“Better blatant than latent” is a gay slogan that has been printed on many items, such as posters, mugs and pins. “Better blatant than latent!” was a slogan used in Gay Pride Day of 1970, in New York City’s Central Park. The slogan—one of the oldest in the gay rights movement—is still used.
 
 
Google News Archive
27 May 1971, The Village Voice (New York, NY), “Books: Homosexuality,” pg. 18, col. 5:
While you may not approve of churches that are predominantly gay, of of counties in California where everyone except the locals are gay, and while the “Better Blatant Than Latent” syndrome with its love-ins, blow-ins. marches and demonstrations may not be your dish of tea, this is what’s happeneing, and apparently a host of people are feeling fine as a result.
     
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The Mating Trade
By John Godwin
Garden City, NY: Doubleday
1973
Pg. 216:
On Gay Pride Day of 1970, some twenty thousand homophile men and women gathered in New York’s Central Park for a “Gay-In” of speeches, songs, sign-waving and chanting, with the slogans reflecting an increasingly militant temper:
 
Say it loud! Gay and proud!
Better blatant than latent!
Ho-Ho-Homosexuall
 
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Exploring Marriage and the Family
By David Knox
Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman
1979
Pg. 96:
With banners which read, “Out of the closet” and “Better blatant than latent,” male homosexuals and lesbians marched in New York City’s Greenwich Village seeking an end to discrimination and brutalization (Gagnon, 1975, p. 48).
 
Google News Archive
20 February 1981, The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA), “Immoral Minority gaining popularity,” pg. 18, col. 1:
OLYMPIA (AP)—
(...) (Col. 2—ed.)
Much of the interest nationwide, says Shirley, stems from a brief Associated Press story about the group’s brochure. “Better blatant than latent—Keep Government out of the Bedroom,” it says.
   
Google News Archive
3 July 1987, Spokane (WA) Chronicle, “Immoral Minority claims win, quits” (AP), pg. 4, col. 4:
“We always said, ‘Better blatant than latent,’” said Marston.
(Patricia Marston, originator of the Immoral Minority.—ed.)
   
Google Books
The Pleasure Principle:
Sex, Backlash, and the Struggle for Gay Freedom
By Michael Bronski
New York, NY: St. Martinʼs Press
1998
Pg. 67:
Rejecting the homophile idea of the sacredness of privacy, as well as its effectiveness as a political strategy, gay liberation demanded that private lives become public. “Better Blatant Than Latent,” a popular banner at gay pride marches read.
 
Google Books
Gay American Autobiography:
Writings from Whitman to Sedaris
Edited by David Bergman
Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press
2009
Pg. 257:
Signs appeared in the crowd: “HI, MOM,” and “BETTER BLATANT THAN LATENT,” and “I AM A LESBIAN, AND I AM BEAUTIFUL.”
 
Twitter
Kevin Wilson
‏@kvonbling
RT @cityslikr: @Sattva01 Cowardly Lyin’ http://youtu.be/v_z6d8iVcLc  #TOpoli -  ‘friend of Judy? No big surprise-better blatant than latent!
10:47 AM - 22 Feb 2012
 
Twitter
Pride Movie
‏@PrideMovieUK
You know the old saying… - better blatant than latent! #PRIDE pic.twitter.com/7jpcK7tntB
8:26 AM - 13 Jul 2014