Lyon, Phyllis, 1924-

Biography: Phyllis Lyon

Phyllis Ann Lyon was born November 10, 1924, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and raised primarily in Northern California. She graduated from Sacramento Senior High School in 1943 and went on to the University of California, Berkeley, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism in 1946. She later (1976) earned a Doctor of Education in Human Sexuality from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality (IASHS). Lyon served as a police-beat reporter in Fresno and as a reporter at the Chico Enterprise-Record during the 1940s. In the 1950s she served on the editorial staff at two building trades magazines in Seattle (she is listed as Editorial Assistant in a 1951 edition of Construction News Bulletin). After returning to San Francisco in 1953 she worked at Glide Urban Center. She served as a professor at IASHS from 1976-1987. San Francisco Mayor George Moscone appointed her to the San Francisco Human Rights Commission (HRC) in 1976, and she served as Chair in 1982-1983. She also was chair of the HRC's Lesbian/Gay Advisory Committee. Lyon has lectured and written extensively on human sexuality, censorship, and the Lesbian and Feminist Movements. She also co-founded the National Sex Forum and served as associate director and then co-director for 19 years.

Biography: Del Martin

Del Martin was born Dorothy L. Taliaferro in San Francisco, California on May 5, 1921 to Jones and Mary Taliaferro. She was salutorian of the first graduating class of George Washington High School (San Francisco). Martin studied journalism at San Francisco State College (now California State University San Francisco). Her last name became Martin during her four year marriage to a man. She latter officially changed her name to Del. This marriage also resulted in a daughter (Kendra Mon ) and eventually two grandchildren, Lorraine and Kevin Mon. She was the first "out of the closet" lesbian elected to the National Board of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1973. Martin became a nationally known advocate for battered women, and was a co-founder of the Coalition for Justice for Battered Women (1975), La Casa de las Madres (a shelter for battered women) founded in 1976, and the California Coalition against Domestic Violence (1977). She is the author of Battered Wives (1976, updated 1981) and numerous other articles and book chapters on the subject. She lectured and taught at colleges and universities around the country. Martin was also a founding member of the Lesbian Mother's Union, the San Francisco Women's Centers, and the Bay Area Women's Coalition, and has served on many boards. She was appointed Chair of the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women in 1976 and served on the committee until 1979. She also served on the Women's Advisory Council to the San Francisco Police Department, the California Commission on Crime Control and Violence Prevention, and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.

Biography: Lyon & Martin

Lyon and Martin met in Seattle, Washington in the early 1950s, while they were both working for building trades publications. They were platonic friends for two years before becoming romantically involved. They returned to San Francisco together in 1953 where they continue to reside. In 1955, they were part of a group of eight lesbians that founded the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB). The group was founded to counteract the loneliness and isolation they felt as lesbians, creating what was to become the first national combined lesbian organization and support network. Martin served as president from 1957-60 and Lyon was president in 1962. DOB began publishing the monthly magazine The Ladder in 1956. Lyon was the first editor (1956-1969) with Barbara Grier joining Martin and then taking over as editor. Together Lyon and Martin were among the founders of the Council on Religion and the Homosexual (CRH) in 1964, and, in 1965, Citizen's Alert (a citizen/civil rights group dealing with police brutality complaints). They also were among the founding members of the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian/Gay Democratic Club. They jointly authored the groundbreaking book Lesbian/Woman, and they both attended the International Women's Year Conference in Houston in 1977 where they helped get a lesbian rights plank into the national women's agenda. In the 1980s Martin and Lyon helped found and lead Bay Area Feminists Against Censorship.

Besides their individual careers and recognitions, Lyon and Martin, have received numerous joint honors: in 1980, the Lyon-Martin Clinic in San Francisco was named after them, and they have served as Grand Marshals or special guests in Gay Pride marches across California and the country. They received the Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 1990, and an Outstanding Public Service Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality in 1996. Lyon and Martin are also partners in LyMar Associates, a San Francisco consulting firm started in 1972. In response to a 1984 questionnaire, distributed by the Advocate, asking what was their most important contribution to gay causes, Lyon and Martin both answered with variations on the statement: "being able to help make changes in the way Lesbians and Gay men view themselves & how the larger society views Lesbians and Gay men." To the question: "What is the most valuable thing you've gotten from your involvement with gay causes?" They replied, "self-acceptance, self-esteem, self confidence" and "a good sense of my own self-worth." In the self-identification section, they also both crossed out "gay woman" and wrote in "Lesbian."

From the guide to the Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Papers, Bulk, 1954-2000, 1924-2011, (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society)