Books on gay history
LGBTQ+ History Month: A Reading List
Check out these books about the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual person and transgender people for LGBT History Month and all year-round.
44 items
- Book, 2018Chicago, Ill. : Chicago Review Press, [2018] — HQ76.3.U52I4445 2018
- Paperback, 2014Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Compress, [2014] — HQ75.4.C64A3 2014
- Book, 2022Toronto, Ontario, Canada : Hanover Square Press, [2022] — F127.S9P32 2022
- Book, 2019Berkeley, California : Counterpoint, 2019. — HV6168.P65 2019
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Stonewall and Pride History Booklist
Today is the fifty-third anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
The riots at the Stonewall Inn helped shift the current LGBTQ rights movements from a primarily assimilationist strategy to a more diverse set of strategies, including identity politics and gay identity, and anti-assimilationist ideas about queer liberation. The modern story of the LGBTQ rights movement began before Stonewall, and has ebbed and flowed in its radicalism, its assimilationism, its diversity of strategies and viewpoints ever since, but what Stonewall offered was a flashpoint--an unforgettable moment of rage and rebellion boiling over in such a way that finally could not be ignored. Stonewall was primarily a rebellion against police brutality, illegal targeting, and aggressive oppression. As we find ourselves in the midst of another rebellion against police brutality and violent oppression, we have a duty to one another as queer and trans people of all races and all genders to be very transparent about that part of our collective history and to use our legacy as people who have, until very recently, lived and loved wholly outside the protection of the traditional laws
10 essential non-fiction books to absorb about LGBTQ history and culture
In the reality TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race, the act of deftly insulting your competitors is called "reading". And reading, as the catchphrase goes, is fundamental.
But reading is vital to the LGBTQ experience – and not just on reality television. Queer people have always told their stories as a way to render themselves visible; in doing so, they give hope to others that they may one date be safe to tell theirs.
These 10 non-fiction titles are a great way to launch to understand LGBTQ people’s experiences. The library, as RuPaul also says, is open.
An inclusive account of the fight for homosexual freedom and equality, We Are Everywhere is a beautifully designed photographic journey from queer activism’s roots in late 19th Century Europe, through the Stonewall riots and up to present day politics.
From the curators of popular Instagram account @lgbt_history, which champions unheard voices in queer narratives, We Are Everywhere offers an immersive history lesson lead from the diverse group of people who got us here.
The Argonauts is a love story, describing writer Maggie Nel
LGBTQ History Month: 17 must-read books about queer history
In honor of LGBTQ History Month, celebrated every October, here are books that aim to shed soft on and clarify significant historical moments that informed and shaped the contemporary lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer rights movement.
1. "The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle" by Lillian Faderman
A thorough introduction to the history of the gay and lesbian civil rights movements, this book chronicles the early struggles of LGBTQ individuals from the 1950s to present day using a compilation of enlightening interviews with politicians, military officials and members of the community.
2. "And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic" by Randy Shilts
A blend of investigative reporting and vivid storytelling, this account follows the grow of the AIDs epidemic using the narratives of doctors who were on the front lines of the outbreak, politicians and scientists who ignored it, and the real people who were affected by government's negligence.
3. "Love Wins: The Lovers and Lawyers Who Fought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality" by Debbie Cenziper and Jim Obergefell
“Love Wins