Daughters of Bilitis

The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) was the first lesbian civil and political rights organization in the United States, founded in San Francisco in 1955 by Del Martin, Phyllis Lyon, and six other women. It began as a private social club where women could meet and dance away from bars, which were frequently raided by police. The name comes from a book of lesbian love poems, chosen so the group's purpose would not be obvious to outsiders. In 1956 the DOB launched The Ladder, the first nationally distributed lesbian publication in the country, and it carefully pushed for lesbian visibility and acceptance during a deeply repressive era. The national organization dissolved around 1970 as members moved toward the more radical feminist and gay liberation movements.