In 1955, a group of eight women founded a secret club which would become the first lesbian civil rights organization in the U.S.
During the 1950s, being an out gay woman was rarely heard of and nearly impossible.
Out lesbians faced job termination, arrest if caught at a reputed gay bar, even forced conversion therapy. The American Psychiatric Association didn't remove homosexuality from their official list of mental disorders until 1973.
If you were in the closet, but didn't want to risk heading out to the gay bars, you had very few options for socializing.
Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, who lived in San Francisco, were among the women who became frustrated with their blatant lack of options.
In 1955, though the couple had been dating for three years, they realized they didn't know any other lesbians.
The women, along with five others, started a small social club which would became the first lesbian civil rights group: The Daughters Of Bilitis, or DOB.
