The Price of Salt

Highsmith published The Price of Salt in 1952, and the story reflects the intolerance toward lesbians (and any person falling under the LGBTQ+ umbrella) during the mid-20th century. Carol tells Therese, “In the eyes of the world, it's an abomination” (176). Her statement reflects the norms of American society, where a lesbian or gay person could lose their family, job, freedom, or life if their sexual preference became known. In 1952, the American Psychiatric Association published the first Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which classified lesbian and gay sexualities as a “sociopathic personality disorder.” In the 1950s, officials and authorities routinely asserted that something was wrong with LGBTQ+ people, as if their gender and sexuality were a condition that required curing. As a result, LGBTQ+ people could be institutionalized, and lesbians were sometimes forcibly sterilized or subjected to female genital mutilation to “cure” their desire. In the novel, Carol loses custody of her child because her sexuality makes her unfit as a mother in the eyes of the law.

In response to this persecution, the first large and open LGBTQ+ civil rights groups emerged in the 1950s. The Mattachine Society, which focused on gay men’s rights, was founded in 1950. In 1955, San Francisco lesbians created the Daughters of Bilitis as a way to gather when gay and lesbian bars were constantly being raided by the police. Eventually, the group took on the mission of helping lesbians understand and embrace their sexuality, advocating for greater societal acceptance, and organizing to overturn anti-gay laws. Both the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis advocated for social conformity to assure the public that LGBTQ+ people were just like anyone else. With the growth of counter-cultures and second-wave feminism in the 1960s, the organization became more outspoken and accepting of different expressions of lesbian identity.

As the feminist movement grew, the Daughters of Bilitis and other lesbian groups began organizing around lesbian-specific issues; while gay men were subjected to police violence and criminalization more often, lesbians dealt with social and civil repercussions like poor job security and losing child custody, as shown in The Price of Salt. While lesbian activists saw their issues as aligned with feminist issues more broadly, they also faced discrimination within the feminist movement. For example, Betty Friedan, president of the National Organization of Women and the author of 1963’s landmark The Feminine Mystique, called lesbians a “lavender menace” and claimed they threatened NOW’s ability to make change. In response, radical lesbians took on “lavender menace” as their moniker and crashed the Second Congress to Unite Women in the 1970s to raise consciousness about lesbian issues. While some feminists maintained their anti-gay bias, LGBTQ+ inclusive branches of feminism emerged and worked to overturn discriminatory laws and create a more inclusive society.

Nonetheless, LGBTQ+ people faced discrimination in family courts for decades, with the ACLU noting that even in the 21st century, gay and lesbian parents were at risk of losing custody because of their sexuality (“The Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People.” ACLU, 11 Mar. 2002). Today, LGBTQ+ couples have an easier time adopting children or retaining custody in both the US and some other countries, but many right-wing groups advocate overturning these laws.