變異的性行為

美國“同志與拉拉權利”的鬥士

美國同性性取向的男性和女性的處境如果不是更糟的話，也與德國的處境相同。通過無數的個人數十年的鬥爭之後，他們才能夠獲得性少數的地位。其中重要的先驅如上圖。

從左自右：①亨利·戈博 （Henry Gerber，1892-1972），生於巴伐利亞[1]，第一次世界大戰前移民美國。受到自馬格納斯·赫希菲爾德在德國的同性戀運動的啟發後，他於1924年在芝加哥創建了美國第一個”同志權利“組織——人權協會（the Society for Human Rights）。該協會出版了時事通訊《友誼與自由》（Friendship and Freedom），但是，翌年就被當局關閉。②海瑞·海（Harry Hay，1912-2002），英裔美國人，激進主義人士，與朋友一起創建了邁特什基金會（Mattachine Foundation），隨後於1950年在洛杉磯創建了馬特蕊協會（Mattachine Society），後者是美國更為成功的“同志權利”組織。“馬特蕊”這個名字取自法國中世紀的一個舞劇團，該劇團的舞蹈演員帶著面具表演。1953年，該組織開始出版《單一性雜誌》（One Magazine）和在1955年出版《馬特蕊評論》（the Mattachine Review）。③ 菲利斯·里昂 （Phyllis Lyon，1924-）和④黛爾·馬丁（Del Martin，1921-），定居于三藩市，於1955年創建了美國第一個女同性戀者組織“比利蒂斯傳承者”（The Daughters of Bilitis）。翌年，該組織發行自己的雜誌《抽絲》（The Ladder）[2]。“比利蒂斯”這個名稱取自法國作家皮埃爾·魯易（Pierre Louys）的作品《比利蒂斯之歌》（The Songs of Bilitis，1894），為魯易想像性地從古希臘女詩人和社會抗爭者莎孚的歌曲聯唱曲目翻譯而成。

Sexual Minorities: 1. Gays and Lesbians 2

Fighters for "Gay and Lesbian Rights" in the USA
The situation of American homosexual males and females was just as bad, if not worse, than that of their German counterparts. They were able to achieve minority status only after many decades of struggle by countless individuals. Some important pioneers are shown here.

From the left: 1. Henry Gerber (1892-1972), born in Bavaria, immigrated to the US before WW I. Inspired by Magnus Hirschfeld’s attempts in Germany, he founded the first American “gay rights” organization in 1924 in Chicago - the Society for Human Rights. It published a newsletter Friendship and Freedom, but was closed down by the authorities the following year. 2. Harry Hay (1912-2002), a British-born American activist, together with some friends, founded the Mattachine Foundation, later Mattachine Society in Los Angeles in 1950, the second, more successful “gay rights” organization in the United States. The name “Mattachine” referred to a troupe of French medieval dancers who performed with masks over their faces. In 1953, the organization began to publish One Magazine and in 1955 the Mattachine Review. 3. Phyllis Lyon (b. 1924) and Del Martin (b. 1921), living in San Francisco, founded the first lesbian organization in the US - The Daughters of Bilitis in 1955. In the following year, the organization started its own journal – The Ladder. The name “Bilitis” was taken from a work by the French author Pierre Louys, The Songs of Bilitis (1894) supposedly translated from a song cycle by an ancient Greek poetess and rival of Sappho.

Homosexual males had never enjoyed equal rights in the US because of the American “sodomy laws”. In addition, both male and homosexual females were considered mentally ill by psychiatrists, and the religious leaders condemned them as sinners. However, in spite of this triple handicap, the tireless work of a few and later many individuals eventually succeeded in organizing a “gay and lesbian community” that won recognition as an oppressed minority. (The word “gay” - merry, happy or colorful - gradually acquired the additional meaning of “homosexual” in 20th century American slang. The word “lesbian” refers to the island of Lesbos, home of the ancient Greek poetess Sappho who wrote love poems to her female students.)
 The American “gay rights” struggle inspired similar movements in many other countries. Adopting the same slogans and political tactics, some of these movements achieved at least some of their goals and, in a few cases, were even more successful than their American models. Finally, in 1973, the American Psychiatric Association revised its diagnostic handbook and removed homosexuality from its list of diseases, and in 2003 the US Supreme Court ruled that the sodomy laws were unconstitutional. In the meantime, several Christian and Jewish religious leaders had also begun to accept gays and lesbians as full members of their communities. Nevertheless, even today not all demands for equal rights have been met, and the general picture remains spotty: In some large American cities, most of the former social discrimination has disappeared, but it persists in large parts of the country.