Herstory Archives | Autostraddle

Viola Davis as Ma Rainey, in a gold headdress and a feather boa on stage. This is a still from Netflix's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" the latest entry into a queer history of the Blues legend.

Viola Davis Towers in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Giving Life to a Black Queer Legend

In Viola Davis’ hands, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” becomes a complex portrait of a queer Black woman hurricane whose footprints loom large over the last 100 years.

What Mattee Jim, Navajo Trans Elder, Teaches Us About Remembering

This #TransDayOfRemembrance, trans lives are more than a list of names. We are vessels of ancestral memory.

Monica Roberts Remembered Us. Now We Remember Her.

Every time I crossed paths with Monica Roberts, I was always surprised by how tight she held me as we hugged — Now, so many young Black trans people can look to her as an ancestor. Every trans journalist is indebted to the space Monica has carved out for us. Every trans person owes her a great deal for forcing the world to see us in our unmistakable worth.

on the left, Zaina Arafat, a Palestinian American woman in a light blue tank top looks at the camera. on the left the cover of her book, You Exist Too Much — a typographic cover on top of an abstract painting with swipes of lavender, green, blue, and gold

Queer Arabs Taking Up Space: An Interview With Zaina Arafat

Zaina Arafat’s You Exist Too Much is the bi Arab romance novel l didn’t know I needed. We chat about the book, first-gen traumas, sexual ambiguity and Arab parents.

Scenes from a Gender 02: Illustrated Moments of Trans Womanhood

“I have a question!” she exclaims. Stepmom knows where this is going so she tries to head her off, but the child will not be dissuaded. “My question is,” — here it comes — “… are you transgender?” No one knows what to say, me included.

A collage featuring three key figures in Black August: Marsha P Johnson, Angela Davis, and Patrisse Cullors

Black August: A Feminist and Queer Syllabus for Black Liberation

There’s a long and proud Black radical history of fighting back against the prison industrial complex and criminal (in)justice systems. So why is it that most of the voices that are upheld come from cis men?

The Quiet Lesbian Biography of Lorraine Hansberry

‪There is sufficient evidence, both from Lorraine Hansberry’s own hand and from those with whom she interacted socially, that she was a lesbian. But the how of it all — that we have to piece together in fragments‬.

Let Us Consider St. Gertrude, the Cat Lady Alternative to St. Patrick

St. Patrick’s Day, every non-Irish person’s favourite excuse to get piss drunk, talk in an annoying accent all day and cover everything in Green is coming up once again. But why celebrate an embarrassingly tacky version of someone else’s religious holiday when you can hold a party for the patron saint of cat ladies, Gertrude of Nivelles, instead.

Lesbian and Bisexual Women of History Who Were Obsessed with Their Dogs, Part 4

We’re back for a barely conceivable fourth installment looking at the big dogs, little dogs and doggy dogs of more lesbian and bisexual women of history who were obsessed with them!

A Weaver of Unique Variety: The Magic and Legacy of Debbie Friedman

In her life, Debbie Friedman did not want to be defined by her sexuality, but there’s something that feels queer about her music. The hidden history, the lyrics about liberation and joy, and, yes, a whole lot about women dancing with timbrels.

Weinstein Hall demonstrations NYC Oct 1970 Photo by Diana Davies Courtesy of Manuscripts and Archives Division, the Ny public library (IN BOOK) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DqMt6IjWkAAT7CM.jpg

Snapshots of Pride Across Time

This series was an opportunity to honor our queer history by recreating iconic pride photographs through a modern lens, making explicit the connection between the past and the present that forms the living legacy we’re all a part of.

The True Story Behind ACT UP and Sandra Bernhard’s Character on “Pose”

I realized that even though I’d vaguely heard or read about the lesbians of ACT UP, I didn’t really know enough about the specifics. Who were these women? What was their history?

Precious and Adored: Reading Victorian Love Letters, Writing Queer History

When Rose Cleveland and Evangeline Simpson met in 1890, they fell for each other hard. Their once-hidden letters are collected in a new book.

Seimone Augustus Is This Week’s Modern LGBTQ Trailerblazer #WCW

“In high school, I kissed a girl for the first time. It felt too comfortable and too right to think I was anyone but whom I was in that moment. I’ve followed that honesty my whole life.”

Janelle Monáe Is This Week’s Modern LGBTQ Trailerblazer #WCW

Janelle Monáe is, quite simply, peerless.

Billie Jean King Is This Week’s Modern LGBTQ Trailerblazer #WCW

Billie Jean King will go down as one of the greatest tennis players — one of the greatest athletes, actually — of all time. 39 Grand Slam titles. 20 Wimbledon victories. And, of course, her Battle of the Sexes win over Bobby Riggs, which sold out the Astrodome and was viewed by more than 90 million people.

Janet Mock Is This Week’s Modern LGBTQ Trailerblazer #WCW

“I believe that telling our stories, first to ourselves and then to one another and the world, is a revolutionary act. It is an act that can be met with hostility, exclusion, and violence. It can also lead to love, understanding, transcendence, and community.”

Herstory