Exploring Obscenity: A 1950s Legal Examination of LGBTQ Content

OA1183 - We continue our ongoing look at some of our favorite Warren Court-era Supreme Court cases with this one-line 1958 decision finding as a matter of law that one of the most important LGTBQ magazines in U.S. history was not publishing obscenity. We begin by trying to find anything resembling smut in the archived pages of ONE magazine before Matt explains a bit more about the history of obscenity law in the U.S. and how Roth v U.S. changed everything just before ONE’s cert petition was taken up. Jenessa gets into the proven psychological benefits of being allowed to be who you are in public, and we consider the state of obscenity law today and who still might want to use it.

• Roth v. United States | 354 U.S. 476 (1957)

• ONE, Incorporated v. Otto K Oleson: Appellant’s Opening Brief – The Tangent Group

• One, Incorporated v. Olesen, 241 F. 2d 772 - Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit 1957 - Google Scholar

• U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on writ of certiorariin On e, Inc. v. Oleson immediately reversing 9th Circuit (1/13/1958)

Complete run of One magazine from 1953-1957, Internet Archive