MetaFilter posts tagged with gay and history

"...an enormous erect phallus, and piles of lettuce in the background."

The Whelk — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:09:37 -0800

First noticed on tumblr but now available to all, Alex Clayden's paper "Same-Sex Desire in Pharaonic Egypt" which, among other things, tells you about the connection between lettuce and semen and the Ancient Egyptian for "You have a nice ass."

"In this country, I can marry ANYONE I WANT! Because there's CHANGE in this country now!"

Kattullus — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 18:16:34 -0800

However long it takes for a real victory to be certified—no matter what happens on Election Day, it will be too early to unfurl a "Mission Accomplished" banner—the once ragtag march of lovers has acquired an air of inevitability. Edith Eyde's prophecy is almost fulfilled: gays are more or less regular folk. All the same, many who came out during the Stonewall era are wondering what will be lost as the community sheds its pariah status. They are baffled by the latter-day cult of marriage and the military—emblems of Eisenhower's America that the Stonewall generation joyfully rejected. The gay world is confronting a question with which Jews, African-Americans, and other marginalized groups have long been familiar: the price of assimilation.

—Love on the March by Alex Ross. In a brief post-election follow-up, Ross reflects:

Writers live in dread that their stories will be overtaken by breaking news. I'm elated, though, that one line in "Love on the March"—my long essay on gay rights and gay culture in America, which appears in this week's issue—is about to be rendered obsolete. Same-sex marriage will shortly be legal not in six states, but in eight or nine: in yesterday's election, voters in Maryland and Maine approved ballot measures to that effect, and voters in Washington appear likely to have done the same. Furthermore, Minnesotans turned down an attempt to codify a "one man, one woman" definition of marriage; Iowans declined to unseat David Wiggins, a judge who ruled for gay marriage in 2009; and, most breathtakingly, Wisconsinites elected Tammy Baldwin as the first openly gay senator in American history. Lesbians and gays who are accustomed to electoral setbacks even in years when the liberal cause advances—California Proposition 8, in 2008, was one stinging example—now savor something rich and strange: the feeling that the great silent majority is moving to their side.

THE resource on the net for the history of GLBT music

showbiz_liz — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:20:33 -0800

Queer Music Heritage is a sprawling website about the history of queer music. You can listen to twelve years' worth of monthly radio shows (link goes to the first year, 2000); take a look at the Queer Music History 101 overview; check out the extensive photo galleries in the female impersonators section; or read through the blog, which features interesting tidbits from gay musical history, like this overview of the Sissy Man Blues. And a shoutout to the book Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940. I found Queer Music Heritage by googling some of the songs listed in this book- almost every one of them has a page on this site.

The "Unstoppable Gay Jew"

zarq — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 18:30:03 -0800

In 1971, "decades before any state had seriously considered legalizing gay marriage, long before anyone had thought of creating—never mind repealing—a policy called “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” before Reagan, before AIDS, before the American Psychiatric Association determined that homosexuality was not a mental illness, and before half the people currently living in America were even born, a man named John Singer stepped into the King County marriage license office in Seattle." Meet Faygele ben Miriam, the radical activist who pioneered the fight for same-sex marriage in Washington State, 41 years ago. Via.

South London Gay Community Centre

Abiezer — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 10:51:12 -0800

The Brixton Fairies and the South London Gay Community Centre, Brixton 1974-6 "This fascinating story about Brixton’s legendary gay community of the 1970s was posted up on the urban75 bulletin boards, and thanks to the author Ian Townson, I’m now able to repost an illustrated version, giving a wonderful insight into a long lost part of Brixton life."

Where did heterosexuality come from?

latkes — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:58:49 -0800

The Invention of the Heterosexual: In a new book, author Hanne Blank explains the surprisingly short history of the concepts of hetero- and homosexuality. HT kalessin.

Tell

zarq — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 07:22:53 -0800

"I finally said, you know what, I'm going to tell my story. The first American injured in the Iraq war is a gay Marine. He wanted to give his life to this country." ~Eric Alva, 40, former Marine and veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom
Tell: An Intimate History of Gay Men in the Military Single page version

The last man to have been imprisoned in a concentration camp for being homosexual under the Nazis has died, his obituary is more interesting than that sounds.

maiamaia — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:21:46 -0800

Last gay concentration camp inmate dies.

"Darn! One of our editors is dead."

GenjiandProust — Thu, 06 May 2010 06:07:43 -0800

Diseased Pariah News started in 1990 as "a patently offensive publication of, by, and for people with HIV disease (and their friends and loved ones). We are a forum for infected people to share their thoughts, feelings, art, writing and brownie recipes in an atmosphere free of teddy bears, magic rocks, and seronegative guilt." It ran for 11 issues over the next 9 years, 8 of which can be found here. (NSFW, irritating interface) Featuring bitterly amusing columns (cooking advice under "Get Fat, Don't Die"), amusingly bitter commentary ("Together for Eternity: Roy Cohn and Kimberly Bergalis"), and often clever centerfolds of HIV positive models (including one that could only be viewed by using a cylindrical mirror), this zine was a breath of fresh air during its run, and is still interesting reading today. In the interests of full disclosure, I used to sell a lot of copies at my store.

Gay History - Online Documentaries

hippybear — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:42:42 -0800

A treasure trove of gay and lesbian documentaries to watch online. Our course begins with a brief overview. (9m05s)

Before Stonewall

Phyllis Lyon and Dell Martin started a newsletter for lesbians. (9m49s) Other women read dimestore lesbian novels [Forbidden Love - Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10unavailable (approx 75m)]. Gay bikers held rally weekends (silent, 2m30s). Life, pre-Stonewall, as told by gay seniors who lived it. (6m55s)

Stonewall

The setting and events of Stonewall, told by Phil Davis. (36m04s) Stonewall veterans share their stories. (6m12s) The first march, as told by gay seniors who lived it. (6m31s) GLBT groups began to organize and create community centers. (8m06s) Bonus movie: 1971 Gay Activist Alliance takeover of the NYC Wedding Bureau after City Clerk Herman Katz threatened to crack down on MCC gay union ceremonies. (5m preview, 47m34s with Veoh Player install)

The First Decade After Stonewall

Gilbert Baker designed the Gay Pride Flag. (27m46s) A pride parade from the mid-70s. (10m0s) The Times Of Harvey Milk (1h28m0s) [used by Sean Penn to study for his portrayal]. Harry Hay (Mattachine society founder) starts the Radical Faeries. (1m56s) The early years of the Radical Faeries, told by Jerry the Faerie. (10m0s) The Age Of AIDS Part 1 2 3 4 (approx 3h30m) [not strictly gay] Black, White, and Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe (1h12m) Twenty Years After Stonewall (including speeches by Harry Hay and Harvey Fierstein, amongst others) Part 1 2 3 4 (approx 68m) Paris Is Burning [NYC Vogue "Houses"] Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 (approx 1h10m)

Gay in the Twenty-First Century

Radical Faerie Sanctuary at Short Mountain. (28m19s) Gay Conversion Therapy (21m06s) [sound is out of sync at beginning, gets better]. 30 Days: A Straight Man In A Gay World (45m44s) I Have Gay Parents. (40m19s) Gay media figures examine the forty years since Stonewall. (1h21m) Forty Years After Stonewall (34m00s) Bonus films: Gay Hollywood: The Last Taboo Part 1 2 (approx 47m) and The Lavendar Lens: 100 Years of Celluloid Queers (1h57m52s) Plus: Fellow Travelers Part 1 2 3 (approx20m30s) - Photographer Mark Thompson narrates his portraits of gay leaders. Also: Saint Of 9/11 (1h31m) Story of Fire Department Chaplain Father Mychal Judge, first recorded casualty of the terrorist attacks. [note: Sept 11 footage]

Gay Liberation

Kattullus — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:13:57 -0800

1969: The Year of Gay Liberation is an online exhibit of the New York Public Library focusing on the radical gay rights movements of the late sixties and early seventies, focusing on the organizations The Mattachine Society of New York, Daughters of Bilitis, Gay News, Gay Liberation Front, Radicalesbians, Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries and the Gay Activists Alliance, and the events of the Stonewall Riot and Christopher Street Liberation Day. This is but one part of the NYPL's fine LGBT collection, which includes, among other things, resources for teens, AIDS/HIV collections, and digital collections on ACT UP, Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin Lahusen, Bessie Bonehill, Gertrude Stein, Gran Fury, Julian Eltinge, Richard Wandel and Walt Whitman.

Nothing but to keep on trying

fiercecupcake — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:18:42 -0800

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon were the first to wed in California -- again. Martin and Lyon are best known for founding the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian rights organization in the U.S. Congratulations, Del and Phyllis!

People with a History

Kattullus — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:20:31 -0800

People with a History is "an online guide to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans history." Ranging from the first stirrings of civilization to the modern day, People with a History gathers together original sources and academic articles dealing with queerness throughout history. To give you a feel for the wealth of material on the site, here are a few pages that caught my interest: The Vikings and Homosexuality, Coptic Spell: Spell for a Man to Obtain a Male Lover, an acount of a gay marriage ceremony described by Michel de Montaigne, But Among Our Own Selves (an 18th Century gay ballad), a chapter from The Life of St. Theodore of Sykeon, a 7th Century Byzantine monk and bishop, which mentions adelphopoiesis, or the rite of brothermaking, Wu Tsao, 19th Century Chinese lesbian poet, and finally Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Men.

The Boys of Boise

jonp72 — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:39:18 -0800

In 1955, at least twelve men in Boise, Idaho were arrested for "infamous crimes against nature.". In the resulting dragnet, the vice president of the Idaho First National Bank was sentenced to seven years in prison, while national magazines fomented a McCarthyite Lavender Scare with headlines such as Male Pervert Ring Seduces 1,000 Boys. This dark chapter in Idaho gay history was documented in both John Gerassi's 1966 book, The Boys of Boise and the recent film, The Fall of '55, by documentarian Seth Randal, but neither Gerassi nor Randal could identify The Queen, a closeted but politically connected homosexual who allegedly used his massive clout to stop the witch hunt.

Anders als die Andern

kirkaracha — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 17:08:17 -0800

Anders als die Andern ("Different From the Others") [IMDB|Wikipedia] was one of a series of films on sexual issues directed by Richard Oswald in the late 1910s and sponsored by Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute for Sexual Science. The 1919 movie (photo reconstruction), "the first major gay-themed film ever made," and "the world's first homosexual emancipation film," was made in part to protest against Paragraph 175, which was added to Germany's Reich Penal Code in 1871 and prohibited sex acts "between persons of male sex." [more inside]

Franklin Kameny Papers Online

LarryC — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 13:14:07 -0800

The Kameny Papers Project preserved and presents the papers of gay rights pioneer Franklin Kameny, who had activists picketing the White House in 1965, well before Stonewall. The website includes a nice archive of his papers, including correspondence, a small photo gallery, and some charming hate mail from members of Congress. See also the Franklin Kameny pages at the Rainbow History Project. Yesterday, the Library of Congress accepted Kameny's papers. [via Andrew Sullivan]

The Great Queers of History

madamjujujive — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 04:11:11 -0800

The Great Queers of History - I am sometimes asked, ‘But does it really matter that some historical figure, for example Tchaikovsky, was gay? ... But I like to pose some questions of my own in response: ‘If it doesn't really matter, why has society taken such great pains to conceal Tchaikovsky’s sexuality, maybe even murder him for it? from Lists of famous homosexuals ( ... and a prior related post by anastasiav, Homosexuality in 18th Century England)

Dude, be prepared. Be that Boy Scout they won't let you be anymore.

amberglow — Mon, 09 May 2005 13:15:52 -0800

The Uses of Canaries--and what canaries need to do --...Why go to all that trouble when we have reduced the homosexual, himself, to nothing more than a body part? Remove the homo -- he's just a diseased body part, after all -- and the problem is solved. Of course there will always be those so pathologically sex-panicked that they have to rely on their Think Pieces to get their pornography fix. Not worth worrying about, generally. But when United States Senators start in with the Depravity Fillip, and the DF starts showing up in the campaign literature of various groups... well, you want to keep your eye on that sort of thing. You maybe want to start thinking about that famous canary in the mine-shaft. ...

The Trial of John Dicks, and other True Stories

anastasiav — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 15:45:39 -0800

Homosexuality in 18th Century England :: an amazing compilation of primary source material from newspaper reports and other sources.

Jodie Dallas LIVES!

WolfDaddy — Tue, 11 May 2004 11:06:46 -0800

If you're in New York City or LA between now and June 27th, the Museum of Television and Radio is presenting "Not That There's Anything Wrong With That --The History of Gay and Lesbian Images on Television" (via the Queer as Folk section of Showtime's site) (Anyone else remember Robert Reed playing a transsexual on Medical Center?)

wild stag bags drag lads

RJ Reynolds — Mon, 10 Mar 2003 22:25:33 -0800

Fifty years ago this month, then-19-year-old George Mansour was arrested for having sex with a sailor at a private party -- his name was published in the paper and his acceptance to Boston University was revoked. This fascinating slice of recent history (don't miss the hilarious interview) coincides interestingly with current privacy-related news at home and abroad. [via uffish]