Gay Academic Union
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The Gay Academic Union (GAU) was a group of LGBT academics who aimed at making the academia more amenable to the LGBT community in the United States. It was formed in April 1973, just four years after the Stonewall riots, held 4 yearly conferences (the last in November, 1976) and conducted other scholarly activities. It disbanded some time after that.


History

Members included
Martin Duberman Martin Bauml Duberman (born August 6, 1930) is an American historian, biographer, playwright, and gay rights activist. Duberman is Professor of History Emeritus at Herbert Lehman College in the Bronx, New York City. Early life Duberman was born ...
, Bertha Harris,
Karla Jay Karla Jay (born February 22, 1947) is a distinguished professor emerita at Pace University, where she taught English and directed the women's and gender studies program between 1974 and 2009. A pioneer in the field of lesbian and gay studies, s ...
,
Jonathan Dunn-Rankin Jonathan Dunn-Rankin (November 30, 1930 – December 12, 2014) was an American actor, television journalist and gay activist. Early life Jonathan Dunn-Rankin was born on November 30, 1930, in New Jersey. He graduated from Rollins College after s ...
, John D'Emilio,
Joan Nestle Joan Nestle (born May 12, 1940) is a Lambda Award winning writer and editor and a founder of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, which holds, among other things, everything she has ever written. She is openly lesbian and sees her work of archiving hi ...
,
Jonathan Ned Katz Jonathan Ned Katz (born 1938) is an American historian of human sexuality who has focused on same-sex attraction and changes in the social organization of sexuality over time. His works focus on the idea, rooted in social constructionism, that t ...
,
Barbara Gittings Barbara Gittings (July 31, 1932 – February 18, 2007) was a prominent American activist for LGBT equality. She organized the New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) from 1958 to 1963, edited the national DOB magazine ''The Ladd ...
, George Whitmore,
Andrea Dworkin Andrea Rita Dworkin (September 26, 1946 – April 9, 2005) was an American radical feminist writer and activist best known for her analysis of pornography. Her feminist writings, beginning in 1974, span 30 years. They are found in a dozen solo ...
, Dawn M. Atkins and Michael Lynch. They held their first conference on November 23 and 24, 1973, at
John Jay College of Criminal Justice The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts ...
- City University of New York in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. Martin Duberman remembers that lesbians were often discriminated against by other white male homosexuals. He recalls an argument with George Whitmore. The
Lesbian Herstory Archives The Lesbian Herstory Archives (LHA) is a New York City-based archive, community center, and museum dedicated to preserving lesbian history, located in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The Archives contain the world's largest collection of materials by and a ...
were founded in 1974 by lesbian members of the Gay Academic Union who had organized a group to discuss sexism within that organization. Co-founders
Joan Nestle Joan Nestle (born May 12, 1940) is a Lambda Award winning writer and editor and a founder of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, which holds, among other things, everything she has ever written. She is openly lesbian and sees her work of archiving hi ...
,
Deborah Edel According to the Book of Judges, Deborah ( he, דְּבוֹרָה, ''Dəḇōrā'', "bee") was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Many scholars ...
, Sahli Cavallo, Pamela Oline, and Julia Stanley wanted to ensure that the stories of the lesbian community were protected for future generations. By 1975, many radicals had left the group and conferences were moved to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, although Wayne R. Dynes and others stayed in New York. The 1976 conference, however, was held at Columbia University in New York City.
Jonathan Dunn-Rankin Jonathan Dunn-Rankin (November 30, 1930 – December 12, 2014) was an American actor, television journalist and gay activist. Early life Jonathan Dunn-Rankin was born on November 30, 1930, in New Jersey. He graduated from Rollins College after s ...
was National President from 1981-1987 and traveled from city to city trying to organize all the chapters together.


References

{{authority control Defunct LGBT organizations based in New York City LGBT studies organizations Organizations established in 1973 1973 in LGBT history 1973 establishments in New York City