letter from a mother of a gay man. sent to ONE magazine, 1958.
–
This post was flagged as adult content and the original poster was deactivated so I’m bringing it back.
“Mrs R” was the pseudonym of Phyllis Shafer, a Kansas City local who helped found the Phoenix Society for Individual Freedom in 1966, a full three years before Stonewall. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, she and her son Drew operated the Phoenix House, a safe haven for queer people in the city, and a hub of national queer activism. Drew passed away due to AIDS related complications in the 1980s, and his lover, Mickey Ray, spent the rest of his life fighting to keep his memory alive, largely contributing to the creation of the Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid-America.
“We tend to view American history as this constant march toward progress, which is total crap,” he says. “You gotta fight for that stuff. And if you don’t fight for that, you can fall backward. Like it’s not just this linear history.“
Good quote from the article which may be relevant right now.
What Drew Shafer did in advancing LBGT rights is pretty amazing. It just shows that even in the face of enormous adversity like the Trump Authoritarianism we face now, persist, resist, gather and publicize! Perfect for June 30, 2025, the last day of Pride month 2025!
I love how Phyllis Shafer allowed 5 or 6 gay young men to live in her house along with her gay son Drew. She formed a safe space for them. And, to write that letter to the editor in mid western 1958, an extremely homophobic place and time, was huge!
ALT
