Behind the Mask of the Mattachine: The Hal Call Chronicles and the Early Movement for Homosexual Emancipation

by Dececco; John

• ISBN13: 9781560231868
• ISBN10: 1560231866
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-11-07
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Take a revealing look at gay sex and gay history--and the man who helped kick-start gay activism in today's society The Mattachine is the origin of the contemporary American gay movement. One of the major players in this movement was Hal Call, America's first openly gay journalist and the man most responsible for the end of government censorship of frontal male nude photography through the mail. Behind the Mask of the Mattachine: The Early Movement for Homosexual Emancipation, the Hal Call Chronicles travels back to the times before Stonewall and its aftermath, to the beginnings of the modern homosexual movement and the lesser-known individuals who started it. This stunning chronicle boldly goes beyond the standard whitewashed/desexualized history usually provided by other gay historians, to give the unexpurgated--and sexually charged--history of the activists who organized homosexuals, using the biography of the controversial Hal Call as its springboard. Behind the Mask of the Mattachine provides a revealing illustration of gay life and gay sex in the past through an intergenerational history of the early gay men's movement. Noted author James T. Sears generously weaves oral history, seldom seen historical documents, and rare photographs to provide a rich behind-the-scenes look at the first wave of Mattachine activists and the emerging gay pornography industry. This historical chronicle of a previously neglected era is packed with details of Call's personal struggles, his celebration of the phallus, and his assertion linking homophobia and heteronormativity to our culture's sex-negative tradition. The reader is transported to the sexual underworld of youthful hustlers, porno kingpins, spurned lovers, sex clubs, cruising grounds, secretive societies, and personal in-fighting over the direction of gay activism. This enthralling narrative is impeccably referenced. Behind the Mask of the Mattachine examines: the origins of the Mattachine Society the Mattachine Foundation of Harry Hay and others of the Fifth Order” the Weimar Republic in Germany--the roots of the modern homosexual movement networking of homosexuals through correspondence clubs and speakeasies in Depression-era America the intense rivalries between San Francisco and New York City Mattachine groups censorship of books, magazines, and films much more! The book explores the lives of three generations of pre-Stonewall gay activists: Magnus Hirschfeld and Benedikt Friedländer Henry Gerber and Manual boyFrank Harry Hay and Hal Call Behind the Mask of the Mattachine is not only candid about gay sex and its impact on society but also puts a needed spotlight on a time in lesser-known gay history. This is important, illuminating reading for historians and gay persons interested in the undeniably sexually charged history of the early gay men's movement. Take a look at these other James T. Sears books on LGBT issues: Growing Up Gay in the South online at http://www.haworthpress.com/store/product.asp?sku=0502 and Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Issues in Education online at http://www.haworthpress.com/store/product.asp?sku=5180

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Vern Bullough
Foreword	xiii
Jack Nichols
Preface	xix
Acknowledgments	xxi
Introduction: Logos, Eros, and Psyche	1	(14)
SECTION I: RELATIONSHIPS
Who Was Hal Call?	15	(4)
The Final Visit	19	(8)
In a Dream	27	(10)
Q&A	37	(6)
SECTION II: FOUNDATIONS
German Roots	43	(10)
Boyhood	53	(10)
Egos and Eros	63	(10)
Making Contacts	73	(10)
Three-Cornered Conversation	83	(20)
War Buddies	103	(10)
The Fifth Order	113	(8)
Letters Home	121	(10)
Coming Out	131	(16)
SECTION III: MATTACHINE (1950-1953)
Organizing in the Bay Area	147	(14)
Cracks in the Foundation	161	(18)
Conventional Wisdom	179	(12)
Chuck and Gerry	191	(6)
Conflict Across the Bay	197	(4)
On the Edge of Midnight	201	(12)
The ``Unravelment of Dreams''	213	(10)
Q&A II	223	(6)
Mattachine Melee	229	(16)
Gerry's Farewell	245	(12)
Moments in Time	257	(18)
SECTION IV: SEXUALITIES
1973: Theater of the Absurd	275	(10)
1964-1965: Our Man Flint	285	(10)
1954: Pan-Graphic	295	(16)
1985: Sexual Rebels	311	(16)
2000: Harold and Hal	327	(8)
1956: Fear and Respectability	335	(20)
1957: Game of Fools	355	(30)
January 28, 1958: Hal's Turn	385	(4)
1958: Bitchery-Butchery	389	(24)
1959: Calling Shots, Dispelling Darkness, Going Public	413	(20)
2006: A Candid Conversation Across Gay Generations	433	(20)
1960: Verboten	453	(18)
1960: A House Divided	471	(30)
1961: The Rejected	501	(16)
1967: The Furtive Fraternity	517	(20)
The Mask of Desire	537	(8)
Index	545