i am who i am

“the only queer people are those who don't love anybody.”

[baldwinpdf-archive]

james baldwin and bayard rustin

[trans]

A flyer for Gay American Indians, circa 1975.

Gay American Indians, the first LGBTQ American Indian liberation organization, founded in July 1975.

[genderoutlaws]

April Ashley in British Vogue, 1960

Ashley is known for her work as a drag queen and showgirl, and for being the first trans woman to appear within the pages of any iteration of Vogue. Photos by David Bailey.

[fuckyeahryanmcginley-blog]

RYAN (HEAD-BUTT), 1999 “That’s not my blood. I was making out with my main squeeze on a stoop in the East Village and some macho jock dickhead walked by and called us fags. I don’t think he expected me to get up in his face. We scrapped a bit and then I head-butted him and could feel his nose break on my forehead. We ran for blocks, laughing at the top of our lungs, and then jumped into bed, where my boyfriend took this picture of me.”

[genderoutlaws]

Lou Sullivan after top surgery | 1980s

[fred-erick-frankenstein]

[ID: a photo of trans activist Lou Sullivan after his top surgery. He's a white man with short brown hair and a mustache, standing bare chested in front of the camera, on his chest are two small scars. He's smiling. /end ID].

[aconissa]

Poet James Schuyler to painter John Button (Spring 1956) 

[antiterf]

I was reading through old FTM Newsletters and found this gem

Here’s the link to the archived newsletter

[hhawkeye]

currently thinking about: this photo of richard sandells kissing the eros statue in piccadilly circus as part of an outrage kiss-in protest against the prosecution of gay people showing affection in public.

[violettomcat-archived]

*smacks you over the head with a poorly put-together history textbook I made in crafts* LEARN BISEXUAL HISTORY BEFORE YOU ACT KNOWLEDGABLE

“Bisexual—being emotionally and physically attracted to all genders.” - GLSEN in fucking 1998

“Do not assume that bisexuality is binary or duogamous in nature […] In fact, don’t assume that there are only two genders.” 1990 Bi Manifesto

“But there are also many bis, such as myself, for whom gender has no place in the list of things that attract them to a person.“ 2002

“Bisexual people are those for whom gender is not the first criteria in determining attraction.” 2003

“Assuming that all bisexuals are never attracted to trans or genderqueer folk is harmful, not only to bi individuals, but to trans and genderqueer individuals who choose to label themselves as bi.”

“Bisexual: A person who is attracted to people regardless of gender (a person does not have to have a relationship to be bisexual!)” 2003

“These data support the argument that, for some bisexual individuals, sexual attraction is not gender-linked.” 1992

[violettomcat-archived]

Now that we’re approaching 20,000 notes I want to share what I’ve learned since this post first gained traction.

It is increasingly apparent that only a select minority of certain communities are willing to listen to this post and accept that bisexuality’s inclusivity and definition are not up for debate, and that this definition and inclusivity are not new to our community.

It is equally difficult to get through to people who have chosen Latin meanings over history, a hypocritical stance they don’t take up with words like gay or lesbian.

I’ve had more people deny this post’s truth than recognize it as history. I’ve spent hours having to reply to people who do not care about bisexuals than I have talking to people this post helped.

This post is not my opinion, it is a collection of sourced quotes. Despite this being stated over and over again, the content of this post is treated as discourse that is original and unique to my blog.

[yellowmonday-deactivated2022120]

Gay Dads Kissing, 1983

[artemistheartist]

Does anyone know a good resource of information on transgender people durring medieval times? Im writing a story and wanna get my facts right. I know that there were transgender people (how on earth could there not be???) but i dont know of any documentation or research thats been done.

Also, i am cis gendered and if anyone is comfortable and willing, id love someone (preferably a transwomen) to talk to/proof read my character. Message me!

[oldshrewsburyian]

Transgender medieval studies is a growing field, so, my v. first piece of advice is: keep checking. There are going to be several panels devoted to this at next year’s international medieval congress at Kalamazoo (this is a real thing that exists, I swear) and that’s pretty reliably live-tweeted. One of the greatest feminist medievalists issued a call to arms for more uncovering of trans* histories at a conference I was at last month, so… we can expect more of that. This online index for the history of women and gender has a good list of search results for “transgender.” 

As for perceptions, performance, etc. of gender in the Middle Ages: this, on gender and difference, is good; I love this collection of essays on the body. You can probably read most of the intro to this other collection of essays on Google Books. The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, where Perpetua dreams herself as a man, might be helpful. The lives of saints and mystics are generally good source material, as in these writings (especially the latter) gender gets REALLY fluid, really fast. There’s been discussion of how clergy and vowed religious persons might form a “third gender,” as well. This review gives a good overview of some of the history of studies of medieval gender.

There’s a monograph arguing that medieval romance literature does not portray bodies/beauty in gender-specific ways, rather rejecting gender dimorphism… can I find the title of this? Annoyingly, no. I remember feeling that it pressed its argument too far, ignoring evidence of how embodied/perceived gender affected people’s lives. 

On a separate but potentially related topic, this lecture is mostly on sexual orientation and on some of the challenges of applying this idea to study of the Middle Ages. I love this book on sex and sexuality, and use it in teaching. This blog devoted to a progressive/activist practice of medieval history has a number of relevant posts. 

ETA: I can’t believe I forgot the Middle Ages’ most prominent transwoman: Jesus. Stay with me here. It was quite common to imagine God (and esp. Jesus) as a woman. See this classic collection of essays; these 14th-century writings by Julian of Norwich. Also (though I can’t currently find my reference for this) devotional images of Jesus’ wounds, made in women’s convents, often resemble the vulva. Catherine of Siena and others also often describe Jesus as giving birth. It’s complicated and could be a discussion of its own, so I’ll stop here.

[gradling]

Also want to plug my colleague Kadin Henningsen’s article “Calling [Herself] Eleanor,” which argues that a sex worker charged in a 1394 case of sodomy in England should be understood as a trans woman. And to add to the list above, Gabrielle MW Bychowski has published quite a bit on transgender people in the Middle Ages (some of the things listed on her page will overlap with the resources listed above, but hopefully it leads to more sources!).

[adahling-deactivated20210213]

Polaroids of Candy Darling

[quaquaval]

Take One. Wakefield Poole, 1977.

[mediumkravitz]

Randos on the internet: “Wahhh bisexuals are binarist” Bisexuals in 1991: “I myself recently received a party invitation that read ‘for men, women, and others.’ What your mother probably never told you is that not everyone is 100% female or 100% male. Many of us may have two or more personas or parts of our personalities that transcend traditional gender constraints and roles — not phony ones to please our parents and bosses — but roles of self-expression, self-exploration, and fun.”

[knishy-deactivated20230216]

FTM Newsletter 1988

[lgbt-history-archive]

“Homo Nest Raided, Queen Bees Are Stinging Mad,” by Jerry Lisker, The New York Daily News, July 6, 1969. @nydailynews. While the Stonewall Riots set in motion a new, more organized, more radical era in the gay liberation movement, it of course took years–decades, in fact–before the movement gained the recognition and respect of the greater society. Jerry Lisker’s famous “Homo Nest Raided” story, published in The New York Daily News forty-seven years ago today, is a typical (albeit overly sensationalized, given the Daily News’ style) representation of mainstream coverage of LGBT-related stories in the Stonewall era: “Last weekend the queens had turned commandos and stood bra strap to bra strap against an invasion of the helmeted Tactical Patrol Force.” Lisker described the Stonewall Inn as “a mecca for the homosexual element in the Village who wanted nothing more but a private little place where they could congregate, drink, dance and do whatever little girls do when they get together.” He went on to describe the events leading up to the Riots as “[taking] on the aura of a homosexual Academy Awards Night. The Queens pranced out to the street blowing kisses and waving to the crowd….Then, without warning, Queen Power exploded with all the fury of a gay atomic bomb. Queens, princesses, and ladies-in-waiting began hurling anything they could lay their polished, manicured finger nails on. Bobby pins, compacts, curlers, lipstick tubes and other femme fatale missiles were flying…” In reality, of course, the weapons of choice included bricks and Molotov Cocktails, but the mainstream press had little interest in those details. Jerry Lisker died in 1993. #lgbthistory #lgbtherstory #lgbttheirstory #lgbtpride #queerhistorymatters #haveprideinhistory (at Stonewall National Monument)

[strangedazeyage]