Come Out! Magazine, 1969-1972

Under Construction

Come Out! was the first periodical published by the gay and lesbian community after the Stonewall riots in June, 1969. The Gay Liberation Front, one of the first militant activist (socialist?) organizations birthed by the riots, published Come Out! from their base in New York City.

True to many activist groups, the GLF had a manifesto:

"Gay Liberation Front is a coalition of radical and revolutionary homosexual men and women committed to fight the oppression of the homosexual as a minority group, and to demand the right to the self-determination of our own bodies." [GLF News, # 11 (1970?)]

The Front's manifesto reflects the paradigm change within the gay rights movement. Prior to Stonewall, gay and lesbian groups primarily existed separate from each other, and were primarily either all male and all female. GLF recognized the importance of joining the two groups to fight a common foe.

Come Out! aligns itself politically and critically with the feminist/women's/lesbian movements occurring contemporaneously, moving away from specifically male- and female- oriented gay serials that preceded it (The Ladder for women, the newsletters of the various incarnations of the Mattachine Society). The publication also includes transsexual and transvestite liberation issues.

The title is the publication's main goal, and the main goal of the GLF - to get gay men and women to come out, to make themselves visible. Come Out! features great firsthand accounts of marches and rallies that capture the spirit of the movement. For those familiar with the gay rights movement, Stonewall is probably the most oft-told story. Come Out! has some great accounts of what happened after.

CLAGS was fortunate to receive a donation of the entire run of Come Out! from Perry Brass, one of the publishers of the magazine. Links to each issue are below.

NOTE: We are not in possession of Volume 1, Issue 6.

Come Out! Issue 1 cover page