In the post-ceremony celebration, a newlywed couple cuts a beautifully made wedding cake, and the touching moment is captured by a photographer. But it’ll be 60 years before anyone sees this wonderfully evocative image. Taken in 1957, the photo shows what was then an illegal act – and were it not for a trio of TV producers, the world would never know about this secret union.
Being gay in the United States during the 1950s was a dangerous business. Social attitudes back then, some of which prevail today, meant that many in the LGBTQ community remained closeted, at least to the outside world. Anti-sodomy laws existed in every U.S. state, prohibiting gay sexual relationships, while individuals faced social persecution and sometimes even violence if outed.