How to Find Out About Gay History

Although some gay and lesbian history has been lost or covered up by societal oppression, all's not lost. Read on to learn how to find out more about the colorful and impressive history of the gay and lesbian community.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Alternative Lifestyle Magazines
• Videos About Gay And Lesbian History/events

1. Spend some time at GBLTQ.com, an encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture.
2. Find a list of notable lesbians and much, much more at the Lesbian History Project site (lesbian.org/lesbian-history).
3. Visit a Columbia University Libraries exhibit that opened in 1994. It lives on permanently on the Web and contains a good overview of many aspects of gay history. Go to Columbia.edu and search for "Stonewall and Beyond."
4. Visit the rather extensive People With a History site (fordham.edu/halsall/pwh).
5. Look at the history section of PlanetOut.com. Click on News & Politics, then select Queer History.
6. Go to your local library and look for a 1983 book called "The Gay/Lesbian Almanac" by Jonathan Ned Katz. It contains hundreds of pages of somewhat scholarly information on gay and lesbian history.
7. Get something a little easier to read while you're at the library. Look for a copy of "The Alyson Almanac," a small volume with lots of information about gay and lesbian history and culture.
8. Check out your local gay and lesbian newspaper or magazine, which might run David Bianco's "Past Out" column. It's all about gays and lesbians and their roles in history.

Tips & Warnings

• Oscar Wilde, Michelangelo and Susan B. Anthony are among the historical figures who are either known or presumed to be gay.
• Learn about gay and lesbian media in Rodger Streitmatter's "Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America." It's available at libraries and many used bookshops.