LGBT+ History by the Decades: Stonewall
This episode is covering the event that seems to be the center of queer history. Of course many in the community know Stonewall as the legend it is, but how many know it for the event it was? Through...
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Benvenuto Cellini’s queer life
The BBC’s History Extra podcast describes the astonishing life and career of the Renaissance artist Benvenuto Cellini – a story of murder, plague, sex with young apprentices and models and even...
View ArticleLGBT+ History By The Decades: Gay Liberation
After Stonewall brought the LGBT community together, it began to drift apart. Watch to learn about how liberation turned into activism, parades, and disagreement.
View ArticleLGBT+ History By the Decades: Harvey Milk
The “Mayor of Castro Street” takes the nation by storm.
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18th century gangs extorted men with threats to out them as gay
In the 18th century bands of extortioners targeted men – including the son of a prime minister – and extorted them for cash in the 17th and 18th centuries, researchers have discovered. Middlesex...
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The Italian Mafia’s pivotal role in the 1969 Stonewall uprising
The legendary Stonewall Inn will forever be remembered as the birthplace of LGBT+ rights – but the Mafia’s role in the story is lesser known, and far more murky. You might think the Italian mob and gay...
View ArticleA brief history of queer music
Music has the power to cross barriers of time, place, and person. LGBTQ+ artists have found ways to tap into liberation throughout time — people like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Bessie Smith, Little...
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Queer athletes shine at Olympics
Over a week since the flame was lit and the Olympic Games commenced, very few teams have gleamed as much as “Team LGBTQ” has in Tokyo thus far. Team LGBTQ isn’t an official Olympic squad, but that’s...
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Gender variance over time
As the transgender community continues to fight for civil rights in the U.S., one of the most common arguments against progress is that transgender people are a recent phenomenon. Some regard trans...
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The ancient army of gay lovers
In the fourth century BC, a fearsome army named the Sacred Band of Thebes was formed, and it was made up entirely of gay couples. Lawmakers in countries across the world have been banning LGBT+ people...
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A secret trial that transformed transgender rights
In 1965, Scottish aristocrat Ewan Forbes stood to inherit his family’s baronetcy but, as a transgender man, he soon became embroiled in a top-secret legal case which had consequences that still affect...
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Freddie Mercury’s tragic death saved lives in fight against HIV
On 20 April 1992, some of the biggest names in the music industry descended on London’s Wembley Stadium to remember their friend Freddie Mercury. It was a momentous occasion – George Michael, Liza...
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Sex through history
Fern Riddell, author of Sex: Lessons from History, discusses what we can learn from looking at sexual culture in the past, and gives her thoughts on what we get wrong about the sex lives of our...
View ArticleWhy men in classical art all have small penises
Greek, Roman, and Renaissance art stands out for its beauty and its attention to the human form. But millions of art lovers want to know: Why do old statues have small penises? From Michelangelo’s...
View ArticleThe Beauty President
While the history books will show that in 1993 Bill Clinton became the 42nd POTUS, the fact that a Black drag queen had registered as a candidate for the highest office in the US has widely been...
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History of bottoms: From Ancient Greece to modern misogyny
When people think of bottoming – performing the receptive role in sex – it’s not uncommon for them to think of stereotypes for gay men. Think limited edition Lana Del Rey vinyl, watching Call Me By...
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The early 20th-century ID cards that kept trans people safe
Katharina T., a resident of Berlin in the early 20th century, had a deep voice and masculine appearance, and preferred to wear men’s clothing at home and in public. In 1908, they—there’s no record of...
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The history of queer Hollywood
In the 1930s, it’s safe to say that there wasn’t a whole lot of queer representation on screen – which is why Wonder Bar had the impact it did. The film, an adaptation of a Broadway musical of the same...
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William Beckford: A queer hedonist
Few men attained greater celebrity during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries than William Beckford (1760—1844), the wealthiest man in England. With enormous wealth as his Aladdin’s...
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