For the Australian Olympic swimmer, see Henry Hay. Henry (Harry) Hay (born circa 1890 -1900) was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1920s, who won a silver medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. ...

Harry Hay, April 1996, Anza-Borrego Desert, Radical Faeries Campout

Harry Hay (April 7, 1912, Worthing, England – October 24, 2002) was a leader of the gay rights movement in the United States, known for founding the Mattachine Society in 1950 and the Radical Faeries in 1979. He was raised as a Catholic. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 276 × 598 pixelsFull resolution (334 × 724 pixel, file size: 84 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Personal Picture I took of Harry Hay 1996 Faerichiee 21:35, 7 April 2007 (UTC) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 276 × 598 pixelsFull resolution (334 × 724 pixel, file size: 84 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Personal Picture I took of Harry Hay 1996 Faerichiee 21:35, 7 April 2007 (UTC) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the... April 7 is the 97th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (98th in leap years). ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Worthing is a large town and a local government district in West Sussex, England. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 68 days remaining. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... The gay rights movement is a collection of loosely aligned civil rights groups, human rights groups, support groups and political activists seeking acceptance, tolerance and equality for non-heterosexual, (homosexual, bisexual), and transgender people - despite the fact that it is typically referred to as the gay rights movement, members also... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Radical Faerie community developed in America among Gay men during the 1970s sexual revolution. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ...

Hay was born in 1912 in the coastal town of Worthing, Sussex, England where he grew up until his parents emigrated to California in 1919. Starting in Los Angeles in 1950, Hay worked with a handful of supporters to found the Mattachine Society. At this time, nineteen years before the Stonewall riots, virtually no gays or lesbians were publicly out, it was illegal for homosexuals to gather in public, and the American Psychiatric Association defined homosexuality as a mental illness. Very slowly, he gathered members to this group. The Mattachine Society met in secret, with members often accompanied by a female friend to prevent being publicly identified as gay. Though Henry Gerber's gay rights group The Society for Human Rights had briefly flowered in Chicago twenty years earlier, it was quickly shut down by authorities. Hay's successful launching of a lasting national gay network makes him a plausible entry for the founder of the American gay rights movement. 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Worthing is a large town and a local government district in West Sussex, England. ... Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Nickname: Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: State California County Los Angeles County Incorporated April 4, 1850 Government  - Type Mayor-Council  - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa  - City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo  - Governing body City Council Area  - City  498. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... LGBT rights Around the world · By country History · Groups · Activists Declaration of Montreal Same-sex relationships Marriage · Adoption Opposition · Persecution Violence This box:      The Stonewall riots were a series of violent conflicts between New York City police officers and groups of gay and transgendered people that began on June 28... GAY can mean: Gay, a term referring to homosexual men or women The IATA code for Gaya Airport Category: ... A lesbian is a woman who is romantically and sexually attracted only to other women. ... The expression being in the closet has been used to describe keeping secret ones sexual behavior or orientation, most commonly homosexuality or bisexuality, but also including transgender and transsexual people, paedophiles, and pederasts. ... Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ... Due to the epidemic of medical errors, readers are cautioned to be aware that the American Psychiatric Association isnt immune to this. ... A mental illness or mental disorder refers to one of many mental health conditions characterized by distress, impaired cognitive functioning, atypical behavior, emotional dysregulation, and/or maladaptive behavior. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in Chicagoland and Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Cook & DuPage Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ...

Although Harry Hay claimed 'never to have even heard'^{[citation needed]} of the earlier gay liberation struggle in Germany - by the people around Adolf Brand, Magnus Hirschfeld and Leontine Sagan - he is known to have talked about it with European emigres in America including Mattachine co-founder Rudi Gernreich. (However, Gernreich arrived in America at age 14, and Hay had already written his gay manifesto when they met). Adolf Brand (1874-1945) was a German journalist and school teacher who began publishing the first German homosexual periodical, Der Eigene (The Special), in 1896. ... Magnus Hirschfeld in 1933 Magnus Hirschfeld (Kolberg, May 14, 1868 - Nice, May 14, 1935) was a prominent German-Jewish physician, sexologist, and gay rights advocate. ... Leontine Sagan (born Leontine Schlesinger, 1889 in Vienna, Austria , died 1974 in South Africa) was a German actress. ... Rudi Gernreich (1922-1985) was a fashion designer and gay activist. ...

A married man (beard/wife Anita Platky) and a member of the Communist Party USA, Hay composed the first manifesto of the American gay rights movement in 1948, writing: In gay slang, a beard is a female companion used to hide a gay mans sexuality by appearing in public as if she and the gay man were a heterosexual couple. ... The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) is a Marxist-Leninist political party in the United States. ...

We, the Androgynes of the world, have formed this responsible corporate body to demonstrate by our efforts that our physiological and psychological handicaps need be no deterrent in integrating 10 percent of the world's population towards the constructive social progress of mankind.^{[citation needed]}

He soon dispensed with the apologetic language and ideas. Though it may seem very dated today, the group was very radical compared to the rest of society at the time of its beginnings. It and Hay were among the first to advance the argument that gay people represented a "cultural minority" (see Queer culture) as well as being just individuals, and even called for public marches of homosexuals, predicting later gay pride parades. Hay's concept of the "cultural minority" came directly from his Marxist studies, and the rhetoric he and his colleague Charles Rowland employed often reflected the militancy of Communist tradition. As the Mattachine Society grew with chapters around the country, the organization saw the Communist ties of its founders, including Hay, as a threat during that McCarthyite witch-hunt era, and expelled them from leadership. The organization took a more cautious tack so that by the time of the Stonewall riots the Mattachine Society came to be seen by many as stodgy and assimilationist. See labrys, black triangle. ...

The Communist Party did not allow gays to be members, claiming that homosexuality was a 'deviation'; perhaps more important was the fear that a member's (usually secret) homosexuality would leave them open to blackmail and was a security risk in an era of red-baiting. Concerned to save the party difficulties, as he put more energy into the Mattachine Society, Hay himself approached the CP's leaders and recommended his own expulsion. However, after much soul-searching, the CP, clearly reeling at the loss of a respected member and theoretician of 18 years standing, refused to expel Hay, instead dropping him as a 'security risk' but ostentatiously announcing him to be a 'Lifelong Friend of the People'.[1] The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) is a Marxist-Leninist political party in the United States. ...

Hay later became an outspoken critic of gay assimilationism and went on to help found both Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition and the gay men's group the Radical Faeries, as well as being active in the Native American movements. Jesse Louis Jackson (born October 8, 1941) is an American politician, professional civil rights activist and Baptist minister. ... Jesse Jackson formed two non-profit organizations, Operation PUSH (People United To Serve Humanity) in 1971 and the National Rainbow Coalition in 1984. ... The Radical Faerie community developed in America among Gay men during the 1970s sexual revolution. ... Native Americans are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska. ...

"We pulled ugly green frog skin of heterosexual conformity over us, and that's how we got through school with a full set of teeth," Hay once explained. "We know how to live through their eyes. We can always play their games, but are we denying ourselves by doing this? If you're going to carry the skin of conformity over you, you are going to suppress the beautiful prince or princess within you."^{[citation needed]}

In the early 1980s Hay protested the exclusion of the North American Man Boy Love Association from participation in the LGBT movement. Though he was never a member of NAMBLA, he gave a number of speeches at its meetings, and in 1986 he marched in the Los Angeles Pride Parade, from which the organization had been banned, with a sign reading "NAMBLA walks with me." A NAMBLA logo. ...

One of his first male lovers in the early '30s was actor Will Geer, who found fame as "Grandpa Walton" on The Waltons. Hay later wrote about their political activism and how he and Geer were present at the San Francisco General Strike in July 1934. Hay, along with Roger Barlow and LeRoy Robbins directed a short film Even As You and I (1937) featuring Hay, Barlow, and filmmaker Hy Hirsh. Will Geer (born on March 9, 1902 in Frankfort, Indiana) was an American actor. ... Cover art for the DVD release of The Waltons first season. ... The 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike lasted eighty-three days, triggered a strike by sailors and a four-day general strike in San Francisco, and led to the unionization of all of the West Coast ports of the United States. ... Short subject is an American film industry term that historically has referred to any film in the format of two reels, or approximately 20 minutes running time, or less. ... See also: 1936 in film 1937 category:1937 films 1938 in film 1930s in film years in film film // Events April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US. May 7 - Shall We Dance premieres in the US. Top grossing films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Conquest Damaged Lives...

In 1963, at age 51, he met an inventor named John Burnside, who became his life partner. They lived first in Los Angeles, and later in a Pueblo Indian reserve in New Mexico. After returning to Los Angeles to organize the Radical Faerie movement with Don Kilhefner, the couple moved San Francisco, where Hay died of lung cancer at age 90. 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... John Lyon Burnside III was born November 2, 1916. ... The Zia symbol is on the New Mexico state flag. ... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Lung cancer is the malignant transformation and expansion of lung tissue, and is the most lethal of all cancers worldwide, responsible for 1. ...

Hay was the subject of the 2002 documentary by Eric Slade, "Hope along the Wind: The Life of Harry Hay" (2002). He also appeared in other documentaries such as "Word is Out" (1978).

References

• Bullough, Vern L., (ed.) Before Stonewall: Activists for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context (Harrington Park Press, 2002)
• Hay, Harry and Roscoe, Will, (ed.) Radically Gay: Gay Liberation in the Words of Its Founder (Boston: Beacon Press, 1996)

Further reading

• Timmons, Stuart, The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement (Alyson Publications, 1990)

External links

• Obituary
• On Important pre-Stonewall Activists
• Harry Hay: Painful Partings
• A collection of Hays' speechs in support of NAMBLA
• A Gay Conservative article critical of Hay
• Radical Faerie website
• Harry Hay at IMDB
• Hope Along the Wind: The Story of Harry Hay film's website
• Hope Along the Wind: The Story of Harry Hay at IMDB
• Even As You and I at IMDB

See Also

• RFD - Journal of The Radical Faerie Movement