A "homophile" organization like the Mattachine Society, the DOB challenged the idea that lesbians and gay men were sick, and argued instead that homosexuals were an oppressed minority. The organization was founded in San Francisco in 1955. Most of the eight founders' names remain confidential, but it is known that the founding group included a Chicana and a Filipina, and four blue- collar and four white-collar women. The name was taken from "Songs of Bilitis," a lesbian love poem published in 1894. DOB founders chose the name because they felt it sounded like a sorority or a literary organization.

During the 1950s, informants infiltrated the organization and reported the names of members to the FBI and the CIA. Official harassment and women's fear of exposure initially kept membership low, but DOB chapters eventually formed in other cities. In 1956, the DOB began publishing its magazine, The Ladder, which spread the word about the organization's work.

Sources:Hogan/Hudson, Faderman 1991