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LGBTQ+ Women and Feminism in the 1950s-1980s

This page will be focusing on how the LGBTQ+ rights movement related to the feminist movement in the 1950s-1980s and how they both worked together to grant freedoms to LGBTQ+ individuals and women, specifically LGBTQ+ women. Often we don’t think of intersectional identities and see activist movements as just fighting alone, when in actuality, many social movements worked together for a common cause. 

*Please note that not all LGBTQ+ and feminist movements are included due to time, the large scope of the field of study, and the focus being specifically on American LGBTQ+ women from the 1950s-1980s. I acknowledge that the activism done by other LGBTQ+ people (ex: gay/bisexual/trans/queer men, nonbinary people, etc.) and (LGBTQ+) women from around the world is very valuable. Also, movements whose histories are not as well-known such as the disability rights movement played important roles for those with intersectional identities. I encourage viewers to explore these topics on their own time. 

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Timeline Images:

1950s -

  1. A newspaper clip stating that a Senate appropriations subcomittee had started to remove gays and lesbians from the State Department, during a time period known as The Lavender Scare.
  2. A photo of a large family and a mother holding a baby. The 1950s were a period of time where the focus was on women to stay home and have as many children as possible. This is talked about more here.

1960s -

  1. Gloria Steinem, a journalist and social activist, was heavily-involved in the second-wave feminist movements of the 1960s.
  2. Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, respectively, were transgender activists and sex workers involved in the Stonewall Riots, which changed LGBTQ+ activism for the future.

1970s -

  1. A photo of Attorney Gloria Allred (left) and Norma McCorvey (right), the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, which changed women's reproductive rights and allowed them to have abortions.
  2. An image of Anita Bryant, a singer and anti-gay activist, after being hit in the face by a pie thrown by gay activist Tom Higgins on national television.

1980s -

  1. The AIDs epidemic greatly affected the LGBTQ+ community. Many lives were lost and the government offered little help. LGBTQ+ people protested for their lives, chanting "Silence equals death".
  2. Black feminists like Audre Lorde were active in the 1980s, bringing intersectional perspectives to the conversation.

LGBTQ+ Women and Feminism in the 1950s-1980s