Gay Liberation Front (1969-1970)

ACTIVATE (Gay Liberation Front)
White line woodcut and toner transfer
Image size: 12" x 18" (30.5 x 45.7 cm)
Paper size: 14.5" x 20.5" (37 x 52.4 cm)
Paper: Mawata

This woodcut is part of a series of prints based on the shape of a triangle celebrating various organizations that helped move gay rights forward in the U.S. during the later 20th century.

The Gay Liberation Front (GLF) lasted only a few months but it was a major turning point in the approach to American gay rights and, although the GLF was short lived, it spawned many other groups. The GLF grew directly out of the Stonewall Riots in 1969 and harnessed that energy as well as taking on some of the tactics of the civil rights and peace movements. They attempted to address a broad range of social and political issues: racism, war, and capitalism and as well as attacking traditional gender roles, challenging the notion of the nuclear family, and advocating sexual liberation. As happened with Occupy Wall Street in this decade, the GLF fell apart when members were unable to agree on operating procedure.

This print was created using the same matrix used for Accommodate (DOB) and Masquerade (Mattachine).