The Stonewall Riots Didn’t Start the Gay Rights Movement
Giving Stonewall too much credit misses the movement’s growing strength in the 1960s, sociologists note.
Why Did the Victorians Harbor Warm Feelings for Leeches?
Medical authorities wrote about leeches as if they sucked blood out of the goodness of their hearts.
“No Unescorted Ladies Will Be Served”
For decades, bars excluded single women, claiming the crowds were too “rough” and “boisterous” and citing vague fears of “fallen girls.”
What Reformers Learned When They Visited 1830s Brothels
Middle class members of the New York Female Moral Reform Society visited brothels to save women from sin. What they actually encountered surprised them.
The Night They Drove Disco Down
On July 12th, 1979, a promotional event turned into a violent fracas, marking the beginning of the end of disco. Some say it was fueled by anti-gay anger.
Who Gets To Speak Publicly About Sex?
Frederick Hollick's case involved not only his controversial sex-positive arguments, but also the question of who should be privy to medical knowledge about sex.
The Truth About J. Edgar Hoover’s “Cross-Dressing”
The story of J. Edgar Hoover dressing in women's clothing is part of American myth. But does this story tell us more about Hoover or about the nature of gossip?
Knowledge and Nostalgia at the Museum: From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler imagines the museum as a site of hands-on learning and intimacy with the past.
The Secret Gay Business Network of Midcentury America
In the 1940s and 50s, a life of business travel represented a sense of freedom for gay men that would have been impossible in earlier decades.