Daughters of Bilitis
First lesbian group
Daughters of Bilitis was the first lesbian civil rights organization in the United States, founded in San Francisco in 1955.
The name comes from Pierre Louÿs's poetry collection *Songs of Bilitis*, which depicted love between women in ancient Greece—an oblique reference that provided cover in an era of intense persecution.
The organization published *The Ladder*, an influential lesbian newsletter, and advocated for acceptance through education and assimilation rather than confrontation.
It dissolved in 1970 amid tensions between lesbian separatists and those aligned with the broader women's movement.
- lesbianWoman desiring women
- homophileSupporter of same-sex attraction
- San FranciscoNorthern California metropolis
- 1955Mid-twentieth century year
- gay rightsEqual treatment regardless of orientation
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- lesbian culturelesbian, lesbianism, sapphic, wlw, lesbian culture
- LGBTQ historyStonewall riots, gay liberation, Harvey Milk, pride movement, gay rights movement
- SapphicSappho, lesbian, Lesbos, wlw, queer