Shoulders to Stand On

Our History Is Our Strength

by Evelyn Bailey

From the very beginning of time, women have been viewed as the “weaker” sex. However, when you look at the women who wrote our history with their lives, they can hardly be identified as “weak”!

The women involved in the gay history of Rochester in the 1970s came out of a closeted frightened homosexual culture. Community meeting places consisted of bars that were commonly raided by police once a month on average, with those arrested exposed in newspapers.

Women Who Contributed to the Gay Rights Movement

by Evelyn Bailey

March is Women’s History Month.  We begin with a couple of local Rochestarians, and move on to those who are recognized nationally for their contribution to the gay rights movement.

Dr. Karen Hagberg is a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front at the University of Rochester (UR), precursor to the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley (GAGV).  Karen helped organize the first LGBT Dance at the UR and participated in the first public action for gay rights in Rochester.

A Lesbian Community

They called it a lesbian paradise, the pioneering women who made their way to St. Augustine, Fla., in the 1970s to live together in cottages on the beach. Finding one another in the fever of the gay rights and women’s liberation movements, they built a matriarchal community, where no men were allowed, where even a male infant brought by visitors was cause for debate.

The whole New York Times article can be read here.