Mt. Holyoke Balloon Day

How Women Crushed on One Another Back in the Day

Same-sex crushes and romantic friendships between college-age women were common throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Illustration of Delaney flowers

An 18th-Century “Sapphist”’s Sexy Garden

The 18th-century "sapphist" gardens of Mary Granville Pendarves Delany were piquant places that expressed same-sex desires.
Stonewall Inn

Why Stonewall?

The Stonewall riot in June, 1969 is generally remembered as be the beginning of the gay liberation movement. But there was precedent for the event.
Mae West

How The “Fag Hag” Went From Hated to Celebrated

At its core, the relationship between single women and gay men has longstanding historical roots.
Giovanni's Room, Philadelphia

Book Club Made Me Gay

Book clubs and reading groups have long been important to marginalized communities.
Businessmen

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.
LGBTQ Pride Online

9 Reasons for the LGBTQ Community to Take Pride Online

Today, gay teens don't have to feel alone because the internet makes it possible to connect with other LGBTQ people all over the world. Right?
Martha Van Rensselaer and Flora Rose

The Turn-of-the-Century Lesbians Who Founded The Field of Home Ec

Flora Rose and Martha Van Rensselaer lived in an open and acknowledged lesbian relationship. They also helped found the field of home economics.
Sir Roger Casement

Why Was Roger Casement Hanged?

A century after being executed as a traitor, Roger Casement continues to fascinate.
James Baldwin by Allan Warren

Gay Culture: Ancient Wonder or Modern Creation?

Even at more open-minded times, gays and gay culture is always seen as a frivolous—a decorative, added bonus of civilization.