Is women's liberation a lesbian plot? In Woman in sexist society, edited by V. Gornick and B. Moran. New York: Basic Books.
2.
Abbott, S.
, and B. Love. 1972. Sappho was a right-on woman: A liberated view of lesbianism.New York: Stein & Day.
3.
Attorney stresses nothing to fear in joining Daughters of Bilitis.1957. Ladder1(7):15-6.
4.
Another Rung...1966. Ladder11(1):24.
5.
Bell, A.
, M. Weinberg, and S. Hammersmith. 1981. Sexual preference: Its development in men and women.Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
6.
Bérubé, A.
1983. Marching to a different drummer: Lesbian and gay GIs in World War II. In Powers of desire: The politics of sexuality, edited by A. Snitow, C. Stansell, and S. Thompson. New York: Monthly Review Press.
7.
Bérubé, A.
1990. Coming out under fire: The history of gay men and women in World War Two.New York: Free Press.
8.
Calhoun, C.1993. “New social movements” of the early nineteenth century.Social Science History17:385-427.
9.
Chesebro, J.
1981. Gayspeak: Gay male and lesbian communication.New York: Pilgrim.
10.
Current research trends.1961. Ladder6(2):6-9.
11.
Damon, G.
1970. The least of these: The minority whose screams haven't yet been heard. In Sisterhood is powerful, edited by Robin Morgan. New York: Vintage.
12.
D'Emilio, J.
1983. Sexual politics, sexual communities.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
13.
D'Emilio, J.
, and E. Freedman. 1988. Intimate matters: A history of sexuality in America.New York: Harper & Row.
14.
di Leonardo, M.
1984. The varieties of ethnic experience: Kinship, class, and gender among California Italian Americans.Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
15.
Echols, A.
1989. Daring to be bad: Radical feminism in America, 1967-1975.Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
16.
Epstein, S.
1990. Gay politics, ethnic identity: The limits of social constructionism. In Forms of desire: Sexual orientation and the social constructionist controversy, edited by E. Stein. New York: Garland.
17.
Esterberg, K.1990. From illness to action: Conceptions of homosexuality in The Ladder, 1956-1965.Journal of Sex Research27:65-80.
18.
Esterberg, K.1994. Being a lesbian and being in love: Constructing identity through relationships.Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services1:57-82.
19.
Faderman, L.
1991. Odd girls and twilight lovers: A history of lesbian life in twentieth-century America.New York: Columbia University Press.
20.
Foucault, M.
1980. The history of sexuality. Vol. I, an introduction. Translated by Robert Hurley. New York: Pantheon.
21.
Gregory, F.1970. Before the gap becomes a chism [sic].Ladder14(7/8):27-8.
22.
Griffin, D.1956. President's message.Ladder1:3.
23.
Hannan, M.
1979. The dynamics of ethnic boundaries in modern states. In National development and the world system: Educational, economic, and political change, 1950-1970, edited by J. Meyer and M. Hannan. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
24.
Hannan, M.
, and J. Freeman. 1989. Organizational ecology.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
25.
J.C.1966. Untitled letter to the editor.Ladder11(3):26-7.
26.
Katz, J. N.
1992. Gay American history: Lesbians and gay men in the U.S.A. (rev. ed.). New York: Meridian.
27.
Kennedy, E. L.
, and M. D. Davis. 1993. Boots of leather, slippers of gold: The history of a lesbian community.New York: Routledge.
28.
Krieger, S.1982. Lesbian identity and community: Recent social science literature.Signs8:91-108.
29.
Langton, N.1987. Niche theory and social movements: A population ecology approach.Sociological Quarterly281:51-70.
30.
Larsen, N.
1986. Quicksand and passing.New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
31.
Legg, W. D.1961. Masculine viewpoint.Ladder5(8):25-6.
32.
Lyle, D.1958. My daughter is a lesbian.Ladder2(10):4-5.
33.
Lyle, D.1967. The basic bias.Ladder11(5):2-5.
34.
Marotta, T.
1981. The politics of homosexuality.Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Martin, D.1963. It's time for a change.Ladder74:4-5, 22-24.
37.
Martin, D.1970/1971. If that's all there is.Ladder15(3/4):4-6.
38.
Martin, D.
, and P. Lyon. 1972. Lesbian/woman.New York: Bantam.
39.
McCarthy, J.
, and M. Zald.1977. Resource mobilization and social movements: A partial theory.American Journal of Sociology82:1212-41.
40.
McPherson, J. M.
, P. Popielarz, and S. Drobnic.1992. Social networks and organizational dynamics.American Sociological Review57:153-70.
41.
Moraga, C.
, and G. Anzaldúa. 1981. This bridge called my back: Writings by radical women of color.Watertown, MA: Persephone.
42.
Murray, S. O.
1992. Components of gay community in San Francisco. In Gay culture in America, edited by G. Herdt. Boston: Beacon.
43.
Nestle, J.
1987. A restricted country.Ithaca, NY: Firebrand.
44.
Newton, E.
1993. Cherry Grove, Fire Island.Boston: Beacon.
45.
Olzak, S.
, and J. Nagel. 1986. Introduction, competitive ethnic relations: An overview. In Competitive ethnic relations, edited by S. Olzak and J. Nagel. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
46.
Philosophy of DOB: The evolution of an idea.1962. Ladder69:4-8.
47.
Portes, A.
, and R. Manning. 1986. The immigrant enclave: Theory and empirical examples. In Competitive ethnic relations, edited by S. Olzak and J. Nagel. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
48.
Radicalesbians.
1970, reprinted 1988. The woman identified woman. In For lesbians only, edited by S. L. Hoagland and J. Penelope. London: Onlywomen.
49.
Ramos, J.
1987. Compañeras: Latina lesbians.New York: Latina Lesbian History Project.
50.
Rich, A.
1983. Compulsory heterosexuality and lesbian existence. In Powers of desire, edited by A. Snitow, C. Stansell, and S. Thompson. New York: Monthly Review Press.
51.
Rosenfeld, R.
, and K. Ward.1991. The contemporary U.S. women's movement: An empirical example of competition theory.Sociological Forum6:471-500.
52.
Snitow, A.
, C. Stansell, and S. Thompson. 1983. Introduction.Powers of desire: The politics of sexuality.New York: Monthly Review Press.
53.
Stein, A.
1993. Sisters, sexperts, queers: Beyond the lesbian nation.New York: Penguin.
54.
Stein, E.
1990. Forms of desire: Sexual orientation and the social constructionist controversy.New York: Garland.
55.
Waters, M. C.
1990. Ethnic options: Choosing identities in America.Berkeley: University of California Press.
56.
Weeks, J.
1987. Questions of identity. In The cultural construction of sexuality, edited by P. Caplan. London: Tavistock.
57.
Wolf, D.
1979. The lesbian community.Berkeley: University of California Press.
58.
Willer, S.1966. What concrete steps can be taken to further the homophile movement?Ladder11(2):17-20.
