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Noor Aldayeh
LGBT History Politics + Activism

The Revolution Will Be Archived

Through the Lesbian Herstory Archives, Noor Aldayeh is making space for queer Palestinians to tell their own stories.

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya July 4, 2024 11 Comments
collage of Sarah Paulson and Cherry Jones, Ione Skye and Jenny Shimizu, Leisha Hailey and KD Lang, Sheryl Swoopes and Alisa "Scotty" Scott, Meshell Ndegeocello & Rebecca Walker, Raven-Symoné and AZMarie
Celebrities (Vapid Fluff) LGBT History

16 Lesbian Couples Time Forgot

The annals of sapphic gossip are deep and full — here’s 16 sapphic couples and love triangles that will bring you back in time or perhaps trigger memories of times gone by.

Riese June 27, 2024 40 Comments
a stack of newspapers
LGBT History LGBT Pride

6 Pre-Stonewall Queer Uprisings History Tried To Hide

I’m confident the archives are filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of stories still waiting to be uncovered.

Stef Rubino June 14, 2024 6 Comments
A collage of Female Mimics International covers that look like they're spread out on a table.
LGBT History

Celebrate Trans Day of Visibility Thirsting Over the Sexy Retro Covers of ‘Female Mimics International’

The best way to see a wide variety of trans women in a wide variety of scenarios is by looking at porn.

Drew Burnett Gregory March 31, 2024 3 Comments
Marian and Jamie from Drive Away Dolls against a background of Florida maps, bar signs, and palm trees
LGBT History Movie Features

Real Life Late-90s Lesbian Spaces in the South Where the Drive-Away Dolls Could Have Stopped

Being from Florida, I know how easy it is for the history of queer and trans people to be lost to time, and I think it’s an important part of our fight for liberation to buck against that where and when we can.

Stef Rubino March 18, 2024 2 Comments
In Steven Spielberg's 1985 The Color Purple, Shug leans in to kiss Celie on the lips
LGBT History Movie Features

The History of the Color Purple Kiss

In 1982 Alice Walker wrote a Black queer text so ahead of its time, that 40 years later we’re still fighting to catch up.

Carmen Phillips December 27, 2023 21 Comments
LGBT History

Lisa Ben: Lesbian Media Pioneer, Cat Lady, and Hometown Buffet Superfan

In 1947, “Lisa Ben” launched the country’s first-ever lesbian magazine, Vice Versa. But by the ’90s, she’d withdrawn from public life and by the mid-2000s, she’d found a new passion: the Burbank Hometown Buffet restaurant.

Riese September 21, 2023 7 Comments
Lani Ka’ahumanu giving a speech at the 1993 March on Washington
LGBT History

Revisit Lani Kaʻahumanu’s Moving 1993 Speech on Bisexuality

Lani Kaʻahumanu fought for bisexual people to be included in the 1993 March on Washington.

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya September 19, 2023 7 Comments
PRIVATE PLEASURES: Authentic Lesbian Video. Featuring two lesbians kissing in a suit and dress; ON OUR BACKS: Entertainment for the Adventurous Lesbian, featuring a person with their back turned to the camera pulling off a leather jacket; Deborah Sundahl in a black leather bikini top
LGBT History Sex

Remembering Deborah Sundahl, Lesbian Porn Pioneer

Two months ago, we lost Deborah Sundahl — a fierce, compassionate, and prolific queer elder.

Desirae August 30, 2023 6 Comments
black and white butch pictures with 'super contest!"
LGBT History

41 Super-Hot Butches and Tomboys of the Early 20th Century

Just a little vintage eye candy for you.

Riese August 18, 2023 95 Comments
a black and white photo of a woman kissing a windowpane
LGBT History

99 Years Ago, a Queer/Trans Magazine Was Born — Nine Years Later, Fascism Killed It

I am on my way to the Grimm Zentrum to see some originals of the early 20th century lesbian magazine Die Freundin.

Liz August 4, 2023 8 Comments
LGBT History TV Reviews

Daisy Jones & the Six Offers a Stunning Tribute to Black Queer Love, Freedom, and Disco

Bernie is a 1970s stud in the finest form. All eyelashes and a buttery voice that could make any femme blush. Simone never stood a chance.

Carmen Phillips March 23, 2023 17 Comments
Feature Image of quiz results: Talullah Bankhead, Mercedes De Acosta, Barbara Stanwyck, Marlene Dietrich. Row Two: Hattie McDaniel, Katharine Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford
LGBT History Quizzes

Quiz: Which Actress From Early Hollywood’s Sapphic “Sewing Circle” Are You?

It’s the 1920s – 1950s and you’re a queer actor (or writer) — which of these letter-writing pool-owning trouser-wearing secret-keepers are you?

Riese March 5, 2023 28 Comments
a black and white photo of Barbara Johnson, a Black woman and elder, is the center focal point of this collage. Beautiful collaged items including newsprint, colors, squiggles, and lines surround her. She's wearing a sweatshirt that says Brooklyn on the front.
Community LGBT History

“I Don’t Want To Be Forgotten”

“So I just accepted the fact that I truly was gay. I had to be gay. That was my acceptance of myself. I made an announcement in my own head that I was a gay woman.”

Sa'iyda Shabazz February 27, 2023 8 Comments
OutWrite: The Speeches That Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture features multicolored blocks on its cover
LGBT Book Reviews LGBT History

We Should Engage With LGBTQ History All Damn Year

OutWrite: The Speeches That Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture perfectly exemplifies the reasons why it’s so imperative to look back at history with the willingness to be impacted by whatever we learn.

Stef Rubino February 22, 2023 1 Comment
a black and white image of DonnaSue, a Black butch elder, is at the center of this collage. the artist has layered newsprint, paper, and lines over the photo to create a gorgeous playful picture of DonnaSue
Community LGBT History

“Mother Has Lived, What Can I Say?”

DonnaSue Johnson describes herself as a “big, black, beautiful, Bohemian, bougie, Buddhist butch.”

danijanae February 13, 2023 15 Comments
Two women play billiards in a bar
LGBT History

Why Do Lesbian Bars Keep Disappearing?

There are so many myths about why lesbian bars close and/or don’t survive.

Stef Rubino December 7, 2022 12 Comments
Two protesters with Act Up march in 1988
Book Features LGBT History

Marika Cifor Wants You To Activate Your Nostalgia for ACT UP

Marika Cifor’s new book Viral Cultures: Activist Archiving in the Age of AIDS explores how LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS archives shape our understanding of history.

Lauren Herold December 6, 2022 3 Comments
The original All-American League Girls vs the cast of the televised version
LGBT History TV Feature

How Realistic is “A League Of Their Own”? Let’s Do a Historical Deep Dive!

Join me on a journey deep into herstory while we answer questions on topics including racism in the AAGPBL, whether or not there really were that many lesbians, queer bar culture of the 1940s and the popularity of women’s softball.

Riese August 16, 2022 29 Comments
A collage of bright flowers in front of one black and white image: Among a crowd on the grass outside the Civic Center, two women share a smile together, one woman is black and lays across the lap of a woman who is white.
LGBT History LGBT Pride

54 Portraits of Lesbians in the ‘80s

We’ve always been here.

Carmen Phillips June 19, 2022 16 Comments
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