Finding Aid to the Sexual Freedom League Records, 1962-1983 (bulk 1964-1973) BANC MSS 83/181 c

Processed by Elizabeth Stephens; finding aid completed by Mary Morganti

The Bancroft Library

University of California

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000

bancref@library.berkeley.edu

URL: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/libraries/bancroft-library

Language of Material: English

Contributing Institution: The Bancroft Library

Title: Sexual Freedom League Records

Creator: Sexual Freedom League

Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 83/181 c

Physical Description: 11.25 linear feet Number of containers: (9 cartons, 1 oversize folder)

Date (inclusive): 1962-1983

Date (bulk): 1964-1973

Abstract: Research and reference files (including correspondence). Includes a substantial, but incomplete, run of the SFL Newsletter (March 1965-April 1971), as well as scattered samples of other serials on issues of sexual freedom.

Language of Material: Collection materials are in English

Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

General

Finding Aid Author(s):: Processed by Elizabeth Stephens; finding aid completed by Mary Morganti
Finding Aid Encoded By:: GenX

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Sexual Freedom League Records, BANC MSS 83/181 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

Title: Social Protest Collection,

Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 86/157 c

Materials Cataloged Separately

Selected printed materials have been transferred to the book collection of The Bancroft Library.

Acquisition Information

The records of the Sexual Freedom League were given to The Bancroft Library by Jefferson Poland on September 4, 1970. Additions identified and separated from Poland's contribution to the Social Protest Collection were added in 1995.

Organizational History

The Sexual Freedom League was founded in 1963 in New York City. Julian Beck, Allen Ginsberg, and Dr. Leo Koch were among those on the Advisory Committee of the original group, which was active in demonstrations for a wide range of causes. Initially composed of a small membership of independent local chapters in New York, San Francisco, and London, the organization grew rapidly, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area after 1966, when the emphasis shifted toward nude parties. The League reorganized in 1967 as the Sexual Freedom League, Incorporated with its national headquarters in Oakland and chapters in San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, San Francisco, and elsewhere.

The League advocated three main issues: the right of each person to make his or her own choices in sexual matters, without coercion or restrictive laws; the psychological and spiritual liberation which allows people to joyfully accept their sensuality; and the right of all persons, including women and homosexuals, to be free from sexual discrimination in the exercise of their non-sexual rights and liberties. Each independent group chose its own emphasis and methods, with activities ranging from legislative lobbying to parties; most concentrated on laws, while some focused on personal growth.

Scope and Content

While the records of the Sexual Freedom League reflect their international activities, the bulk of the collection primarily concerns their presence in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York from 1964 to 1973, and particularly Jefferson Poland's involvement as founder and chief promoter of League organization. Divided into four series, the collection consists of correspondence, newsletters, and other records of the National headquarters of the League, variously located in New York City, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland, with chapters in other west coast cities. A major component are the Research and Reference Files, containing clippings, notes, flyers, and solicitations from a variety of sources reflecting the League's broad interest in personal freedom, with miscellaneous printed materials, including sample issues of journals and mail order catalogs. The collection concludes with correspondence, writings, and other personal material by and pertaining to Jefferson Poland.

A portion of this collection was described in Alternative Lifestyles; a Guide to Research Collections on Intentional Communities, Nudism, and Sexual Freedom by Jefferson P. Selth (Greenwood Press, 1985: p. 63-73). The alphabetical arrangement noted therein applies only to the research and reference files series of this collection, and folder and item counts are no longer accurate as duplicates have been weeded and the material further organized.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Sexual Freedom League

SERIES 1: SEXUAL FREEDOM LEAGUE 1964-1983.

NATIONAL OFFICE FILES 1964-1972

carton 1, Folder 1-5

Correspondence 1965-71

Carton 1, Folder 6-8

Administration 1967-71

Carton 1, Folder 9

Organization 1966

Carton 1, Folder 10

Directories undated

Carton 1, Folder 11

Handbook 1968

Carton 1, Folder 12

Flyers undated

Carton 1, Folder 13

Questionnaires 1966

Carton 1, Folder 14

Social Activities 1970

Carton 1, Folder 15-18

Articles and Press releases 1964-72

Carton 1, Folder 19

Campaign 1968

Carton 1, Folder 20

Circles 1968

Carton 1, Folder 21

Conference 1966

Carton 1, Folder 22

Documentary Film Project 1969

Carton 1, Folder 23

Nude United Defense Fund (NUDE) 1968

Carton 1, Folder 24

Printing 1966

Carton 1, Folder 25

Publicity 1966-69

Carton 1, Folder 26-38

New York City Headquarters

Correspondence 1964-68

Administrative 1964-65

Campaigns 1964

Newsletters 1964-65

Articles and press releases 1964-65

Leaflets 1964-65

Clippings and miscellaneous 1965-68

carton 2, Folder 1-10

San Francisco Headquarters

Correspondence 1964-69

Administrative 1965

Newsletters 1965-71

Monthly newspapers

Journal of the San Francisco Sexual Freedom League 1970-71

Sexual Freedom 1972

The Fug's Songbook 1965

Articles and press releases 1966-71

Flyers and miscellaneous 1966-71 undated

PUBLICATIONS 1966-1973

carton 2, Folder 11-19

Newsletter of the National Sexual Freedom League 1966-73

Carton 2, Folder 20-21

Love, Inc. Magazine 1966

Carton 2, Folder 22-27

Intercourse, A Journal of Sexual Freedom 1968-70

Carton 2, Folder 28

Position 1969

Carton 2, Folder 29

Sexual Freedom Quarterly 1970

LOCAL CHAPTERS 1965-1983

carton 3, Folder 1

Chicago 1970-72

Carton 3, Folder 2

Detroit 1970-73

Carton 3, Folder 3-5

Eastbay 1965-73

Carton 3, Folder 6

Los Angeles 1967-68

Carton 3, Folder 7

Oregon 1969

Carton 3, Folder 8-12

San Diego 1970-83

Carton 3, Folder 13

Santa Rosa 1970

Carton 3, Folder 14

Seattle 1967-70

Carton 3, Folder 15

South Bay 1970

CAMPUS GROUPS AND RELATED ORGANIZATIONS 1965-1973

carton 3, Folder 16-18

Campus Sexual Freedom Rights Forum 1965-66

Carton 3, Folder 19

Grove Street College 1971-72

Carton 3, Folder 20-21

Merritt Sexual Freedom Forum 1966

Carton 3, Folder 22

San Francisco State University 1965

Carton 3, Folder 23

Stanford Sexual Rights Forum 1965-66

Carton 3, filebox 24

University of California, Berkeley 1972

Carton 3, Folder 25

Miscellaneous campuses undated

Carton 3, Folder 26-34

Psychedelic Venus Church

Correspondence 1969-73

Administration 1969-72

Committee on Religious Cannabis 1972-73

Articles and press releases 1970

Flyers 1970

Miscellaneous printed material 1970 undated

SERIES 2: RESEARCH AND REFERENCE FILES [ca. 1960s-1970s].

carton 4, Folder 1-3

Abortion

Carton 4, Folder 4

Academic Freedom

Carton 4, Folder 5

Alpine Liberation Front

Carton 4, Folder 6

Alternative Family Structures

Carton 4, Folder 7

Bill Baird Defense Fund

Carton 4, Folder 8-9

Birth Control

Carton 4, Folder 10

Bruins for Voluntary Parenthood Sexual Liberty

Carton 4, Folder 11

California Committee to Legalize Abortion

Carton 4, Folder 12

Campus Contraceptives

Carton 4, Folder 13-14

Campus Sexual Freedom

Carton 4, Folder 15-16

Censorship

Carton 4, Folder 17

Citizens Alert

Carton 4, Folder 18

Cochran, Bert - article

Carton 4, Folder 19

Committee for Free Beaches

Carton 4, Folder 20

Committee for Homosexual Freedom

Carton 4, Folder 21

Council on Religion and the Homosexual, Inc.

Carton 4, Folder 22

Daughters of Bilitis, Inc.

Carton 4, Folder 23

Disciplinary Eroticism

Carton 4, Folder 24

The Discordian Society

Carton 4, Folder 25

Eden-West

Carton 4, Folder 26

European Sexual Freedom Movement

Carton 4, Folder 27

Family Planning

Carton 4, Folder 28

Freedom for Adoptive Children

Carton 4, Folder 29

Fort Funston Free Beach Nude-In

Carton 4, Folder 30

Gay Liberation Front

Carton 4, Folder 31

Harrad West - Group Marriage Community

carton 5, Folder 1

Homophile Organization Listing

Carton 5, Folder 2-5

Homosexual Freedom

Carton 5, Folder 6

Institute for Rational Living

Carton 5, Folder 7

Interracial Sex

Carton 5, Folder 8

Kerista

Carton 5, Folder 9

Marital Relations

Carton 5, Folder 10

Mattachine Society, Inc.

Carton 5, Folder 11-12

National Organization for Women (NOW)

Carton 5, Folder 13

Natural Childbirth

Carton 5, Folder 14-20

Nude-Ins and Nudity

Carton 5, Folder 21

Peace and Freedom Party

Carton 5, Folder 22

Penal System

Carton 5, Folder 23

Personal Freedom

carton 6, Folder 1

The Phoenix Society

Carton 6, Folder 2-3

Planned Parenthood

Carton 6, Folder 4

Playboy

Carton 6, Folder 5

Population Control

Carton 6, Folder 6

Pornography

Carton 6, Folder 7

Project Communication - Maxine Sanini

Carton 6, Folder 8

San Francisco Peace and Freedom Movement

Carton 6, Folder 9

S.E.M. (Sexual Emancipation Movement)

"New Life" Newsletters

Carton 6, Folder 10-13

Sex Education

Carton 6, Folder 14

Sexual Politics

Carton 6, Folder 15

Sloan, Sam - article

Carton 6, Folder 16

Society for Humane Abortion

Carton 6, Folder 17

Society for Individual Rights (SIR)

Carton 6, Folder 18

Sunbathing Magazines

Carton 6, Folder 19

Swingers

Carton 6, Folder 20-21

Topless Night Clubs

Carton 6, Folder 22

Trojan Book Service

Carton 6, Folder 23

Vasectomy

Carton 6, Folder 24

Venereal Disease

Carton 6, Folder 25-29

Women's Liberation

SERIES 3: MISCELLANEOUS PRINTED MATERIAL 1962-1972.

carton 7, Folder 1

Lilith 1968

Carton 7, Folder 2

One: The Homosexual Viewpoint 1962-63

Carton 7, Folder 2

Two: The Homosexual Viewpoint in Canada undated

Carton 7, Folder 3

Tangents 1966

Carton 7, Folder 3

Vector 1972

Carton 7, Folder 3

The Works undated

Carton 7, Folder 4-5

Magazine samples

Carton 7, Folder 6

Newsletter samples

Carton 7, Folder 7-9

Newspapers - Berkeley

Berkeley Barb 1969-72

Berkeley Tribe 1969-70

Miscellaneous 1971-72

Carton 7, Folder 10-11

Newspapers - San Francisco

The San Francisco Free Press 1971

Miscellaneous 1969-1970 undated

Carton 7, Folder 12-16

Newspapers - various samples relating to: ca. 1960s-1970s

Gay rights

Sex

Social and political issues

Women

Miscellaneous

carton 8, Folder 1-8

Clippings ca. 1960s-1970s

Carton 8, Folder 9-11

Mail order advertisement samples undated

Carton 8, Folder 12-13

Miscellaneous undated

oversize_folder 1

Ephemera Advertising Events, including Women's and Erotic Film Festivals, Poster Produced by Society for Individual Rights (SIR) 1966, undated

SERIES 4: JEFFERSON POLAND WRITINGS AND PERSONAL MATERIAL 1964-1973.

carton 9, Folder 1-15

Correspondence 1964-1973

Carton 9, Folder 16-20

The Sex Marchers 1967

Carton 9, Folder 21-22

Notes and research material 1968

General

History of Sexual Freedom Movements

Carton 9, Folder 23

Sexual Freedom Girls 1969

General

Recruitment of essayists

Carton 9, Folder 24

Nude-Ins booklet undated

General

Draft, notes, and related material

Carton 9, Folder 25

Drafts of articles, fragments undated

Carton 9, Folder 26

Notes for article, The future of sex 1967

Carton 9, Folder 27

Notes on bisexuality undated

Carton 9, Folder 28-29

Notes on sex 1966 undated

Carton 9, Folder 30

Masturbators Notebook undated

Carton 9, Folder 31

Poems of the Flesh 1969

Carton 9, Folder 32

Expulsion from Merritt College 1967-69

Carton 9, Folder 33

Grove Street College 1972 undated

Carton 9, Folder 34

Certificate of Ordination, Neo-American Church 1968

Carton 9, Folder 35

Credential of Minister, Universal Life Church 1969

Carton 9, Folder 36

Name Change 1969

Carton 9, Folder 37

Miscellaneous undated