Brush Up on Your Gay History
I remember when I was an undergrad that during GLBT pride week, or whatever it was called, that culminated in the Queer Union dance, there was always a sidewalk chalking that highlighted prominent GLBT figures throughout history. Though there was some question about individual people’s inclusion and whether those people were “really” gay, it was always provocative to be forced to rethink traditional historical narratives about family and important figures. Ramon’s Gay Life Blog at About.com has a good link to a Short History of Gay Rights, and here’s a good place to start:
Gay history. How far we’ve come given where we started.
“In 1779, Thomas Jefferson proposed a law that would mandate castration for gay men and mutilation of nose cartilage for gay women,” About.com Civil Liberties Guide Tom Head explains. “But that’s not the scary part. Here’s the scary part: Jefferson was considered a liberal. At the time, the most common penalty on the books was death.”
Today, some 224 years later, we must continue to demand gay equality. We must. LGBT teens make up 33% all teen suicides. Gays and lesbians are still targets of hate crimes. If my partner were severally ill, I would have no legal right to make medical decision or transfer my pension in the case of my death. The list of things I consider natural rights seems endless,. Yet I pause to celebrate how far we’ve come. I must, in hope of a brighter future.
A little learning’s never a bad thing.
GLBT, GLBT History
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