Two historians, Jonathan Ned Katz and Tavia Nyong’o, present and analyze the story and visual depiction of Peter Sewally/Mary Jones, a Black transgender person in New York City, in 1836. First published on OutHistory in 2017.
Writing about queer bars and drag culture in the 1972 classic Mother Camp, Esther Newton observed that queer communities had “an economics but no economy.” In this exhibit, Jeffrey Escoffier and Christopher Mitchell address the economics of gay bars…
The growth of gossip magazines and tabloids during the first half of the twentieth century was partially fueled by the industry's embrace of sensational topics such as murder, violence, crime, and corruption. But no subject seemed to attract…
On April 6, 1976, two gay liberation organizations "zapped" (demonstrated at) the New York Academy of Medicine, in New York City, which was hosting a panel on homosexuality sponsored by the Association for Psychoanalytic Medicine, and…
Barbara Gittings interviewed by Jonathan Ned Katz in 1974 about her development as a Lesbian, and about the founding and early history of the New York Daughters of Bilitis.
An exhibit on the often overlooked queer history of Newark, New Jersey, a history that is "tragic at times, but also bold, defiant, and resistant." First published on OutHistory in 2014.
An exhibit focusing on the strains of activism that dominated the LGBT political scene in New York City and across the country from 1969 to 1973.
Profiles of ten LGBT social justice activists by Rich Wilson. First published December 10, 2013. Last edited: May 28, 2017.
An exhibit on Gay and Lesbian Youth of New York and its relationship to the FBI in the 1980s.
A collection of biographies written by the students in Catherine Jacquet's Fall 2012 class at the University of Illinois, Chicago. The class was titled "Gender Non-Conformity in Historical Perspective."
David Kerry Heefner's reflections on a much loved off-off-Broadway play of the 1960s. Published originally on OutHistory in 2013.
The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C., is the oldest continuously active gay rights organization in the United States. Founded on April 20, 1971, as the Gay Activists Alliance, the group dedicated itself to securing the…
FIERCE is a membership-based organization building the leadership and power of LGBTQ youth of color in New York City. Text by FIERCE, compiled by Andre Banks, Thomas J. Lax and Ellen Vaz. Photographs courtesy of FIERCE © 2010. All Rights Reserved.
A series of "musings on lesbian history" originally contributed as "Blog on History" by Joan Nestle, co-founder of the Lesbian Herstory Archives. Copyright © Joan Nestle 2008. All rights reserved.
An introduction to the 2010 discovery by historian Randall Sell of Riddle of the Underworld (1921), a long-missing trans memoir by Jennie June/Ralph Werther/Earl Lind, with thanks to Ted Faigle for his transcription work. See also Who Was Jennie…
A series of articles by John D'Emilio written for the Windy City Times about Chicago's gay history and his own career as an historian of sexuality. Published on OutHistory February 5, 2013.
A historical account of the campaign for a transgender rights law in New York City that occurred from 2000 to 2002. This exhibit was created by Pauline Park, co-chair and co-founder of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA).…
A collection of items about a gay liberation play, including 2013 reflections by the author (OutHistory's founder), reviews, and excerpts.
The years from 1607 to 1783 constitute the founding era of what became the United States. In the early years of this era, in these American colonies, the penalty for sodomy was death, and a number of executions are documented. Sodomy was usually…