There’s a lot more history than is covered in classrooms. The queer community has a long and rich history that is often overlooked. Learning about this history can create a powerful sense of connection for queer people and can help reduce our society’s subconscious homophobia and transphobia.
We aim to highlight some important points of queer history and give people the tools to learn more for themselves and spread the message to others.
History creates a powerful sense of connection between those who study it and humans of the distant past. It can create community through shared heritage and culture. It is often said that queer history doesn’t exist, but that is not true. Just because queer history isn’t often taught doesn’t mean it isn’t real. Queer history is very much real but can be difficult to research. We aim to create an accessible collection of well researched information about LGBTQIA+ history.
Note about the use of the word queer on this page: the word queer has been used as a slur against those in the LGBTQIA+ community but many LGBTQIA+ people have since reclaimed it as an umbrella term for their identities. This website uses the word queer because of its inclusiveness of all identities under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella. Before referring to an LGBTQIA+ person in your life as queer make sure to check with them and see if they find it offensive.
Content warning. Parts of queer history are dark. There are stories of supression and many have sad endings. It is important to learn about historical queer joy but also to avoid viewing history through a warpped lens. To this end the history section of this webpage has includes articles about potentially triggering topics.