Ismat Chughtai

Ismat Chughtai’s Quilt and Queer Desire

Long before India decriminalized homosexuality—in September 2018—the short story "Lihaaf" sparked outrage and a lawsuit for its depiction of same-sex, intergenerational intimacy.
Ralph Kerwineo, 1914

Introducing Ralphero Kerwineo

He just wanted to live an honest life.
Photo of an original engraving from the Works of William Hogarth published in 1833.

The Shameless City

The discourse around police raids of so-called molly houses reflected the fear that London was a new Sodom where anonymity allowed people to be shameless.
The cover of the March, 1963 issue of Tomorrow's Man

Gay Mass Consumption Before Stonewall

In the 1960s, the Mattachine Society had only a few thousand members. But tens of thousands of men subscribed to physique magazines published by gay entrepreneurs.
Woman in military clothes on a background of rainbow

From Handcuffs to Rainbows: Queer in the Military

The US military has done an about face on LGBTQ+ rights in just over a decade.
The Northwestern University Gay Liberation Group attending the anti-Vietnam War demonstration in Washington, D.C.

Coming Out Against The Vietnam War

The war radicalized many draft-age men, gay as well as straight. They helped normalize certain expressions of homosexuality while trying to avoid the draft.
Covers for Plusieurs vies by Rachid O.; l’Enfant de sable by Tahar Ben Jelloun; and Une mélancolie arabe by Abdellah Taïa

Queer Literature from North Africa and the Maghreb: A Reading List

Theoretical and literary works that explore themes of queerness, identity, and resistance within the context of North Africa and the Maghreb.
A cover of Frauen Liebe, 1928

Publishing Queer Berlin

Weimar Germany was an improbably safe space for newspapers and magazines by and for lesbians.
A uniformed member of the Nazi SA and a student of the Academy of Physical Exercise examine materials plundered from the library of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, director of the Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin on May 6, 1933.

90 Years On: The Destruction of the Institute of Sexual Science

In May 1933, Nazi-led student groups organized public burnings of "un-German" books, including those held in the library of the Institute for Sexual Science.
Rainbow flag flying together with Canadian flag in London, Ontario, Canada

O Canada: A Refuge for LGBTQ+ People Worldwide?

Canada welcomes those facing persecution for sexual orientation or gender identity—but the process to claim asylum may not be straightforward.