George A. Chauncey, social historian of gay life and author of Gay New York, argued last night in a speech that the meaning of the term "closet" to the gay community evolved rapidly in the late sixties.

Chauncey, a professor of history at the University of Chicago, gave a talk titled "The History of the Closet" to about 60 people in the Kirkland House Junior Common Room.

He said a generational conflict within the gay community in the late 1960s resulted in a shift from a private "coming out" to a group of gay friends to a more public "coming out" to gay and straight society.

"[Prior to the late 1960s] gays embraced the cultural distinction between public and private spheres, and deliberately cultivated ambiguity," Chauncey said.

"To a post-Stonewall generation, this seems akin to the military 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy," Chauncey said. "But the older generation didn't see it this way. Repression strengthened the bonds, making gays like a secret fraternal order."

Chauncey's talk centered on the intergenerational conflict within the gay community that arose following the Stonewall Riots, which occurred in June 1969 after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a New York City gay nightclub.

Young gay activists of 1969 made an assumption that older gay men who had not publicly come out were ashamed, Chauncey said.

But the older generation had a different perspective, Chauncey said.