An e.mail I received from Doris Shane …
"I was Googling my name and came across Chicago Whispers, June 12, 2002. You had snap shots in time of June 1979. I am Doris Shane. So much took place in '79 and '80. There were the raids on the bars, marches on City Hall, meetings with the Mayor, rallies for Human Rights, hearings in both the City Council and State Legislative bodies on Human Rights and the community working together like never before. Leathermen marching side-by-side with women from the Lesbian Community Center, gays and lesbians from all walks of life coming out to be seen and heard. We stood up and spoke out about the police raids and beatings, about unfair housing practices, about losing jobs because of our orientation, about so much more.
"We took bus loads of people to Springfield and filled the gallery to hear those of us who testified before the Committee on Human Rights. I was the last to speak. I remember the cheers as I finished speaking. We worked together to educate people wherever we could.
"I was co-chair with Jimmy Flint of Gays and Lesbians for Action, and Chairman of the Entertainment Committee for the Gay Pride Parade. I, like so many others, became involved after the raids on Carol's and the beating of some of the men in the bars. I believed in the premise of the theme song for the 1981 Gay Pride Party, "You Have Nothing to Hide, You Have Nothing to Lose."
"That was the year that I lost my job as Director of Respiratory Care at Edgewater Hospital because of my lifestyle. I was out and loud, but nice. As I soon found out, I did not have a legal leg to stand on. I was 'Black Balled' within a 75-mile radius of Chicago. I could not find a position in my field, so I moved to Miami Beach in 1981.
"Life in Florida has been good to me. I have a lover of 12 years, a beautiful home near the ocean, a great position in healthcare as Vice President where I am as far out as one can be, and great friends.
"Was it worth it? Hell yes! You must stand up for what you believe in and never be ashamed of who you are! I have the respect of my business associates and friends, the love of my partner and the knowledge that I made a difference! Thanks for awakening the memories."
Did you know …
That between 1673-1677 French explorer, Fr. Jacques Marquette, noticed that young men among the Native Americans of Illinois dressed as women from an early age, never married, and glorified in "demeaning themselves to do everything that the women do."
In 1702, French explorer Pierre Liette had a four-year sojourn in the Chicago area during which he noticed that "the sin of sodomy" prevailed among the Miami Indians, and that some men were bred from childhood for this purpose.
During the Civil War many women served as men. One Illinois example was Jennie Hodgers, who served as Albert D.J. Cashier. He/she was granted a pension and retired to a soldier's home. After his/her accidental death in 1911, an autopsy revealed her true sex, much to the consternation of many. Another Illinois woman soldier was Frances Hook who enlisted as Frank Miller and was captured by the Confederates.
Also during that war, a nickname for someone from Illinois was 'Sucker.' As such, one of the marching songs of an Illinois regiment was "We Are the Gay and Happy Suckers From The State of Illinois."
In 1889, Dr. G. Frank Lydston delivered a lecture to the Chicago College of Physicians and Surgeons stating that "sexual perversion" had "social, legal and medical importance." He indicated that up until then it had only been treated as a moral issue. Among his observations: "There is in every community of any size a colony of male sexual perverts: they are usually known to each other and are likely to congregate together." Also: "Sexual perversion is more frequent in the male; women usually fall into perverted sexual habits for the purpose of pandering to the depraved tastes of their patrons ... "
Noting the emergence of establishments which catered to such "perverts," Dr. Lydston stated that if the names of the patrons of such places in Chicago were made known, a major scandal would ensue.
In 1893, Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, pioneer German sexologist and homosexual emancipation leader, visited Chicago. He used descriptions of what he saw in the Chicago homosexual community in his 1914 major work Homosexuality in Men and Women. Generally, Hirschfeld found homosexual life "somewhat more hidden" in the United States than in Europe.
In 1894, Chicago professor of legal psychiatry, Dr. James G. Kiernen, asserted in journal articles that the incidence of homosexuality in women is as great as in men. The prevailing view at the time was that there was a greater incidence among males. Keirnen's recommended treatment for such women, so that they might keep their feelings under control, were "cold sitz baths ... ( and ) a course of intellectual training."
Some of the above is from the Gerber/Hart Library Timeline and some is from my own research.
Future historians take note: The memory section in this column contains just that...memories...and are only to be used as a starting point for your research. Send your stories to Sukie de la Croix at Windy City Times. You can leave a message on his voicemail at ( 773 ) 871-7610. He interviews over the phone, in person, or e-mail sukiedelacroix@ozhasspoken.com
