The Mattachine Review, 1960 - 1963

Founded by Harry Hay in Los Angeles, California, on 11 November 1950. It is considered to be part of the Homophile Movement. The name Mattachine comes from a 15th-century all-male secret fraternity. Because of the McCarthy Era, membership lists were not kept. The organization initially took on such political issues as police entrapment, but the McCarthy Era witch hunts moderated the group, so it became nonconfrontational. A 1953 membership convention led by the moderate conservative faction, which included Marilyn Reiger and Pearl Hart, resulted in MS becoming “accommodationist,” and the founders forced resignations, a separation from the Communists, and an end to political actions. In 1955, the group began publishing the Mattachine Review. Chapters were opened in Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. These chapters were more political than the national organization, and they remained active after the national Mattachine Society disbanded in 1961. (Meyers, 2013).