EDITORIAL

WE MEMBERS and friends of the Mattachine Society are the spearhead of a movement which is to gain momentum in the coming years. We are the avant garde of one of the final struggles for the liberation of the human spirit from social inequality and outright declasament.

Our avowed task to ameliorate inter-relationship between homosexuals and the general public, through education and favorable social contact, is an effort of supreme significance. Though we are still crawling, the important thing to remember is that a beginning has been made.

The great battles for human freedom stand before us in a radiant aura of history and universal approbation. Time has graced the outlaws of the past, the rebels who questioned the validity of certain laws and decrees.

We are a small organization but our work is no less important than the other noteworthy landmarks in the dissolvement of human injustice. None of us need feel that we lack the ability to do our part in furthering the effectiveness of the Mattachine Movement. Our presence at meetings and functions of the organization, especially those of a public nature, are vital if we are to make any headway.

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If we are aspiring for recognition from the public, we must earn it by dispelling erroneous or lopsided conceptions of the homo-

· sexmal. How can we best do this? Certainly not by isolating ourselves among our own kind. We must place ourselves before the eyes of the public in a positive and constructive way. Our monthly dinners and discussion meetings afford a splendid opportunity for this necessary contact. Every time we conduct such a meeting with dignity and propriety, we chip a small fragment off the great wall of intolerance. Whenever we, as individuals, conduct ourselves in an irreproachable manner, we are reducing the great pyramid of prejudice and misunderstanding by a small fraction. Remember that countless rivulets can make an Amazon or a Nile.

We need all our members and friends at our functions. If we are casual and lukewarm toward our own programs, how can we expect our movement to be successful? The importance of our work can easily be underestimated in the monotonous and repetitious but necessary duties. It is easy-almost natural for us to allow ourselves to become lethargic. But we must always hold before us the awareness that what we are doing is not without social and historical significance. We are the vanguard of a movement that will someday widen and strengthen Democracy in the world.

We can each help immeasurably by our participation in Mattachine's projects-by our presence at meetings, by acquainting new people with our cause, by our writing and publishing articles, and by our financial support. The plight of the homosexual can be removed if we but will it and work for it. And the individual homosexual himself can wield a valuable influence toward that end. ..Los Angeles Mattachine Newsletter, January 1957 letter

Mattachine REVIEW

VOLUME III

MARCH 1957

NUMBER 3

CONTENTS

OBSCENITY LAW MAKES COURT CBNSORS OF ART, LITERATURE.. ACLU STAND ON HOMOSEXUALITY.......

SEX IN HISTORY, Book Review by Robert Kirk. CORY BOOK SERVICE REACTIVATED.

REPORT TO SUBSCRIBERS.

SEIZED FOR MURDER OF CHICAGO BOYS. SEX OFFENDERS AND SOCIAL PUNISEMENT.

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The REVIEW is published monthly (for subscribers only) by the for Mattachine Society, Inc., Los Angeles 53, Calif., a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in the public interest the purpose of providing true and accurate information toward the solution of problems of human sex behavior, particularly those of the homosexual adult. The REVIEW is available on many newsstands in the U.S. (six alternate-month issues per year). SUBSCRIPTIONS: In the U.S., Canada and Mexico, $2.50 per year: All other countries, $3.50 per year. All Single copies, 50c. copies mailed first class sealed in plain envelope.

be OFFICE OF PUBLICATION: (to which all communications should addressed): 693 Mission St., San Francisco 5, Calif. Telephone EXbrook 7-0773.

Third Year of Publication

MATTACHINE REVIEW is published monthly (for subscribers only) by the Mattachine Society, Inc.. Room 312. 693 Mission Street. San Francisco 5. California. Entire contents copyrighted and may not be reproduced without permission.