Same-Sex Sexuality in Western Women's History

Abstract

Same-Sex Sexuality in Western Women's History Nan Alamilla Boyd (bio) From the articulation of sexual desires to the construction of sexual communities, same-sex sexuality has played an important role in western women's history. However, same-sex sexuality has most often been understood in relation to gender rather than race or region. As part of a larger project on the history of San Francisco's lesbian and gay history, this essay attempts to link sex and sexuality to race and region.1 More specifically, I argue that San Francisco's contemporary lesbian and gay communities spring from a combination of historical factors including the city's vibrant tourist economy and its liberal judicial system. But how did expressions of same-sex sexuality transform individuals into a cohort of articulate and mobilized political actors? What was the means of political mobilization? How did San Francisco become a city widely known for the strength of its lesbian and gay community? The answers to these questions have much to do with gender, but they also resonate with other factors, such as the city's boom and bust economy, its history of vigilante law and order, its condensed and hilly terrain, its function as both a port city and a military stronghold, and finally, the tradition of sexualized and racialized entertainments that fueled the city's growing tourist economy. By way of example, let me tell you about a bar called Mona's. The bar opened in 1933 just after the repeal of prohibition as a beer and wine joint that was intended to be a hangout for writers and artists. Nightclub-style entertainment evolved as Mona Sargent encouraged her most popular waitresses to dress in drag and sing parodies of popular songs. As Sargent remembers, "The girls came in!" but the performances remained relatively informal until 1939, when Mona's moved from Columbus Avenue to 440 Broadway. There, Sargent beefed up the entertainment side of her business. She solicited lesbian entertainers from Los Angeles and New York and advertised their performances in [End Page 13] tourist magazines. Located at the center of San Francisco's entertainment district, Mona's 440 held a commanding presence: It was a real long room with a stage at the end of it. A big place. Typical nightclub kind of thing. You entered at the front and the bar was over at your left, hatcheck room at the end of the bar. Then a big arch and you entered what they called the show room in nightclubs in those days. There was a line of booths down one wall, then tables in where you could utilize space around the stage. And the stage was right in the center.2 Because Mona's 440 brought lesbian entertainment into the public eye, it generated attention both from queer patrons and the mainstream press. Entertainers at Mona's quickly became public property. Patrons speculated about their lives; journalists followed their activities; tourists had them pose for nightclub photos; and, in the process, several of Mona's entertainers became legendary figures around San Francisco. Perhaps the most important entertainer to appear at Mona's was African American performer Gladys Bentley. Advertised as "America's Great Sepia Piano Artist" and the "Brown Bomber of Sophisticated Songs," Bentley headlined at Mona's during the war years where she promised to provide "the same type of gay entertainment that has made the 440 Club famous."3 At Mona's, Bentley "packed her 250 pound frame into a tuxedo, flirted with women in her audience, and dedicated songs to her lesbian lover."4 Following a career in Harlem where she performed during the 1920s and 1930s at clubs such as the Clam House, Rockland Palace, and the Ubangi Club, Bentley moved to Los Angeles in 1937 to seek new opportunities.5 There, she performed at Joaquin's El Rancho on Vine Street until the local authorities prohibited her from wearing trousers during her act.6 Bentley landed in San Francisco in July 1942, and hotel magazines like San Francisco Life soon directed tourists her way: If you're looking for quiet, soothing music that will lull you to sleep, put a record on...