Gay zap
How Gay Activists Challenged the Politics of Civility
From pie-throwing to shouting down general figures, these groups disturbed the establishment to outcome change
On April 13, 1970, New York Mayor John Lindsay and his wife arrived at the Metropolitan Opera House. It was opening night of the season, and Romeo Et Juliette was playing. The Republican mayor had no idea he was about to be ambushed by members of the newly formed Gay Activist Alliance (GAA). The protesters infiltrated the event, dressed in tuxedos as to mix in with the elite crowd, and shouted “End Police Harassment!” and “Gay Power!” Their pleas, aimed at the mayor, rang through the packed lobby. Despite the headlines made a year earlier during the Stonewall riots, Lindsay had refused to enact a city-wide anti-discrimination ordinance. Gay rights activists would continue to confront him in public over the next two years, demonstrating up to boo, stomp shout, and rush the stage at his weekly television show tapings.
In 1972, in response to the unrelenting pressure, Lindsay at last signed an executive order prohibiting city agencies from discriminating against employment candidates based on sexual orientation.
From its incep
Gay Activists Alliance Zap at the West Side YMCA
History
The West Side YMCA on West 63rd Avenue near Central Park, prefer many other YMCAs nationally, had a reputation as a popular lodging and recreation option for gay men. Among the famous names who stayed there, according to the Y’s archives, were Tennessee Williams, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, and Jack Kerouac. It was listed, along with the Sloane House YMCA on West 34th Highway, in the Guild Guide (a gay guide) published in 1971. The facility’s director, however, announced that year a policy of rejecting patrons there for “homosexual practices.” He later admitted that their files contained some 1,000 cases over the past 15 years. This Y instituted regular room checks and residents were evicted if homosexual literature or other “evidence” was establish. The number of visitors per room was monitored, and a rule was adopted that a resident’s door must be kept unwrap if he had a visitor after 9:00 p.m. This Y also employed informers and installed two-way mirrors in the basement bathroom.
After receiving complaints about the West Side YMCA, the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) planned a zap for Friday, August 6
Gay Activists Alliance Zap at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
History
On April 13, 1970, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was celebrating its 100th anniversary. Mayor John V. Lindsay was invited to participate in a morning ceremony on the front steps that also inaugurated the new fountain in front of the museum. The Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) was furious over the police raid at the Snake Pit on March 8, and had been trying without victory to engage the mayor over the issues of police harassment of, and job discrimination against, the LGBT community. GAA decided to confront Lindsay at the museum in its first public zap. (See our curated theme for background on the “zap” tactic.)
Arthur Evans, GAA member, c. 2004
Marty Robinson briefly interrupted Lindsay’s museum speech, but was pulled away by police. After the ceremony, the mayor was handed a GAA flyer, and GAA president Jim Owles said to him, “You have our note. Now when the hell are you going to speak to homosexuals?” About fifteen GAA members with leaflets, including Arthur Bell, Arthur Evans, and Morty Manford, also managed to join the receiving
Gay Activists Alliance Zap at Fidelifacts
Richard Wandel (b. 1946)
Collection of Photographs of Gay Activists Alliance Zap at Fidelifacts
Gelatin silver prints, 1971
Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) was one of the major LGBTQ+ civil rights organizations that emerged in Modern York City after Stonewall, and soon spread to form chapters across the United States. GAA developed a range of tactics that became widespread in LGBTQ+ activism, including the “zap,” a tightly focused, media-centered, demonstration. In 1971 GAA zapped the background checking company Fidelifacts because they helped companies detect and discriminate against Queer job seekers. GAA insisted on protecting applicants’ rights to privacy as an essential civil right.
Holding Divison: Manuscripts and Archives Division, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Archival Collection: International Male lover Information Center collection. Photographs
Digital Collections: View Record
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