Marx and the Mattachine Society

Henry Hay, Jr.
Founder of the Mattachine Society

You have probably heard of Karl Marx but you may not know much about the Mattachine Society. The Mattachine Society was one of the earliest homophile organizations in the United States, second only to Chicago’s short-lived Society for Human Rights (1924). A homophile is concerned with the rights of gays and lesbians. A homophile does not have to be either gay or lesbian. 


So what do Karl Marx, the founder of the violent Communist movement, and the Mattachine Society have in common? Answer: Henry "Harry" Hay, Jr.


Henry "Harry" Hay, Jr. (April 7, 1912 – October 24, 2002) was a labor advocate, teacher and early leader in the American Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights movement. According to Wikipedia:

Hay's belief in the cultural minority status of homosexuals led him to take a stand against assimilationism. This stance led him to offer public support to controversial groups like the North American Man Boy Love Association and to criticize both the mainstream gay rights movement and some of the movement's radical components, including the AIDS activist group ACT UP.

Hay was exposed early in life to the principles of Marxism and to the idea of same-sex sexual attraction. He drew upon these experiences to develop his view of homosexuals as a cultural minority. A long time member of the Communist Party USA, Hay's Marxist history led to his resignation from the Mattachine leadership in 1953. Hay's involvement in the gay movement became more informal after that, although he did co-found the Los Angeles chapter of the Gay Liberation Front in 1969. Following a move to New Mexico with his longtime companion John Burnside in 1970, Hay's ongoing interest in Native American spirituality led the couple to co-found the Radical Faeries. [Emphasis mine]

Why would Harry embrace Marxism?

The basic tenant of Marxism, according to W. Cleon Skousen, author of "The Naked Communist" is freeing the oppressed class or "proletariat". Harry embraced this basic tenant and applied it to males having sex with males. In order to have stature, gays must represent themselves as oppressed and worthy of special treatment by the ruling class. 

According to Skousen, "[T]he Communist intellectual believes everything in existence came about as a result of ceaseless motion among forces of nature. Everything is a product of accumulated accident. There is no God. There is only matter and the force of nature." Henry used this to create the false idea that being gay was an "accumulated accident of nature" and therefore natural.


The LGBT political movement uses Marxist tactics to advance its agenda. This is particularly evident when attacking religion, particularly the Judaic-Christian religion. As Nicholai Lenin declared, "We must combat religion - this is the ABC of materialism, and consequently Marxism." According to Skousen, "When Karl Marx was asked what is his objective in life was, he said, 'To dethrone God and destroy Capitalism'" It is interesting to note that gays tend to give a pass to Islam, which is fully intolerant of homosexuality. 

So now we can see the roots of the homophilic movement is based in Marxism. It uses the same tactics, holds to the same belief systems and seeks the same outcomes. The total destruction of society as you and I know it.