For Queer Mice
by BROWWWSER
History/Herstory/Ourstory
n high school and college I hated history. Looking back now, maybe it's
because I was starting to come out and I realized gay people were conveniently missing
from the textbooks. Then when I started reading on my own, like any book by Randy Shilts
or "Queers in America" by Michelangelo Signorile, I discovered a past I never
knew I had or needed so desperately. As we uncover our own history and learn the truth
about ourselves, it makes us angry and determined to get involved. Now you can learn about
queer history from the Internet from places like the Queer
Resources Directory at http://qrd.tcp.com/qrd/,
the massive archive of LGBT info. So rev up your browsers and prepare yourself to learn
things they never taught you in school.
Start your new education at http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/scotts/bulgarians/history-pg.html
for notes and links about Stonewall, Alan Turing, politics, the military and marriage
debates, and the origins of the pink triangle, rainbow flag, and the lambda, all at
Scott's Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual History page.
Further reading can be found at Rainbow Connections,
with lists of out people, queer-themed movies (with reviews!), gay TV characters, and even
queer-themed music lyrics. This visually appealing site also has queer quotes like this
one from Sam Austin: "Homosexuality is God's way of ensuring that the truly gifted
aren't burdened with children." Study hard at http://www.ozemail.com.au/~brettcav/
because you'll be quizzed at the end!
The next chapter, Gay History, Culture, & Writings,
is found at http://www2.netdoor.com/~richardd/gaymain.htm.
Author Richard Davis has collected some powerful accounts of the Stonewall riots and a
list of recent milestones in queer history. Also included are self-help and coming out
resources, gay humor, writings, and even some sex advice! For extra credit, submit your
own coming out story or historical comments. Your next reading assignment is by Jim Sears,
who Pat Robertson called the "Satan of the University", at http://www.conterra.com/jsears/history.htm.
Read excerpts from his works on Southern, Western, and East Coat queer history at Gay & Lesbian Regional History. No, there's no Cliff Notes
for this material!
A difficult research assignment is to find lesbians and black LGBTs in History. Start
your search at the Lesbian History Project at http://www-lib.usc.edu/~retter/main.html,
where you'll find text and links to journals, articles, interviews, archives, and more.
Their goal is to "provide access to lesbian history on the Internet." Another
source is at http://www.mindspring.com/~swade/les_hist.htm,
a timeline of lesbian history from 580 B.C. and Sappho's school for girls on the Isle of
Lesbos to the 1990's from Swade's Tribal Voice Lesbian History.
And finally visit the Blacklist for a list of LGBTs of
African descent from Gregory Adams to Ivy Young at http://www.udel.edu/nero/lists/blacklist.html.
Your papers are due on Monday!
Your next task is to rediscover
recent history that has been hidden from you in previous classes. Your cybrarian Don will
guide you through Uncle Donald's Castro Street Gallery,
an exhibit about San Francisco in the 1970's and early 80's. See pictures and stories
about Harvey Milk, the Gay Games, Castro Street, and more at http://www.backdoor.com/CASTRO/welcome.html.
Another exhibit featuring photos from our missing past is at the Queer
History Picture Gallery at http://carnap.umd.edu:90/queer/picture_gallery/history.html.
For a sometimes steamy account of San Francisco's queer "Golden Age" (pre-AIDS),
visit Planet SOMA in the 70's at http://www.planetsoma.com/sf1970/index.shtml.
Study the bars of Folsom Street and the bathhouses (note the logos and pictures), the
history and culture of Castro Street, the music of the times, and the erotic drawings by
Rex. Believe me, this homework won't be a chore!
If this course has sparked your
interest, why not delve into an extra-curricular project? Find an area of queer history
and create your own web page about it. For example, try the online Tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep who were joined in the
"Eternal Embrace" in Ancient Egypt. See the floorplan of their tomb and view
several walls depicting the two men with "Names Joined as One" who were the
overseers of the manicurists in the palace of King Niusere at http://www.sirius.com/~reeder/niankh.html.
There are many aspects of queer history waiting to be explored and shared to the next gay
generation. And at least with the Internet, you don't have to worry about any spitballs.
Now class, it's time to put away your books and clear your desks. Point your browsers
to the Quistory Publishers Ltd. homepage at http://quistory.clever.net/index.html. I
hope you studied your Queers in History program. It
has over 850 queer entries, from writers and musicians to soldiers and scientists. It's a
virtual queer encyclopedia. Now it's time for Queeries,
the computerized LGBT trivia quiz game, with topics about queer literature, the Arts,
politics, sports, and potpourri. I told you there'd be a quiz! Good luck!
