1972

February 14th, 1972

The Indiana Daily Student agreed with Representative Paul McCloskey’s recommendation that all laws forbidding homosexual relationships between consenting adults should be repealed. The IDS’s opinion was that the government should not make laws based on morality and that there are plenty of “heads” and “gays” at IU that feel like criminals. The IDS said that people can tolerate varying lifestyles however; they did not believe homosexual behavior should be condoned.

Fields, Bob. “‘Heads,’ ‘Gays’ and Politics.” Indiana Daily Student, February 14, 1972.

February 13th, 1972 In order to cut down gay activity, IU had the doors removed from the stalls of bathrooms specifically, male restrooms. The next step university officials were thinking of taking was to have “inspectors” in front of the bathrooms monitor the men who came in. In the IDS editorial the author creates a dialogue between an inspector and a student asking him “queer questions.” The article mocks the university and is satirical.

Beckham, Ward. “Bathroom Police Needed.” Indiana Daily Student, February 23, 1972.

March 6th, 1972

A Yale professor speaks at IU about “The Sexual Concerns of Youth.” The professor spoke of his human sexuality course in which he discussed “sex problems,” which may have included homosexuality although; it was not stated in the article.

Olsen, Debbie. “Prof Explains Yale’s Sex Course.” Indiana Daily Student, March 6, 1972.

April 7th, 1972

This article discusses sex education in the Bloomington area including the Monroe County School District and IU. In the article it said the teachers who teach sex education courses need to know how liberal they are about homosexuality because they would have to address that topic during their course.

Olsen, Debbie. “People Are Sexual Beings: Faber.” Indiana Daily Student, April 7, 1972.

April 27th, 1972

The Institute for Sex Research offered its third Summer Program in Human Sexuality which included lectures on “homosexual relations.”

Olsen, Debbie. “Sexuality Workshop Offered.” Indiana Daily Student, April 27, 1972.

August 22nd, 1972

The course “Human Sexuality” began in the fall of the 1972-1973 school year. Aside from the one lecture per week there were to be two discussion sections during which students examined theories and identified feelings about their own sexuality. In each discussion there was to be one male and one female Associate Instructor who were sensitive to possible problems students might identify about their sexuality.

Indiana Daily Student, “Class to Study Sexuality,” August 22, 1972.

August 30th, 1972

The Gay Liberation Front, which was created in 1970, also developed the Gay Women’s Liberation Front. Although the group had expected opposition from the college and Bloomington community, there was little oppression or hassling. Senior Dale Mitchell, the student senator on the Gay Revolutionary Party, was not very supportive of the Gay Liberation Front because he believed “It should decide whether it is a social or political organization.” One of the Gay Liberation Front’s leaders, Wilson Allen, said the organization was no longer going to try to make a strong political statement, but rather just exist for those who were “out” and have a presence on campus.

Stafford, Harold. “Gay Liberation: Political Focus Changing.” Indiana Daily Student, August 30, 1972.

October 14th, 1972

The IDS reviews the movie “Deep Throat” [Should be Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask] a film created by Woody Allen. The film includes the topics of sodomy between a man and a sheep, frigidity, perversion (fetishes) and transvestism. The IDS reviewer, however, did not enjoy these topics that were discussed in the film.

Bourne, Mark. “Movies Say Sex Is Fun.” Indiana Daily Student, October 14, 1972.

December 9th, 1972

Peter Fisher and Mark Rubin of the New York City Gay Activist Alliance spoke to a crowd of 125 people in Woodburn Hall. They performed original poetry and music which drew from their experiences of being “homosexual lovers” and they discussed their view of the myths and facts of same-sex relationships. During their performance Fisher cited Alfred Kinsey’s study which said 10 percent of the American population is homosexual.

Keller, Susan. “Homosexual Myths Dispelled.” Indiana Daily Student, December 9, 1972.