Terry, Lila Interview

Permanent Link:: http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/MBVM000027/00001

Material Information

Subjects / Keywords:: Oral histories -- Miami Beach (Fla.)
North and Central America -- United States -- Florida -- Miami-Dade -- Miami Beach
Gay Clubs -- United States
Cross-dressers -- United States
Genre:: Video Recordings
Spatial Coverage:: United States -- Florida -- Miami Beach
Coordinates:: 25.8116481 x -80.1927944

Scope and Content:: Lila Terry ran gay night clubs on Miami Beach in the 1970s: the Nite Owl, the Pin-Up and the Middle Room, and subsequently, the Turf Pub. In her wide-ranging interview, Lila talks about growing up gay and how it affected her life and relationship with her parents. She mentions the "Three Piece Rule." Women wearing masculine clothing on the street in New York could be arrested because it was illegal to be "in disguise" (a convenient way to hassle cross-dressers) unless they are wearing a minimum of three pieces of women's clothing. In that case, they would be let go. Checking up on this "rule," it seems that it applied to cross-dressing men, as well. The "rule" was not applied on Miami Beach. Lila's clubs were occasionally raided by police but, she says, she didn't consider it harassment. ( English )