Queer History - Blog Posts
“We chose the term “asexual” to describe ourselves because both “celibate” and “anti-sexual” have connotations we wished to avoid: the first implies that one has sacrificed sexuality for some higher good, the second that sexuality is degrading or somehow inherently bad. “Asexual”, as we use it, does not mean “without sex” but “relating sexually to no one”. This does not, of course, exclude masturbation but implies that if one has sexual feelings they do not require another person for their expression. Asexuality is, simply, self-contained sexuality.”
— The Asexual Manifesto, Lisa Orlando and Barbara Getz, 1972
Leslie feinberg was a real person who existed and i’m posting about hir again because i deleted the last post i made on hir.
The first photo is Leslie Feinberg from some time in the 70’s, the second is her with her wife Minnie Bruce Pratt.
Feinberg identified both as a lesbian, and as transgender. he was a queer and workers rights activist and a Palestinian liberation activist. He fought for the freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who received the death penalty after an unfair trial regarding the shooting of a police officer. He believed that all communities, met with oppression, from the government, and on the social level, should come together for the sake of all of us being liberated.
Ze went by multiple sets of pronouns based on context, going by he/him, to honour his transgender identity, referring to zemself with ze/hir pronouns personally, and going by she/her to signify gender incongruence with her masculine appearance in certain spaces.
Ze wrote two novels about the queer experience, drag king dreams in 2006, and stone butch blues in 1993, which is considered a seminal text in the history of trans and lesbian writing.
Feinberg passed away in twenty-fourteen, hir last words were “Remember me as a revolutionary communist.”
Don’t forget about transmasc lesbians, they’ve been around for longer than you’d think. Their history shouldn’t be erased.
Here are the links to two interviews with Feinberg, hir website, a link to a website ze made to give free access to the 20th anniversary edition of stone butch blues, and a talk ze gave on Mumia Abu-Jamal:
(I might also make a follow up post on Andrea Dworkin, since a lot of her ideas regarding Androgyny get ignored. she as a lone activist was kind of like, a swansong to the power of being really fucking mad about misogyny, which is inspiring, but i think she gets pigeon holed a lot as just a feminist, and is left out of discussions on queerness, which was also relevant to her life and work. That’s not to say feminism doesn’t matter, but that it wasn’t all she wrote about.)
hey truscum the creator of the trans flag made a specific place for nonbinary people so…….
No offence, but Alan Turing didn't kick the Nazis' collective ass for you to run around saying that you're too gay to learn mathematics.
During the AIDS crisis it was not uncommon for queer couples to adult adopt each other so they could make medical decisions or be allowed to legally inherit.
If gay marriage gets repealed, this whole country is going to become Alabama.
Be gay, do crime, get those benefits.
🖤💜 Happy international asexuality day! 🖤💜🐀
Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity 🖤💜
idk im really tired of 15-17 year olds who have never interacted with the gay community irl and spend too much time on tiktok trying to act like the authority on all that is lgbt+
WIP portrait of Alan Turing for my art class
Ignore how pink he is, trust the process :,)
In regards of the Trump government scraping all trans inclusion in its queer information portion of its websites I have made this thing. Spread the word. Don't let them pretend we never existed.
P.S: Don't like! Reblog! <3
i have never heard a full explanation until now somehow. thats absolutely horrible…I’m also a little ashamed that i claim to deeply care for history, especially queer, yet have never taken the time to research and understand this topic.
A good video that accurately explains why stud is a term used for black lesbians only, not white, not poc, BLACK
I’m not even going to say please. Respect black identities and labels, they are ours for a reason.
I want to teach one of my friends some queer history but I'm not sure what to teach them specifically, i want to focus on trans queer history as he is a trans boy but idk most of the stuff i know is very western focused so if anyone has any recommendations of things i can research about indian trans history or just trans history in general please let me know 🙏
The epidemic of young queers ignoring or cherrypicking queer history is really biting us all in the ass because Montana just tabled the bill that banned trans and gay panic, and many of the younger queers I’ve come across have no idea what gay panic really is, or what that means.
All they know about gay panic is the “Oh my gosh! I talked to a pretty girl/boy and I’m a girl/boy hehe so flustered” that at some point replaced the actual meaning of gay panic. Do you know how dangerous this is, that they don’t know of the dangers of trans and gay panic? It’s lethal.
As things in the US become more dire for the queer community, I’m begging the young queers: read up on queer - our, your - history. Talk to your elder queers. Really look into current politics surrounding the queer community. Don’t get all your info from social media, and absolutely do not take what you see on social media at face-value. Get yourself educated and prepared for what’s to come. It’ll save lives, I promise you.
“Johann Scheff, trans lady SW arrested in 1932 for nicking women’s clothes from a department store in Berlin.” We’ve always been here. Not even book burnings can truly erase it.
A good thread on whether “queer” is a slur and if it should be used or not.
In the spirit of this holiday (it's Passover rn) I have a question for queer people of different cultures/ religions/ groups around the world.
Do your culture/ religion have specific traditions/ customs for LGBTQ people?
There's a relatively new Jewish tradition in Passover of including an orange on the Sedder plate to represent and support LGBTQ people.
It got me thinking if other cultures have things like that as well.
Do you have any specific traditions/ slangs/ symbols in your culture to represent queer people?
I couldn't find enough information online so I would love to hear from you about your diffrent cultures!
You're welcome to leave a comment here/ reblog/ leave a message in the asks box anyway is fine! Even just sending a link to an article would be appreciated.
all queer history on here is just US-American or maybe sometimes some UK history as well and it makes me sad that there’s so little information about other countries’ queer history on here :(
It’s PRIDE MONTH and wanting to start with this little remembrance from queer people in the past.
Happy trans visibility day!!
I'd like to tell you all something today:
Your gender identity is valid, no matter what labels you use. You deserve to feel comfortable in your own skin. You deserved to be loved. Your more than whatever labels you use or whatever pronouns you're comfortable with it.
I'd also like to take a moment to remember and honor those we've lost as a community. Those murdered for their identities and their activism. Those who committed suicide due to a lack of acceptance. Those of our past who experienced the sad yet universal injustice of being trans. Rest in peace and power.
Candy Darling by Robert Mapplethorpe, 1972
WE ARE QUEER: VISUAL ARCHIVE PROJECT
For the world, for our families, for our friends, we have always been a subject of curiosity, bullying, and harassment. But we are sick of this. We, Queer people, are sick of complying with the rules, the social fabric and the society, that can’t see us happy, that can’t see us in love, that can’t see us living our life, the way we want to.
For almost two decades, Nepali queer people have been fighting for equal rights, regardless of the fact that that society and the country have always made them, migrant to their own home. They have been silenced, beaten, harassed, and even killed. They faced discrimination and humiliation from their friends, families, society and the state. But still, nothing has stopped them. Their determination and perseverance are exemplary, and not only are they marching the flags for themselves, but they are definitely making things easy for the future generation as well. To honour those people who have been fighting for equality, both on the frontline or in silent wars against queerphobia, we the team of Kaalo.101, initiated this visual archive project, WE ARE QUEER for this year’s Pride month.
The archive project is a documentation of Nepal’s queer movement, celebrating both small and big wins. It primarily is an online visual archive and showcases pictures of queer people, their struggles, their celebrations and many more.
With our collaborative effort, we hope to be successful in this project and hold space for discourses and create platforms for archiving queer history.
Joy to the Queers
There's laughing in the streets,
Sounds of good joy
Flags flow in the wind,
Music blasting in the open air
And to think,
That what got us here
Was Black trans women
And drag queens
After decades of hate,
We finally thrive
After decades of fear
We finally strive
Queer history is here,
And we will not hide
We will not sit and watch
The tides go by
Queer joy is important,
Maybe more than pride
Joy that we are here,
Joy that others are near
Joy that we can live
Not just survive
Joy that all of us
Can finally thrive
Joy to the Queers,
Ignoring the jeers
Joy to the Queers,
Well into their years
Sipping on beer
Joy to the Queers,
Who died
But were not forgotten
Joy to us all,
For making it this far
As we march in the streets,
People will hear us sing
No one can ignore,
The joy of a thousand Queers
A Love Letter to History
(if you could call it that)
On a cold January morning in 1914, James Joyce published the first part of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. In that very part, on a similarly cold morning just after Christmas Break, Stephen Dedalus stood huddled with other Clongowes students and watched the snow moulding itself around their boots, wondering what made Simon Moonan and Tusker Boyle, in all their ordinariness, kiss in the square.
Napoleon Bonaparte was not born Napoleon Bonaparte. He was born Napoleon Buonaparte. Napoleon Buonaparte was not born in France, but he was born French enough. Of course, they’ve forgotten that by now. They often aren’t allowed to remind themselves, either.
There is very little to say about Fahrenheit 451 that it has not already said about itself. Any review of it is only ever a paraphrasing of some chapter or other, intentionally or otherwise. In the past twenty years, it has been banned at least ten times in the US alone. I imagine censoring a book about censorship gave many people the opportunity to pat themselves on the back. Unfortunately, their intentions, however malevolent, are misplaced. In the book, the people are on the side of banning books. There is no oppression, and no need for revolution. The bars caging a mind are not so easy to topple. The guillotine falls over an empty basket, and symbolism overflows from an empty cup. There is nothing to overthrow when the fault lies with time.
History. What a heavy word.
Christopher Marlow was excommunicated by the Church, and so was one of Shakespeare’s daughters. It is claimed that he based Ophelia off of his wife. I wonder why.
Five years after that day in the square, Stephen Dedalus refused to back down from his claim of Byron’s brilliance. Words like 'blasphemous' and 'irreligious' pooled around his feet. He cupped his hands in the water and lapped it up. Everything I write now contains some shred of Stephen’s name. I wonder why.
Why is a muse called a muse? To muse is to think, to think deeply. Is a muse’s job to be a conductor of thought? Must all thought be equivalent to love? Why does the word smell like the thickest honey? Why does it sit so heavily on my tongue?
Icarus never meant to fall. If he raced toward the sun, it was only to prove that he could. And he was never on fire. Oh, he burned, alright — the melting wax made sure of it. Did he grasp at the feathers as they came free from the harness? Did he watch them drifting towards the sea? Did he notice anything happening at all? For a moment, a brief, shining moment, the sun was neither hope nor doom, but triumph.
I never could write anything on either the 31st or the 1st. There is something about endings, and something about beginnings. The sun dawned the same on New Year’s Day, but at the stroke of midnight, my phone sang like I lived my whole life before the first light.
Fifteen years after that day in the square, Stephen Dedalus parted with Cranly, unafraid of being alone,
“— and not have any one person who would more than a friend, more even than the noblest and truest friend a man ever had.”
“Of whom are you speaking?” Stephen asked at length.
Cranly did not answer.
They met again, and sixteen years after Oscar’s death, James Joyce retraced his name in “Wilde’s love that dare not speak its name” in a book I have yet to read.
It’s funny how they ban books written centuries ago. Congratulations, Ronald, a pre-industrialization schoolmaster had a broader mind than yours. A clod of dirt shifts as Shakespeare turns in his grave.
History. What a heavy word. I used to think we owed it something.
According by sources given by @loveonfalls , he also used to identify as gay.
Bicycle Race by Queen
Okay so I'm back for Pride Month with this Queen song from 1978, written by Freddie Mercury echoing his Bisexuality!
(Lyrics and OG Video Clip under the cut [TW: Nudity])
Bicycle bicycle bicycle I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride it where I like
You say "black", I say "white" You say "bark", I say "bite" You say "shark", I say "Hey man, Jaws was never my scene And I don't like Star Wars!"
You say "Rolls", I say "Royce" You say "God" - Give me a choice! You say "Lord", I say "Christ!" I don't believe in Peter Pan, Frankenstein or Superman All I wanna do is
Bicycle bicycle bicycle I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my
Bicycle races are coming your way So forget all your duties oh yeah! Fat-bottomed girls they'll be riding today So look out for those beauties oh yeah
On your marks get set go
Bicycle race bicycle race bicycle race Bicycle bicycle bicycle I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle bicycle (I want a) Bicycle race
Hey!
You say "coke", I say "caine" You say "John", I say "Wayne" "Hot dog", I say, "Cool it, man" I don't wanna be the President of America
You say "smile", I say "cheese" "Cartier", I say, "Please" "Income tax", I say "Jesus!" I don't wanna be a candidate For Vietnam or Watergate 'Cause all I want to do is
Bicycle, (Yeah) bicycle, (Hey) bicycle I want to ride my bicycle, bicycle (c'mon), bicycle I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride it where I like
Lyrics from AZLyrics: https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/queen/bicyclerace.html
The Official Video (TW: Nudity)
Annoting that Freddie Mercury never really confirmed being bisexual, but was notoriously dating men and women.
He loved his fiancée Mary Austin and wrote her the song Love of My Life Queen - Love Of My Life (Official Video) (youtube.com) and finished his life romantically involved with his hairdresser Jim Hutton, that he would often call his husband.
Bicycle Race by Queen
Okay so I'm back for Pride Month with this Queen song from 1978, written by Freddie Mercury echoing his Bisexuality!
(Lyrics and OG Video Clip under the cut [TW: Nudity])
Bicycle bicycle bicycle I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride it where I like
You say "black", I say "white" You say "bark", I say "bite" You say "shark", I say "Hey man, Jaws was never my scene And I don't like Star Wars!"
You say "Rolls", I say "Royce" You say "God" - Give me a choice! You say "Lord", I say "Christ!" I don't believe in Peter Pan, Frankenstein or Superman All I wanna do is
Bicycle bicycle bicycle I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my
Bicycle races are coming your way So forget all your duties oh yeah! Fat-bottomed girls they'll be riding today So look out for those beauties oh yeah
On your marks get set go
Bicycle race bicycle race bicycle race Bicycle bicycle bicycle I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle bicycle (I want a) Bicycle race
Hey!
You say "coke", I say "caine" You say "John", I say "Wayne" "Hot dog", I say, "Cool it, man" I don't wanna be the President of America
You say "smile", I say "cheese" "Cartier", I say, "Please" "Income tax", I say "Jesus!" I don't wanna be a candidate For Vietnam or Watergate 'Cause all I want to do is
Bicycle, (Yeah) bicycle, (Hey) bicycle I want to ride my bicycle, bicycle (c'mon), bicycle I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride it where I like
Lyrics from AZLyrics: https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/queen/bicyclerace.html
The Official Video (TW: Nudity)
I Love My Car by Queen
(You really thought I would post music on April's Fool Day ? Here's Freddie Mercury killing it instead)
Freddie Mercury posing on his car
When I was a child, I knew that boys grew up and married girls, and vice versa. And this was simply the way the universe worked.
By the time I was six I knew the basic mechanics of sex, the progression of pregnancy. The former sounded uncomfortable, messy and embarrassing, and I couldn’t figure out why anyone would do it, except that it was apparently necessary for the second. And the second was fascinating and magical, so I supposed that made sense.
(When I was ten, I was probably in love with my “best” friend, inasmuch as a ten year old can be in love with anyone. I worshipped the ground she walked on; her attention or lack thereof devastated me. In every cute little kid “so in love” story you’ve ever heard of, I was in the role given to the little boy, hearts-in-eyes, blindly devoted, absolutely in love.)
When I was eleven, I encountered the idea that men could marry men, and women could marry women, and it seemed entirely pointless to me, and also I couldn’t figure out how two women could have sex. How did that even work? Men I could sort of figure out although it seemed even more uncomfortable and messy than men-and-women. It was weird. But I supposed if that was what people wanted, that’s what they wanted.
(When I was thirteen I fell in love with one of the ladies in my father’s community choir. It was full on courtly love, and I languished silently. I wanted to sit near her and I wanted her to talk to me and I wanted to carry her bag and I wanted to help her do things and I wanted to beat up her good-for-nothing husband who made her sad and insisted they get the cat she loved declawed as the only way to not get rid of it at all, and I wanted to find some way to show her that the expectations that their Mormonism were heaping on her were so unfair and so messed up and so keeping her from realizing how amazing and smart and pretty and funny and clever she was. I would have gone on quests against dragons for that woman.)
Keep reading
Frankly I don’t see the point in fussing over the precise gender identities of historical figures and what they would hypothetically describe themselves as were they alive today. They’re not fictional characters—they’re dead people whose opinions on a continuously evolving topic are largely unknowable, but are part of a shared history nonetheless.
For example, whether a historical figure lived secretly as a man because she was a woman in a society where that was her only option to actually do the things she wanted to do, or because he was just more comfortable that way and wanted to be recognized as a man... how can we know? How can we determine that it was not both? How can we look back through history to a world so different from ours and come to conclusions about things that are often complicated and indistinct in our own time?
I just don’t see what is accomplished by trying to sort and separate trans history from GNC history based on factors we can’t truly be certain of. In an earlier generation, I think I may have lived and presented quite differently based on the choices available to me and the ease with which I may have pursued them. The world changes so much in so many ways and I can barely make sense of myself in my own time—it seems more practical to simply say, “Ah. Relatable. I can see much of myself in the record of your life.” and leave it at that. Our history is cultural, not ancestral, and in a hundred years we may be the source of just as much confusion and consternation even if we believe ourselves clear today.
When I was a child, I knew that boys grew up and married girls, and vice versa. And this was simply the way the universe worked.
By the time I was six I knew the basic mechanics of sex, the progression of pregnancy. The former sounded uncomfortable, messy and embarrassing, and I couldn’t figure out why anyone would do it, except that it was apparently necessary for the second. And the second was fascinating and magical, so I supposed that made sense.
(When I was ten, I was probably in love with my “best” friend, inasmuch as a ten year old can be in love with anyone. I worshipped the ground she walked on; her attention or lack thereof devastated me. In every cute little kid “so in love” story you’ve ever heard of, I was in the role given to the little boy, hearts-in-eyes, blindly devoted, absolutely in love.)
When I was eleven, I encountered the idea that men could marry men, and women could marry women, and it seemed entirely pointless to me, and also I couldn’t figure out how two women could have sex. How did that even work? Men I could sort of figure out although it seemed even more uncomfortable and messy than men-and-women. It was weird. But I supposed if that was what people wanted, that’s what they wanted.
(When I was thirteen I fell in love with one of the ladies in my father’s community choir. It was full on courtly love, and I languished silently. I wanted to sit near her and I wanted her to talk to me and I wanted to carry her bag and I wanted to help her do things and I wanted to beat up her good-for-nothing husband who made her sad and insisted they get the cat she loved declawed as the only way to not get rid of it at all, and I wanted to find some way to show her that the expectations that their Mormonism were heaping on her were so unfair and so messed up and so keeping her from realizing how amazing and smart and pretty and funny and clever she was. I would have gone on quests against dragons for that woman.)
Keep reading
Frankly I don’t see the point in fussing over the precise gender identities of historical figures and what they would hypothetically describe themselves as were they alive today. They’re not fictional characters—they’re dead people whose opinions on a continuously evolving topic are largely unknowable, but are part of a shared history nonetheless.
For example, whether a historical figure lived secretly as a man because she was a woman in a society where that was her only option to actually do the things she wanted to do, or because he was just more comfortable that way and wanted to be recognized as a man... how can we know? How can we determine that it was not both? How can we look back through history to a world so different from ours and come to conclusions about things that are often complicated and indistinct in our own time?
I just don’t see what is accomplished by trying to sort and separate trans history from GNC history based on factors we can’t truly be certain of. In an earlier generation, I think I may have lived and presented quite differently based on the choices available to me and the ease with which I may have pursued them. The world changes so much in so many ways and I can barely make sense of myself in my own time—it seems more practical to simply say, “Ah. Relatable. I can see much of myself in the record of your life.” and leave it at that. Our history is cultural, not ancestral, and in a hundred years we may be the source of just as much confusion and consternation even if we believe ourselves clear today.