Gay History: History Of The Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, San Francis, California, 1971-2004 | timalrman

Contents:

• GAY HISTORY: HISTORY OF THE ALICE B. TOKLAS LGBT DEMOCRATIC CLUB, SAN FRANCIS, CALIFORNIA, 1971-2004
• RABOW DISTRICT: EXPLORG GAY CULTURE SAN FRANCIS
• SF GAY HISTORY

GAY HISTORY: HISTORY OF THE ALICE B. TOKLAS LGBT DEMOCRATIC CLUB, SAN FRANCIS, CALIFORNIA, 1971-2004

Advotg wh the Democratic Party for human rights, social and enomic jtice, and equaly for all persons, foremost the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr for by Alice B. Found 1976 as the San Francis Gay Democratic Club, was the Cy’s first Democratic Club wh the word “gay” s name, a ntroversial and radil move at the time. Toklas Memorial Democratic Club of San Francis was the first registered Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr (LGBT) Democratic Club the natn.

Alice has been cril to the fight for LGBT lears to w office, such as Mark Leno, the first gay man elected to the California State Senate.

RABOW DISTRICT: EXPLORG GAY CULTURE SAN FRANCIS

Back 1971, had only been a uple of years sce the Compton’s Cafeteria Rt and Stonewall Rts; homosexualy was still registered as a mental disorr by the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn; the morn Women’s Movement was jt formg; Print Richard Nixon was playg to his “silent majory”; and the issue of homosexualy was still thought of the popular nscns as “The Love That Dare Not Speak s Name. At this time, ‘gay people’ (cludg women, men and transgenr people who equently referred to the muny this perd as a ‘gay movement’), all faced wispread cultural stigma and the high probabily that they uld be fired, expelled om fai, and subject to vlence for simply g out.

At this time and this hostile environment, for gay people to sign up publicly for a ‘gay mocratic club’ and for policians to be associated wh the issue of homosexualy, was an act of bravery. [5] [6] Foster was a gay rights activist who had been anizg wh the Society for Individual Rights (SIR) to elect pro-gay ndidat San Francis sce SIR was formed 1964.

SF GAY HISTORY

[7] Prr to Alice there had been a few gay and lbian advocy groups such as SIR, the Dghters of Bilis, the Mattache Society and others, but gay polil goals had never been rporated directly to the platform of a major Amerin polil party. [8] [9] In 1971 Foster chartered Alice to iate gay advocy wh the Democratic Party and started a llaborative relatnship that ntu to this day.

Sayg you were a “member of Alice” was like sayg “I’m a iend of Dorothy” – only gay people would know that the “Alice” club referred to gay people. At a cril pot the mpaign, Foster helped implement a midnight signature gatherg mpaign San Francis gay bars advance of the state primary adle that helped McGovern be the first ndidate to subm the required signatur that morng. After McGovern beme the ndidate, Foster also reprented Alice at the Democratic Party Natnal Conventn of 1972, and brought a “Gay Liberatn Plank” to the natnal platform mtee.

[16] This motn was extremely signifint for the Democratic Party bee brought gay rights policy before the natnal party for the first time ever. Kathy Wilch, a speaker at the Democratic Natnal Conventn, gave a divisive speech opposg the Gay Liberatn Plank and halted approval of s cln the Democratic Party Platform.