Author: evanbrechtel

Sagarin was born in 1913. He married his wife in the 30’s and worked in the perfume and cosmetics industry.

But he led a double life. Under the pseudonym Donald Webster Cory, Sagarin published “The Homosexual in America” in 1951 which earned him the reputation as “Father of the Homophile Movement.” It was one of the first publications in the US to not only discuss homosexual political causes and action, but to stand staunchly in support of us. He said, “The only homosexual problem that exists is the one created by heterosexual society.” The book sold thousands of copies, though hardly anyone read it in public.

If the Kinsey report showed gays of the era the scope of our numbers, “The Homosexual in America” rallied them. It’s undoubtable that the information and calls to action in the book helped advance the cause, however Sagarin didn’t advance with it.

Sagarin (as Cory) was a member of the Mattachine Society, and a conservative one at that. The group reached a divide and Sagarin was on the wrong side of it. Fellow Mattachine member Frank Kameny said to them in a speech, “The entire homophile movement is going to stand or fall upon the question of whether homosexuality is a sickness, and upon our taking a stand on it.” We know that this is exactly what happened and we began advancing leaps and bounds faster as society began to relinquish the idea that we are mentally ill. However, at the time, Sagarin was against Mattachine taking the position that homosexuality was not an illness or maldevelopment. He threatened to leave the organization if it took that position, to which Kameny replied: “You have become no longer the rigorous Father of the Homophile Movement, to be revered, respected, and listened to, but the senile Grandfather of the Homophile Movement, to be humored and tolerated at best, to be ignored and disregarded usually; and to be ridiculed, at worst.”

Sagarin remained closeted all his life.

Edith Windsor was a queer rights activist who fought for us long before United States v. Windsor would solidify her legacy in our community. She met her partner and eventual wife Thea Spyer in 1963. In 1969, they arrived back in New York from a trip to Italy on the second day of the Stonewall Riots. After that, they began attending marches and Windsor would lend her Cadillac to queer rights organizations.

When Thea died, Windsor was demanded to pay over 300k in estate taxes because, under Section III of the Defense of Marriage Act, “marriage” was defined as a union between one man and one woman. The US didn’t recognize their marriage as legitimate and therefore Windsor couldn’t benefit from the estate tax exemption that surviving spouses in straight marriages enjoyed. Windsor took our country’s ass all the way up to the Supreme Court, where they found that “The federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and to injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity.” (Interestingly enough, this decision was written by Justice Anthony Kennedy who also authored the decision in the bakery case today).

I met Edith Windsor by chance in a theatre lobby one night. Needless to say, she wasn’t surprised when a teary-eyed gay came up and asked to hug her. I first saw her from a distance at my first Pride Parade (and the very first after the DOMA ruling). She was grand marshal and waved joyously to the crowd from a Cadillac Convertible—presumably the same treasured one she’d lent to queer organizations after Stonewall. Edie died in September 2017.

Keep in mind, y’all. We’ve been swaying the courts for generations. We may have moments of defeat, but we are collectively, ultimately irrepressible.