Phyllis Lyon
1924-2020
Research Conducted By:
Early Life
Phyllis Lyon was a pioneer in the struggle for lesbian rights. She was born in 1924 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. When she was a young girl she moved to Northern California where she would spend the majority of her life.
Early Career
Lyon attended UC Berkeley where she was an editor for the Daily Californian. After graduating college she worked as a journalist for the Chico Enterprise, and an editor for Pacific Builder and Engineer.
Career
Phyllis Lyon and her partner Del Martin were instrumental in establishing social venues in which lesbians could create a sense of community. The Daughters of Bilitis was an organization that served as a lesbian community and activist group.
The Daughters Gather
Del Martin on the far right and Phyllis Lyon on the far left
Phyllis and Del
Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, circa 1953.
Activism Through Writing
As a journalist, writer, and editor, Lyon played a large role in publishing The Ladder. First published in 1956, it was the only lesbian magazine published in the U.S. 30 years later, Lyon and Martin wrote Lesbian/Woman. Lyon was able to be an activist with her skills as a writer.
Cover of the first edition of The Ladder.
Cover of Lyon and Martin's book, Lesbian/Woman.
Later Life and Career
"The pair never felt the need to get married, but they did it for the same reason they became domestic partners: to speak out." -USA Today on the marriage of Lyon and Martin.
In 2004, Lyon and Martin became the first lesbian couple to be legally married in San Francisco. This was a tremendous accomplishment for the LGBTQ community.
Lyon and Martin exchange rings.
Lyon and Martin in their later years.
Lyon and Martin as Grand Marshals of the 1989 International Lesbian and Gay Freedom Day Parade.
Sources
Carmel, Julia. “Phyllis Lyon, Lesbian Activist and Gay Marriage Trailblazer, Dies at 95.” The New York Times. The New York Times, April 10, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/obituaries/phyllis-lyon-dead.html.
Gallo, Marcia M. Different Daughters: A History of the Daughters of Bilitis and the Rise of the Lesbian Rights Movement. New York: Seal Press, 2007.
GLBT Historical Society, “Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Papers,” Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Papers - GLBT Historical Society, https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/glbt/12647
Johnson, Dianna Lee. “A Narrative Life Story of Activist Phyllis Lyon and Her Reflections on a Life with Del Martin.” Grand Valley State University, Masters Theses, 2012. https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1021&context=theses
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ladder_(magazine).
https://www.amazon.com/Lesbian-Woman-Del-Martin/dp/0553235974.
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