From early activism to morn stggl, dig ep to the rich history of the queer muny wh our curated list of the bt gay history books.
Contents:
- BT GAY HISTORIL ROMANCE
- UNVERG THE PAST: A GUI TO THE 10 BT GAY HISTORY BOOKS YOU NEED TO READ!
- GAY HISTORIL FICTN BOOKS
- 13 VERY GAY AND VERY GOOD BOOKS YOU SHOULD READ THIS PRI MONTH
BT GAY HISTORIL ROMANCE
* best gay historical books *
In honor of LGBTQ History Month, celebrated every October, here are books that aim to shed light on and clarify signifint historil moments that rmed and shaped the morn lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer rights movement. "The Gay Revolutn: The Story of the Stggle" by Lillian FarmanA thorough troductn to the history of the gay and lbian civil rights movements, this book chronicl the early stggl of LGBTQ dividuals om the 1950s to prent day g a pilatn of enlighteng terviews wh policians, ary officials and members of the muny.
"When We Rise: My Life the Movement" by Cleve JonThis semi-tobgraphil acunt follows Cleve Jon as he explor his inty as a gay man the 1950s, disvers a muny and a e through his mentor, Harvey Milk, and p wh the ravagg effects of the AIDS epimic. "Sister Outsir: Essays and Speech" by Audre LorA celebratn of tersectnaly, black lbian poet and femist Audre Lor analyz the prence of ageism, sexism, racism, classism and homophobia her own life through a llectn of lyril says and speech. "The Men wh the Pk Triangle" by Hez Heger (Used)In lurid tail, Hez Hager unfolds the te story of Josef Kohout — a man who was imprisoned a Nazi ncentratn mp for beg gay — and effectively remds the world of the torture gay dividuals suffered at the hands of the Nazi regime.
JohnsonWh the help of classified documents and terview wh ary officials, David Johnson argu that Senator Joseph McCarthy was jt as guilty of promotg anti-Communism paranoia as he was spirg polici that nsired homosexualy a threat to natnal secury.
UNVERG THE PAST: A GUI TO THE 10 BT GAY HISTORY BOOKS YOU NEED TO READ!
"The Celluloid Closet: Homosexualy the Movi" by Vo RsoPublished 1987, Rso’s analysis of the portrayal of homosexualy film has laid the foundatn for the how we evaluate LGBTQ reprentatn film today and has supported the argument that reprentatn matters. The Uned Stat of Ameri" by Eric CerviWhile many believe the fight for LGBTQ rights began at New York Cy’s Stonewall Inn durg the summer of 1969, actually began wh a grassroots “homophile” movement that has been largely overlooked.
Cervi documents the work of Frank Kameny and other gay activists durg the late 1950s and ‘60s, illumatg their role layg the groundwork that would lead to the Stonewall NBC Out on Twter, Facebook & Instagram. That might seem untertuive, nsirg how homophobia, sexism, racism, and a lot of other -isms often crease the farther back time we go, but on the other hand, the remr that LGBTQ people have always existed and found ways to live wh their circumstanc is an upliftg one. A closeted Iranian teen who jt moved to the cy and whose only exposure to the gay muny has been men dyg of AIDS the media; a girl whose gay uncle is an AIDS activist; and her bt iend, the only out guy their school, fightg back agast his nservative’s parents expectatns, e together unexpected and life-changg ways.
GAY HISTORIL FICTN BOOKS
The exploratn of gay history media has e a long way om the propagandized monizatn that experienced the early days of Hollywood, and we even have a ferally endorsed ‘LGBT History Month’ that is celebrated a wi variety of plac across the world such as the US, UK, most of Wtern Europe, and Atralia, but that’s not to say that is perfect. A Revolutn by Rob Sanrs (2019)Hidn From History by Mart B Duberman (1990)The Mayor of Castro Street by Randy Shilts (1982)And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts (1987)The Deviant’s War by Eric Cervi (2020)Good As You by Pl Flynn (2017)Comg Out Unr Fire by Allan Bébé (2010)David Bowie Ma Me Gay by Darryl W. Bullock (2017)Strangers by Graham Robb (2005)The Gay Metropolis: The Landmark History of Gay Life Ameri by Charl Kaiser (2019)The LGBTQ+ History Book (distributed) by DK (2023).
The begng of the (morn) fight for gay rights and equaly is a perfect place to start this list – jt as this illtratn-rich reamg of the famo Stonewall Rts is a perfect f for the almost-start of the tnal procs – early primary. A Revolutn don’t jt addrs gay rights issu but also the polil tensns and passnate buildup of the motivatn behd the rt and protts general, allowg for a kid-iendly yet highly tuive troductn to real-life issu no matter where and how they might prent themselv. Hidn From History – Reclaimg the Gay & Lbian Past is tailed, attentive, rg, and revolutnary – but even then remas an admted drop the sea that is the dynamic, persistent prence of gay culture and queerns throughout all of human history.
For, as the book scrib, ‘gayns’ is no morn phenomenon, nor n any way be perceived as fundamentally ‘un-normal’ – om everywhere and exists wh everyone. The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Tim of Harvey Milk vers the life and tim of San Francis cy supervisor Harvey Milk – om his early reer, stat as the first ever openly gay Amerin elected polician, and then assassatn at the hands of disgntled adversary Dan Whe on the 27th November 1978. Sce, and thanks part to the thor – legendary San Francis Chronicle journalist Shilts, who was a hero his own right – Milk’s legacy has bee a source of great spiratn for the gay muny, and that strong spir is ptured perfectly wh the pag of The Mayor of Castro Street.
13 VERY GAY AND VERY GOOD BOOKS YOU SHOULD READ THIS PRI MONTH
Held as ‘A symbol of what gays n acplish and the dangers they face dog so’ upon his ductn to Time’s ‘100 Hero and Ins of the 20th Century’, this book about Milk and the story behd has spired a movie (Milk, 2008), a documentary (The Tim of Harvey Milk, 1984) and an opera (Harvey Milk), which is not to mentn the phenomenal footprt of his name and legacy upon gay rights anizatns and programs all across the world. Shilts was the first openly gay reporter for the San Francis Chronicle and remaed so for some time – actively wrg and performg journalism on queer subject matters for his entire reer. While the book naturally met wh some cricism due to s pneerg, unexpected nature and led by some accuraci bee the panmic was still velopg at the time, And the Band Played On is nohels a posively ccial piece of wrg – not jt dissectg gay history, but solidly lodged as a part of s own right.
The work pulls skillfully om a plethora of firsthand acunts, personal documents, and classified feral rourc to reveal the system behd the discrimatn agast gay feral employe a light never shone before. The Deviant’s War has a staggerg array of awards to s name – Wner of the 2021 Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfictn, New York Tim Book Review Edors’ Choice, and is also one of The Washgton Post’s Top 50 Nonfictn Books of 2020.
As was the se most untri, mtg ‘an act of homosexualy’ was a crime until 1967, and even then, legalizatn me wh a wi variety of ndns and exceptns that ntue to prove problematic now, even the morn day. As nveyed by the full tle, Good As You: From Prejudice to Pri – 30 Years of Gay Bra, Good As You vers many of the important morn events of gay history the UK wh great expertise and a different lens than other piec – takg a street-wise, ground-view approach to the issue to walk the rear down the road of troubled waters and phg for equaly agast all possible opposn. Superbly wrten, emotnal, heartfelt, eply touch, and led wh a personal nnectn, Flynn’s acunt of morn gay history Bra tak one through the tough and the tenr, extendg on to the legalizatn of gay marriage the UK, makg – at least one way – gay people ‘as good’ as everyone else.