The presence of queer and trans folks is as old as the country itself. The fight for inclusion has swung between conservatism and progressivism depending on the political climate at the time. Same-sex relationships were evident from Revolutionary War times through the 19th century with women “passing” as men to live in plain sight as lesbians.
Out in the open
Women also shared romantic unions during this time in what were known as “Boston marriages.”
Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake shared one such arrangement. In 1807, Charity wrote in her memoir, “Sylvia consented to be my help-meet,” a term that was recognized as a marriage at the time. They were both seamstresses, accepted in their New England community, partly because of the value of their labor. Over time, the two were completely “out.”
The degree to which their relationship was seen as a legitimate marriage shows that the homophobia of today’s far right is not innate to human psychology. It is a worldview that has been constructed through propaganda, patriarchal ideology and religious extremism.
Emily Dickinson, the famously reclusive poet, carried on an intense romantic relationship with her sister-in-law, Susan Gilbert. Dickinson wrote over 200 erotic poems about her, referring to Gilbert as “Susie.” Sadly, a disapproving relative edited the poems and changed their gender from female to male after Dickinson died in 1886.
Breaking boundaries
In Germany, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs was a jurist, journalist and campaigner for sexual emancipation who pioneered sexology, the study of human sexuality. He regarded homosexuality as entirely natural.
He was an advocate for freedom of expression and is regarded as the father of the modern queer rights movement. His ideas were influential among sexual liberationists in the U.S. Ulrichs’ work contributed to the flourishing LGBTQ+ culture in Berlin and other cities in the 1930s.
Another 19th century trailblazer was William Dorsey Swann. Born into slavery in 1860, he described himself as the “queen of drag.” He established the “House of Swann,” which held balls where formerly enslaved men performed the cakewalk, a dance that mocked the mannerisms of plantation owners. This was a precursor to the ball scene of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s.
His presence in the early queer rights movement is a clear example of the intersection of race, class and sexuality, an incendiary combination that resulted in numerous police raids on his drag balls. During one arrest, Swann is said to have challenged the officer: “You is no gentleman!”
Radicals shaped the movement
In the late 1940s-early 1950s, almost a century after Swann’s birth, Harry Hay, a communist and queer rights activist, founded an organization that became the Mattachine Society. This was the first sustained LGBTQ+ rights organization in the country. The Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis for lesbians laid the groundwork for the gay liberation movement to come.
Unfortunately, Hay was driven out of the Mattachine Society for his radical ideas by the mid-1950s as the group embarked on the road to moderation and respectability. Hay became another victim of Senator Joe McCarthy’s anti-homosexual, anti-communist attacks during the Red Scare.
The modern LGBTQ+ movement began in 1969 when queers and drag queens and kings of color like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Stormé DeLarverié battled cops during the Stonewall riots.
Hay continued as an activist and played a part in the formation of the Gay Liberation Front. He later established the Radical Faeries, a feminist tendency of gay men, and promoted many other causes during his long life.
Now, in this time of attacks against sexual minorities by Trump and the religious right, it is important to remember our history. LGBTQ+ folks have always been integral to the human rights struggles in this country. From the earliest forms of anti-slavery resistance in the Black community to the Labor and Civil Rights movements of the 20th century, queers have been there.
Today we continue the fight for freedom of expression in its highest sense. That is our legacy and what we celebrate and commemorate every Pride Month. The struggle continues, but so does the joy.
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