User:Moni3/Sandbox1/Workspace6

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin are writers, feminists, and LGBT activists who have worked since the 1950s to direct attention to their causes. After meeting and moving in together, they were responsible for helping to create the Daughters of Bilitis, that became a the first national organization for lesbians and lasted for fourteen years. The Daughters of Bilitis published The Ladder, and Lyons and Martin both served as editors, in a magazine that became the first national publication for lesbians in the US, running from 1956 to 1972. Martin and Lyons also joined in the National Organization of Women, and Martin served as the first open lesbian in NOW's board of directors. They became active in San Francisco politics, helping to found the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club in 1972, as well as the Lesbian Lobby and the San Francisco Feminist Democrats. They have authored several books individually and together.


Contents

[edit] Phyllis Lyon

Phyllis Lyon was born on November 10, 1924 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but grew up in San Francisco.

Lyon majored in journalism at the University of California at Berkeley and wrote for The Daily Californian

[edit] Del Martin

Del Martin was born as Dorothy Taliaferro in San Francisco on May 5, 1921, and raised by her mother, a waitress, and her stepfather. She discovered journalism in junior high school and contributed to the student section of the San Francisco Chronicle. She was particularly inspired when she was allowed to watch election returns in the newsroom, feeling called to a path that combined journalism and politics.

[edit] Meeting and relationship

After Martin's divorce, she was hired as an editor of a trade journal in 1950, where Lyon also worked. Lyon recalled that Martin made an impression for being a woman who had obtained a divorce. "I remembered Del when she first arrived at the office, an attractive, short, stocky woman with dark hair wearing a gabardine suit, heels, and carrying a briefcase. It was the latter that caught my attention — I had never seen a woman carry a briefcase before.[1] Lyon, who wrote that she had no idea about lesbians, became friends with Martin soon after meeting her. Martin came out to Lyon and another colleague, and Lyon was intrigued. In 1952, when Lyon left to take a driving tour of the US with her sister, she began to call Martin on the road when she discovered she missed her. Upon Lyon's return, Martin asked her to move in with her, but Lyon hesitated. Agreeing to move to San Francisco, they found an apartment in the Castro District and began living together on February 14, 1953.

Many years later, Lyon and Martin recalled how they learned to live together in 1953. "We really only had problems our first year together. Del would leave her shoes in the middle of the room, and I'd throw them out the window," said Lyon, to which Martin responded, "You'd have an argument with me and try to storm out the door. I had to teach you to fight back."[2] Martin was employed, but Lyon was not. They decided to become partners in a restaurant with a gay couple. The restaurant was sold soon, but the couple introduced them to a few other women who wished to start a secret social club for lesbians, that eventually became the Daughters of Bilitis.[3]

On February 12, 2004, Martin and Lyon were married at City Hall in San Francisco, after mayor Gavin Newsom allowed the city to marry couples regardless of sex.[4] They had spent 51 years together the day they got married.

[edit] Activism

[edit] Daughters of Bilitis

[edit] National Organization of Women

[edit] San Francisco politics

[edit] Writing career

  • Battered Wives
  • Lesbian/Woman

"This book is an excellent view of the humanity, history, and politics of lesbian women."[5]

  • The Male Batterer

[edit] Aging

[edit] Retirement

[edit] Legacy

George Washington High School Alumni Hall of Merit in 1990 as an open lesbian

[edit] Relevant reading

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bullough, p. 162
  2. ^ Hull, Anne. "Just Married, After 51 Years Together; Activist Gay Couple Accepts Leading Role." The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: Feb 29, 2004. p. A.01.
  3. ^ Bullough, p. 163
  4. ^ National Organization of Women Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Make History Again. NOW website. Retrieved on January 7, 2007
  5. ^ Potter, Jessie (1973). "Lesbian Woman, Review." The Journal of Sex Research 9 (2) p. 181.

[edit] External links