Frank Kameny, Coined “Gay Is Good,” Dies at 86

Frank Kameny, longtime gay rights activist and Father of the Gay Rights Movement died in Washington on Oct 11, 2011 at the age of 86. For all his hard work on behalf of the community he wanted to remembered most for being the person who coined the phrase “Gay is Good.”

Frank was ejected from the Civi Service in 1957 for being gay and he fought his dismissal all the way up to the Supreme Court. He didn’t win that case but his fervor helped create the modern day gay rights movement. When you look back at early activism in the 50s and 60s, he was there protesting outside of the White House in a suit and tie. He continued his activism until his death.

Gay City News has a detailed write up on this pioneering gay rights activist and Pam’s House Blend has a long list of tributes to Frank from the community.

In recent years, Frank relied on Helping Our Brothers and Sisters, a small nonprofit in Washington DC that helps marginalized GLBT individuals. They are organizing his funeral so please give what you can and email HOBSDC@gmail.com after you donate to let them know how you want the funds spent.

The genesis of “Gay is Good”

This is a wonderful anecdote about how Frank came up with the phrase “Gay is Good.” It was passed on to me by a Bob Witeck, whose husband, Bob Connelly, an adjunct professor at American University, invited Frank to speak to his undergrads about LGBT civil rights issues and do a Q&A.

Professor Bob Connelly: Is there one thing you’ve done that stands above all others, as what you are most proud of?

Dr. Franklin Kameny: Well, yes. The one thing I’ve said, if I want to be remembered for nothing else, it’s back in July, 1968 I coined the slogan “Gay Is Good.”

And that really, it sort of, it epitomizes really my entire approach to all the issues. You have to take an affirmative approach on these things. In other words, if I may expound for a moment — people tend almost automatically, since we are under attack, and we are under criticism, they tend to respond defensively and reactively. Around then, taking the next step and responding on the offensive and proactively. In other words, the tendency — we’re told that homosexuality is bad in all sorts of different ways so the response tends to be “It’s not bad.”

You have to take the next step and say, “Not really, it’s not bad. It’s good.” It’s not that same sex marriage will not damage the institution of marriage. Same sex marriage will enhance the institution of marriage. You have to consciously take the next step and move over into being affirmative and so here again, it’s not that gay is not bad, it’s that gay is affirmative and good.

That came out of, in those days — again you have to go back to the issues of that day and the rhetoric of that day — in June of 1968 I saw on television an item of Stokely Carmichael leading a group of students at a college in Salisbury Maryland, chanting, “Black Is Beautiful.” And again, same thing. It’s not that black is not ugly, or in other ways lesser. We’re going to take the next step, “Black Is Beautiful,” and I realized I had to do exactly the same thing. I tossed around words and phrases. “Homosexuality” was obviously too clinical. “Good” was sort of bland; on the other hand it covered all the possibilities. Some people had suggested to me, “Gay Is Great,” but that sounded a little bit too informal. So ultimately I came up with that. It was adopted in August at a meeting of what was then the North American Conference of Homophile Organizations as a slogan.

Meanwhile, in those days, Playboy had a separate little publication called the Playboy Forum, and they had a long article, just about that time, July, August, September, which was sort of, at best wishy-washy about the gay issue. So I wrote them a long letter — I can be verbose at times — and I included “Gay Is Good.” And to my pleased astonishment, the following February or March of 1969, they published my whole letter under their heading, “Gay Is Good.” And that sent it out to the whole public, and we’re off and running.

LGBT civil rights hero, Frank Kameny at HRC national dinner

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