1920s Gay Culture

Homosexuality in the 1920s

Same-sex relationships, while illegal, there was a significant number of the LGBTQIA community in the United States. In the 1920s, there were changes in music, literature, and visual art. The Harlem Renaissance was a significant leap forward for LGBTQIA nightlife. Events were held often. Drag Balls or Civil Balls became popular; for the LGBTQIA community and their allies, the gay nightlife scene thrived–in special places.

LGBTQIA and the Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance was a time when the LGBTQIA found a nightlife scene that was unique to Harlem. Jazz artists and the LGBTQIA community belonged to an alternative lifestyle that mainstream society rejected. This common trait would bring the two worlds together. Jazz was the preferred music for Harlem Drag Balls, and many who performed would go on to have public careers. The two communities grew together and supported each other.

Fig. 1 - A drag ball during the 1920s-

LGBTQIA and the Arts in the 1920s

Many LGBTQIA artists and writers left the United States for France in the early 1920s and only returned when forced to by the outbreak of WWII. Paris, France, in particular, was a center of LGBTQIA artists, writers, and performers through the 1920s. As a result, many LGBTQIA plays and writings in the United States came from Paris.

Solita Solano

One of the most well-known LGBTQIA writers in the 1920s was Solita Solano. She was born in 1888 as Sarah Wilkinson. She married her only husband after her father's death and spent time in the Philippines. However, this marriage did not last and was annulled a few years later when they returned to the United States. She started writing for the New York Tribune as a drama editor and theater critic in 1908. This was when she changed her name to Solita Solano ( which roughly translates as "lonely alone," from the Spanish sola, "alone") as she felt this fit her persona more than Sarah Wilkinson. Eleven years later, she met writer Janet Flanner, and they began a romantic relationship.

Fig. 2 - Solita Solano

Édouard Bourdet's The Captive

The famous play The Captive revolves around a love triangle involving a man (Jaques) who believes he is engaged to a woman (Irene) who is in love with another woman (Madame d'Aiguines). Irene attempts to leave Madame d'Aiguines and marry Jaques but returns to Madame d'Aiguines. This play was on Broadway for 160 performances before it was shut down. This well-known quote from the play depicts the struggle of many of the LGBTQIA community within a culture that demands heterosexual marriage to appear appropriately for their biological sex:

LGBTQIA and The Jazz Age

The Jazz Age was a time of experimentation. The jazz scene and the LGBTQIA community were alternative lifestyles, bringing them together. Jazz singers were uniquely positioned to comment on LGBTQIA and express themselves due to the underground nature of their art.

Fig. 3 - Jazzing orchestra 1921

Gladys Bentley

Several notable LGBTQIA Jazz singers expressed themselves through lyrics and their performance attire. A well-known singer, Gladys Bentley, openly challenged the social norm with her lyrics and attire. She would perform in a black and white tuxedo, expressing her identity and sexuality far beyond what was allowed in mainstream entertainment. Her songs challenged listeners to think about the perks and dangers of complete self-expression critically. She famously performed at the Clam House, a well-known LGBTQIA speakeasy during the 1920s.

Fig. 4 - Gladys Bentley circa 1930

Anti-LGBTQ Laws

Most laws and articles criminalizing same-sex relationships were leftovers from the 17th century. These laws did not criminalize identifying oneself as something other than a heterosexual person–i.e., being a member of the LGBTQIA community–but physical relationships were considered a criminal activity, a severe discriminatory practice that criminalized many people.

Additions to the 1916 Articles of War

Adding to article 93 in 1920 of the Articles of War from 1916 designated physical relations between men as a separate crime from assault with intent to have physical relations. This criminalized LGBTQIA relationships by rendering physical relationships or acts between men a crime. This was not reversed until decades later. While this did not criminalize sexuality, Article 93 did ban physical relationships between people of the same sex.

In 1919 Franklin D Roosevelt, as Assistant Secretary, had begun an operation to determine if men suspected of being homosexual through coercion to commit physical acts by way of investigators planted within the navy. His investigation of "vice and depravity" showed how the mainstream culture saw same-sex relationships as immoral or inherently wrong. As time passed, legislation was specified, and the addition of "effeminate" or "degenerate" traits as grounds to be deemed unfit for service.

Fig. 5 - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Laws Regarding Same-Sex Marriage

Obscenity Laws and the LGBTQIA Community

Obscenity laws were a convenient way to limit the LGBTQIA community from having public events, and some LGBTQIA performers had their shows shut down. The U.S. Government established obscenity laws to regulate mailed material; however, it came to include performances, songs, movies, and books. Obscenity laws can be applied with the intent to silence or curb a disfavored segment of society. Traditionally, they were used to censure activities like kissing in films but became the norm for shutting down the freedom of the LGBTQIA community.