Creating a Place For Ourselves: Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community Histories

Creating a Place For Ourselvesis a groundbreaking collection of essays that examines gay life in the United States before Stonewall and the gay liberation movement. Along with examining areas with large gay communities such as New York, San Francisco and Fire Island, the contributors also consider the thriving gay populations in cities like Detroit, Buffalo, Washington, D.C., Birmingham and Flint, demonstrating that gay communities are truly everywhere. Creating A Place For Ourselvescontains rich oral history about lesbian, gay and bisexual life in pre-Stonewall Amerca: Allen Drexel considers the lives of gay men on Chicago's South Side through the lens of "Finnie's Balls," an annual Halloween extravaganza in the 1950s which drew thousands of spectators and participants, including many Black working-class gays. Roey Thorpe explores the development of white lesbian life in Post-World War II Detroit, tracing the changing nature and clientele of several of thecity's lesbian bars; Marc Stein looks at how lesbian and gay politics arose in Philadelphia, and how activists relied on languages of nationalism, patriotism and citizenship to further their political aims; and Tim Retzloff examines how the manufacturing plants of Flint, Michigan produced the very product that helped to establish a gay nightlife in the 1950s--the automobile. He argues that because of the city's geographic dispersal, the automobile was necessary for transportation as well as served as an important space for same-sex encounters. Using oral history and rich narrative voices,Creating a Place For Ourselvesbrings to life the vibrant lesbian, gay and bisexual communities that existed all across America in the days before Stonewall. Contributors: Brett Beemyn, Nan Alamilla Boyd, George Chauncey, Madeline Davis, Allen Drexel, John Howard, David Johnson, Liz Kennedy, Joan Nestle, Esther Newton, Tim Retzloff, Marc Stein, Roey Thorpe.