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.
Did A Star is Born Make Judy Garland a Gay Icon?
One scholar argues that Judy Garland's role in A Star is Born was so pivotal because it involved both gender impersonation and “racial drag."
Homophobia in Women’s Sports
Ever since women began to publicly play sports in the late nineteenth century, female athletes have been seen as threats and subjected to suspicion.
Queering Jack Sheppard
An interview with author Jordy Rosenberg about his mesmerizing novel, Confessions of the Fox.
The Unspeakable Linguistics of Camp
When gay and lesbian people had to invent their own languages with which to talk with each other, camp led the way.
How Ellen DeGeneres Changed TV
In 1997, Ellen DeGeneres publicly came out on her show, Ellen. It was a cultural turning point for many.
American Film’s Disappearing Lesbians
In the 1990s, lesbian characters were repeatedly transformed into "close friends" in film adaptions of LGBTQ-themed books.
Lesbianism (!) at the Convent
Mother Superior Benedetta Carlini, a visionary nun of Renaissance Italy, was accused of heresy and “female sodomy.”
The Forgotten Gender Nonconformists of the Old West
In the Old West, cross-dressing was sometimes a disguise for criminals on the lam. But, one historian argues, in many cases these “cross-dressers” were probably people who we would identify as transgender today.
Why Queer Eye Still Matters
Underneath the home and personal makeovers, is "Queer Eye" political?