Module 1: Early Gay Rights Struggles

After World War I, and its culture-shattering implications, there was some forward movement in the development of gay rights.  

In the 1920s, the gay rights movement in the United States began to take early shape with the formation of the Society for Human Rights, the first known gay rights organization in the country. Founded in Chicago in 1924 by Henry Gerber, a German immigrant inspired by similar movements in Europe, the Society aimed to advocate for the rights and acceptance of homosexual individuals. Gerber also published Friendship and Freedom, the first known American publication specifically for gay readers, which sought to foster a sense of community and educate the public about homosexuality. Though short-lived due to legal and societal pressures, the Society for Human Rights laid important groundwork for future LGBTQ+ activism in the United States.

In popular culture, some progress was being made as well.  Billy Haines was a 1920s Hollywood star known not only for his charm and talent but also for being one of the few openly gay actors in early American cinema.  He was the biggest star in Hollywood and lived in an open relationship with his partner, Jimmie Shields.  He flourished throughout the 1920s, but in 1933, studio mogul Louis B. Mayer demanded that Haines enter into a fake marriage with a woman to preserve his public image, Haines refused, choosing loyalty to Shields over career.  Haines reportedly said to Mayer, “I’ll give up Jimmie when you give up your wife!”  As a result, Mayer effectively blackballed him from Hollywood, ending his film career.  Undeterred, Haines went on to become a successful interior designer with Shields, remaining a beloved figure in Hollywood’s social circles and a quiet icon of gay resilience.  

Gladys Bentley was a groundbreaking performer during the Harlem Renaissance, known for her powerful blues singing and bold gender expression. As an openly lesbian African American woman, Bentley challenged social norms by wearing men's tuxedos and incorporating risqué, gender-bending lyrics into her performances. She gained fame performing in Harlem's speakeasies, particularly at venues like the Clam House, where her commanding stage presence and witty improvisations captivated audiences. Bentley’s music and persona made her a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance, representing both artistic innovation and early LGBTQ+ visibility in an era of both cultural flourishing and racial segregation. 

Germany, also emerged as a hotspot for the gay rights movement.  During the progressive years of Weimar Germany (1919–1933), the gay rights movement gained unprecedented visibility and momentum, building on the earlier advocacy of Karl Ulrichs, one of the first public proponents of homosexual rights. Berlin in particular became home to vibrant gay communities, with nightclubs, publications, and support networks flourishing despite the continued criminalization of male homosexuality under Paragraph 175 of the German Penal Code. A key figure in this movement was Magnus Hirschfeld, a pioneering sexologist and outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights, who founded the Institute for Sexual Science in 1919. The Institute offered medical, psychological, and legal support to sexual minorities and was a symbol of the era’s liberalism. However, this progress was violently halted with the rise of the Nazis, who viewed homosexuality as a threat to their ideology. In 1933, the Nazis raided and looted the Institute for Sexual Science, and in a notorious act of cultural repression, they publicly burned its archives and books, signaling a brutal crackdown on gay rights and the return to state-enforced persecution.

Regardless of resistance from the dominant culture at the time, a self-conscious gay rights movement was forming and asserting itself, no matter the setbacks.  In the social ferment following World War II, the movement would grow and become more self-assertive.