Mattachine Society and gay rights 1960s
00:13:45 - Mattachine Society
The Mattachine Society was New York's first homosexual rights group that campaigned for the rights of gay men and women to openly exist in society without fear of arrest or persecution .
Inside the offices - poster on wall - Join the Navy""
vo talks about draft and being 4F and how that can affect future employment - may not be probing into if youare homosexual or not but will ask why you got the 4F if it was a physical issue.
Mattachine Society head states what it is - ""the society is an organization dedicated to mutual understanding between the society and the homosexual in a society that rejects any form of sex outside the judeo christian normal code. Our primary goal is legal and social reform and basically reform of moral code and concept which includes sexuality as right or wrong. We are self help in regards to helping homosexuals understand the problems they face every day and to come to a better understanding of themselves and better able to stand talland not to be ashamed of themselves or guilty before they can expect society to do the same
00:15:08 - Homosexual acts between two consenting adults is illegal in all 50 states with one exception of Ilinois...which was adopted in 1960..the penal code has sometimes required up to 10 , 20, and up to life sentence - i believe there is still one state where you can get a life sentence...based on concept that homosxuality is so unnatural and so grievous that in medieval times it was associated with demon posession,
00:15:02 - we work through lobbyists in Albany and not Washington because most of your state code laws are state laws and not federal laws. These lobbysits are not employees of Mattachine Society but believe in our cause and therefore work with us. Many of them have to work secretively and on the sly because if it was known that they were backing a reform of this type they would be in serious trouble socially and perhaps even employment wise
00:16:30
Question re: corporations screening out homosexuals
Answer - yes i know people who have not gotten employment because they have made the mistake of being honest becasue they made the statements that they were or had homosexual contact...asked in personal interviews not writing...no corporation would put in writing.
00:17:06 EXT gay bookstore - sign says Oscar Wilder Memorial Bookshop - store has homosexual related books and items - views inside showing posters for ACLU , Eugene McCarthy for President, and stacks of men's magazines with hunky male models on covers. bookshelves with various homosexual publications - The Gay Coloring Book, Homosexuality and creative genius,
00:17:47 - Theatre of the Absurd group (also known as Theater of the Ridiculous)
drag queens perform
The genre arose in what was then New York’s gritty downtown lofts, off-off-Broadway theatres, and unconventional performance spaces. This theater featured experimental theatre and introducing non-actors, drag queens, and fantastical stage constructions and costumes to its productions