These movements began as responses to centuries of persecution by church, state, and medical authorities. Social movements, organizing around the acceptance and rights of persons who might today identify as LGBT or queer, began as responses to centuries of persecution by church, state and medical authorities. Where homosexual activity or deviance from established gender roles/dress[…]
LGBTQ history in the United States spans the contributions and struggles of individuals as well as the coalitions they’ve built. 18th and 19th Centuries With the establishment of the United States following the American Revolution, such crimes as “sodomy” were considered to be a capital offense in some states, while cross-dressing was considered a felony[…]
How lesbian authors have reinvented the imagined spaces of the U.S. South through print culture, activism, and intentional communities. Introduction The middle-aged man sitting in the row in front of me shoved his wife’s arm and pointed at two women. “See?!” he said, conspiratorially, derisively. I looked at my friend Cheryl and raised an eyebrow.[…]
Little Richard honed his craft as a teenage drag queen. We see the influence of gay contemporaries like Esquerita and Billy Wright. Introduction ince Little Richard died on May 9, he’s been rightly celebrated as one of the most exciting and influential performers in the canon of American popular music. But in most tributes, the[…]
In the 1950s, ‘coming out’ meant acknowledging sexual orientation. Today, the term is used by a broad array of social movements. Introduction You probably know what it means to “come out” as gay. You may even have heard the expression used in relation to other kinds of identity, such as being undocumented. But do you[…]