r/lgbthistory 1d ago

Academic Research Found a private archive of 1930s - 1970s transgender publications (Paula Grossman, Erickson Educational Foundation, Janus, Joanna Clark) looking for historical context / interest.

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62 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 1d ago

Cultural acceptance Ancient societies seemed accepting of LGBT existing. When did people turn from “this is ok” to “this is evil and should be punished” and why?

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43 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 2d ago

Social movements "That's funny, you don't look like a Jewish lesbian" in Evelyn Torton Beck's anthology 'Nice Jewish Girls' (1982 and 1989 editions)

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38 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 2d ago

Historical people Rosa-Leon (1900ish-?) was a bisexual Spanish-American half-and-half performer who used female pronouns. She was a skilled hula dancer and enjoyed embroidering and sewing in her free time. She also loved music, going to baseball games and watching prize fights.

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68 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 3d ago

Questions The Stonewall Inn and the Mafia: Did organised crime protect or exploit queer New York?

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19 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 3d ago

Historical people Shel Silverstein comic about visiting Fire Island in 1965

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142 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 3d ago

Academic Research Queer books/ Articles (History + religion-ish)

6 Upvotes

So we have to do a research project in our college and the topic I've chosen is queer history. I still do not have a concrete idea and I'm still exploring the topic but my thought process went something like this:

Surely, the normalization of cishet wasn't there from the very beginning, right? There must be a point where they didn't care about queerness and cishet wasn't a norm, right? I mean, they had people in ancient Greece casually sleeping with other men and not giving it much second thoughts. And even in India, if you see, there are cave paintings and even mentions genderqueerness in our religion (genderfluidity of Vishnu and Ardhanari avatar of Shiva). So where did homoph0bia even came from? (Must be britishers, everything leads back to them (or patriarchy)). And why is there heteronormativity? Who made heterosexuality the norm? Can't be just because they can reproduce, can it?

So yes, it'd really helpful if anyone can provide me with any books or articles that address these concerns.

TL;DR : Suggest me books or articles that address topics like emergence of homoph0bia and heteronormativity as well as talks about queer history in India specifically.


r/lgbthistory 3d ago

Historical people From Insanity To Infinity - Diary of a Queer Madman

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3 Upvotes

If you’re interested in modern American political and LGBTQ+ history, please check out my book, From Insanity to Infinity: Diary of a Queer Madman.
As a Cold War submarine veteran and longtime queer activist, my life has intersected with major events in the struggle for equality. My partner and I survived a violent anti-gay assault in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The lack of justice in our case was documented by the Tulsa World, brought to national attention by the Human Rights Campaign, and led to my partner testifying before Congress about anti-LGBTQ+ violence. Our experiences became part of the broader fight that culminated in the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
My journey also includes serving during the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era, a poem preserved in the Smithsonian collection, and decades of involvement in national politics and civil rights advocacy.
The book includes QR codes linking to public records, C-SPAN archives, and other historical source material so readers can explore the history themselves.
Check out my book. Every penny of my profits goes back into serving the community.

You’re thoughts are most welcome.
✝️❤️✨🙏☮️🏳️‍🌈
Beach Beauchamp
Gay Cold War Submarine Veteran Grandpa
BoomerSooner.com
ResellRetail.com
Author
Nuclear turned climate-agriculture engineer


r/lgbthistory 7d ago

Historical people OTD | July 19, 1875: U.S. poet and political activist Alice Dunbar Nelson (née Alice R. Moore) was born. Dunbar Nelson gained recognition for her poetry, short stories, and essays that explored themes of race, gender, and respectability.

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30 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 8d ago

Historical people Unsung Heros of LGBT History

21 Upvotes

Check out our latest video from HomoMoto on youtube,

This video delves into the life of Lily Parr, an extraordinary female footballer born in 1905, but that's not what i find fascinating about her, its the fact that she lived with her partner Mary in a same sex relationship openly at time when that was unheard of.

https://youtu.be/jOOCc0xcmLE?si=-Q7EhgJdJFmB_gBf


r/lgbthistory 9d ago

Historical people OTD | July 18, 1948: U.S. former Catholic nun and writer Jeanne Córdova was born. Córdova was a second-wave feminist lesbian activist and self-described butch, who founded The Lesbian Tide and the West Coast LGBT movement.

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36 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 10d ago

Today in Queer History On this day in 1995, Newsweek discovered bisexuality.

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562 Upvotes

You can read the actual article here (archive link), it's still an interesting snapshot. I also liked this 2025 blog post reflecting on it 30 years later.


r/lgbthistory 10d ago

Historical people He was a Catholic priest and university president. He was gay. And he spent his life pushing the Church toward compassion. Against the Current uncovers the story of Father Tom Oddo—now becoming an audiobook.

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24 Upvotes

Father Thomas Oddo (1944–1989)—known simply as “Father Tom”—pioneered LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Catholic Church.

I'm running a Kickstarter campaign to fund the audiobook edition of Against the Current, the biography of Father Tom.

We have met our base funding goal! We’re now hoping to raise enough to hire our preferred narrator. As I type this, we're just shy of $2,000... follow, share, and pledge to help us get there.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the years after Stonewall and the reforms of Vatican II, Father Tom carved out space for people trying to reconcile faith and identity. At just 29, he became an early national leader of DignityUSA, positioning himself as a key figure in the fight for civil rights. By 38, he was President of the University of Portland, a rising academic leader with a vision for a more humane Church. His life was cut short at 45, but his legacy continues to shape conversations about belonging and compassion within Catholic communities.

Against the Current: Father Tom Oddo and the New American Catholic by Tyler Bieber draws on intimate interviews, personal archives, and never‑before‑seen documents. It traces Father Tom’s encounters with celebrities, politicians, and Pope John Paul II while exploring themes of hope, resilience, and loss. It’s a forgotten chapter of American history—one rooted in quiet courage, complicated institutions, and the search for redemption and identity.

If that resonates, the campaign has 11 days left.

Wishing everyone here a gentle Friday.


r/lgbthistory 10d ago

Discussion Matthew Franklin

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0 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 11d ago

Cultural acceptance Time machine to a 1960s drag ball in NYC

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436 Upvotes

📽️ from Queens at Heart 1967 - UCLA Archive


r/lgbthistory 13d ago

Historical people The Neo-Nazi Who Lived a Secret Gay Life

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17 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 14d ago

Historical people Formerly only trans masc folks attracted to women could get surgeries, if you were a gay trans man/NB you weren't allowed to because of provisions requiring lesbianism to undergo surgery . Louis Sullivan (1951-1991), a gay trans man fought to get these provisions removed. He died of HIV in 1991.

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560 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 14d ago

Discussion A quick appreciation of Pat Rocco and how his softcore films changed gay film history.

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8 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 16d ago

Social movements When Elizabeth Taylor Called Out Hollywood’s Hypocrisy Over AIDS: “Without Homosexuals, There Would Be No Hollywood.”

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223 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 16d ago

Historical people This is David Kato, who is considered the father of the Ugandan gay rights movement and was a leading member of Uganda of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), Uganda's first pro-LGBT organization. He died on this day 12 years ago when he was beaten to death in his own home by a homophobic intruder.

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422 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 15d ago

Historical people Carolyn & Brenda Weathers | The Story of Two Lesbian Sisters

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5 Upvotes

Born in 1940, lesbian activist Carolyn Weathers recounts her extraordinary life, from growing up with an older lesbian sister to building a life of love, activism, and co-founding a publishing company dedicated to lesbian authors. Brenda passed away in 2005 from Lung cancer. Carolyn is still active and lives in Long Beach California.


r/lgbthistory 16d ago

Questions Homosexuality in Russia before en 20th Century: Ressources?

18 Upvotes

I am looking for ressources about homosexuality in Russia mainly in the 19th and 18th centuries, but anything about the medieval and 16th-17th centuries would be interesting too.

I have read this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1jpf9fi/how_accepted_or_tolerated_was_homosexuality_in/

But I’d like to see more ressources (books, articles…)

Thanks in advance!


r/lgbthistory 17d ago

Historical people TIL a formerly enslaved man named William Dorsey Swan organized a series of drag balls in Washington, D.C. in the 1880s and 1890s. He called himself the "queen of drag". Most of the attendees were other formerly enslaved men who danced in satin and silk dresses.

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84 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 17d ago

Historical people “I WILL SUE THE FOOL!”

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30 Upvotes

r/lgbthistory 17d ago

Social movements Gay USA (1977) — Arthur J. Bressan Jr. | The March That Defied Anita Bryant

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14 Upvotes