How LGBTQ+ Activists Got “Homosexuality” out of the DSM
The first DSM, created in 1952, established a hierarchy of sexual deviancies, vaulting heterosexual behavior to an idealized place in American culture.
The Origins of LGBTQ-Affirming Churches
As far back as the 1940s, religious LGBTQ people organized groups and congregations that welcomed them.
How NOW Started Standing Up for Lesbians
If it had been up to national leaders alone, it might have taken much longer.
Notes on Queer Conception and the Redefinition of Family
Feminist scholars refer to the “intensely communal, queer, and playful nature” of DIY LGBTQ conception, but Fertility, Inc. is another story.
Community Care in the AIDS Crisis
The Shanti Project’s work in caring for people with AIDS provides valuable lessons in the efficacy of mutual aid in fighting disease.
In The Gay Cookbook, Domestic Bliss Was Queer
Chef Lou Rand Hogan whipped up well-seasoned wit and served a gay take on home life during the early-1960s craze for camp.
When It Comes to Coming Out, Location Matters
Two scholars compared coming out experiences in the U.S. and France. The differences may speak to shifts in everyday life for LGBTQ people.
ONE: The First Gay Magazine in the United States
ONE is a vital archive, but its focus on citizenship and “rational acceptance” ultimately blocked it from being the safe home for all that it claimed to be.
Julie Enszer: “We Couldn’t Get Them Printed,” So We Learned to Print Them Ourselves
The editor of the lesbian feminist magazine Sinister Wisdom talked to us about lesbian print culture, feminist collectives, and revolution.
“There Was Grit and Talent Galore”
Lindsy Van Gelder—author of that famous New York Post article about bra-burning feminists—reflects on the alternative LGBTQ+ press of the 1970s.