Why It’s Important to Know LGBTQ+ History: Restoring Our Past to Create a Better Future
The LGBTQ+ community has made significant progress in recent years, including legalizing same-sex marriage in many countries, adopting anti-discrimination laws, and increasing visibility and representation in the media (ever so slowly). We still have a long way to go. But, since the Supreme Court federally legalized same-sex marriage across the United States in 2015, social acceptance has exploded.
Young people are now growing up in a world where this is just the norm. Obviously, this is an extraordinary achievement! LGBTQ+ equality, like all equality, absolutely should be the norm! However, we must remember that these victories did not come out of nowhere. They were the result of decades of blood, sweat, and tears – literally. Decades of struggle and steadfast activism by LGBTQ+ people and allies have finally made this progress possible.
Yet, only some seem to understand how much of a grueling fight it has been. Further still, some seem to think queer rights have come too quickly or gone too far. And some would like to see those rights rolled back.
This is why the queer community and its allies must know LGBTQ+ history. Understanding where we came from, how far we have come, how long it took, what happened when, and how much work remains to be done is absolutely critical.
If the queer community does not know its history, it risks taking the present for granted and potentially losing the future.
The Challenges of Uncovering LGBTQ+ History
To first understand LGBTQ+ history, we must find it! Uncovering and rebuilding queer history is a monumental but crucial task. Queer history is actually everywhere, but it’s largely hidden. For too long, the history of LGBTQ+ people was ignored or deliberately erased, leaving a gap in our collective knowledge and understanding of the past. This gap is largely the reason some people believe the LGBTQ+ community came out of nowhere.
One of the challenges in uncovering queer history is simply the lack of documentation. Many LGBTQ+ people in history had to hide their identity and relationships, fearing discrimination, persecution, or worse. As a result, their stories and experiences were mostly kept secret. This makes it difficult to trace their lives and contributions.
However, recent efforts are being made to recover and preserve queer histories. Efforts to create archives and build museums dedicated to LGBTQ+ culture and activism have improved over the years.
Another challenge to uncovering queer history is the hetero-normative bias of historical records. Historians and archivists often assumed that everyone was heterosexual. They did not consider the possibility that someone may have had same-sex relationships or identified as a different gender. This bias has led to the further erasure of LGBTQ+ people from history and the misinterpretation of their lives and relationships.
Successful Efforts to Uncover and Preserve LGBTQ+ History
Despite these challenges and more, there have been successful efforts to uncover and rebuild LGBTQ+ history. One shining example was the founding of ONE Inc. in 1952, one of the first gay rights organizations in the United States. This organization later became the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives.
Though it began by publishing a single magazine, it is currently one of the largest repositories of historical LGBTQ+ materials in the world. Over the years, it has saved and reclaimed pieces of gay and lesbian history over the decades. Without it, the LGBTQ+ community would be at an even greater loss than we are now.
Another successful effort at reclaiming queer history is the Stonewall Inn in New York City. It’s the site of the 1969 riots that marked the beginning of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. The history of the Inn has been an up and down tumble over the decades, with the real possibility of it being shuttered for good. What a loss it would have been if that had happened!
Thankfully, the community and local government got together to prevent it from closing. The Stonewall Inn has since been recognized as a National Historic Landmark, preserving it for future generations.
Reclaiming LGBTQ+ History: The Work Ahead
These victories are a great start, but we must do more. Reclaiming LGBTQ+ history is a multifaceted process that requires significant effort to recover and preserve historical records. However, we must also challenge biases about other potential sources of information. What we thought was one thing may be something else entirely. We must be open to debate the evidence.
This work includes identifying and cataloging LGBTQ+ artifacts and documents, such as letters, diaries, photographs, and other materials that may have been hidden or nearly destroyed over time. It also involves interviewing LGBTQ+ individuals – elders especially – to collect their stories and perspectives. We must work with historians and archivists to incorporate these narratives into the broader historical record.
Places like museums, exhibitions, and online archives could retain the new information for the future. By doing the work, we can help to ensure that LGBTQ+ history is not lost or forgotten again. We can help make sure the experiences and contributions of queer people are recognized, remembered, and celebrated.
Knowing LGBTQ+ history is essential for three main reasons:
“Equality means more than passing laws. The struggle is really won in the hearts and minds of the community, where it really counts.”
-Barbara Gittings
- Restoring the erasure and invisibility: For a long time, the larger society did not acknowledge LGBTQ+ people in history books, documentaries, and museums. This erasure perpetuated the myths that there were hardly any queer people in the past and that their experiences were not worth mentioning. This is still a major problem today. The fact that it’s safer to come out at this time has inevitably led to more people coming out. But now, ignorant people claim it’s because kids are being brainwashed. In reality, queer people have always existed. By learning about LGBTQ+ history, we combat these myths.
- Supporting intersectionality and diversity: LGBTQ+ history is not a monolithic story but a tapestry of diverse experiences shaped by race, class, gender, and other factors. By studying LGBTQ+ history, we can understand the intersections between various forms of oppression and discrimination and how they affect LGBTQ+ people differently. We also learn about the contributions of queer people of color, transgender and gender-nonconforming people, and other marginalized groups often excluded from mainstream narratives.
- Deepening activism and resistance: LGBTQ+ history is a history of activism and resistance, from before the Stonewall riots of 1969 to the marriage equality movement of the 21st century. By learning about the tactics, strategies, and sacrifices of LGBTQ+ activists and allies, we can gain insights into how social change happens and how we can continue to push for a more just and compassionate society.
Rebuilding LGBTQ+ History for a More Inclusive Society
Restoring LGBTQ+ history is as much about shaping the future as it is about documenting the past. For the queer community especially, it’s only by recognizing the contributions and struggles of the LGBTQ+ people who came before us that we can challenge stereotypes and discrimination as it happens today. When people forget what has happened in the past and the trials and tribulations their ancestors went through, they have to learn everything all over again.
History is powerful. If you forgot your own personal history every day, you’d hit the same pothole or eat the same food you hated over and over. You’d have to re-learn every lesson you’d already gone through. Life would be inconceivably more miserable.
And let’s not forget that recording our history – actively keeping track of it – is one of society’s most precious tools. The brain often forgets things over time. This is why people spend so much time documenting history and keeping it organized. Learning to read and write used to be kept from the public because of how powerful it is. And then, when people did learn how to read, those in power hid books from them!
Knowledge is Power
Many young people hear the phrase “Knowledge is Power,” but can they truly appreciate the weight of it? As things stand now, it takes time. But people who understand the importance of history can help make it more accessible to younger generations. It seems weird to say, but it takes time to appreciate history, and it takes the knowledge of history to really build a better future – one that can withstand societal pressures and tests. Is it fair to say that it then takes time to build a better future?
And wouldn’t that time potentially be cut in half if the importance of history reached people sooner?
Tangent aside, uncovering and rebuilding LGBTQ+ history is a difficult but crucial task. It requires all of us to recover and preserve historical records, challenge biases and stereotypes, and create spaces for LGBTQ+ people to tell their own stories. But by each doing our parts, we can create a more diverse world that honors the lives and experiences of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Celebrate: October as LGBTQ+ History Month in U.S.
October is more than just the month of leaves changing colors and Halloween here in the United States; it’s a time designated as LGBTQ+ History Month. This celebration of LGBTQ+ history is crucial not only to the queer community, but also to society at large. It’s a moment in our calendar where we can consciously reflect on and celebrate the diverse journeys, victories, and contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals throughout history.
This observance is also an opportunity to educate and raise awareness about the continued need for equality and acceptance. Many times, the narratives of LGBTQ+ individuals have been overlooked or intentionally erased from our history books. The recognition of October as LGBTQ+ History Month serves to restore, remember, and rejoice in these important stories, broadening our understanding of history and the world we inhabit.
This month is a powerful reminder that the fight for equality is ongoing, and it inspires us all to strive for a more inclusive and understanding society. Perhaps one day we won’t need a month devoted to LGBTQ+ History, or to Black History or Women’s History, because those stories will already be part of the overall narrative of plain old History.
But, at this moment in time, we do.
Pride Month
Many people wonder what the difference between LGBTQ+ History Month and Pride Month is. We celebrate Pride Month in June to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, which was an important tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement.
Pride Month is mostly a time of celebration and joy, a testament to the resilience and diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. Most pride parades are in June, and it’s just about being out, being authentic, and expressing love freely. October’s LGBTQ+ History Month is more a time for learning about the history of the community and queer people in the past.
Really, all of these things should be every day (in my opinion).
Knowing Queer History is a Political Act
Knowing LGBTQ+ history is not only a matter of curiosity or personal interest, but it is a political act. Education itself is a political act because it broadens the mind. It can create understanding and connection between people of different backgrounds.
Recognizing the diversity and complexity of queer experiences and the struggles endured can help us call out discrimination, break down barriers, and help to make sure everyone feels like they belong. It’s important to celebrate the achievements and contributions of LGBTQ+ people, from famous activists to everyday individuals, and to learn from their experiences and perspectives.
These things matter at any level, but they especially matter when a class of people has been repeatedly ignored, or worse. We can appreciate the hardship it took for equality and be able to pinpoint the signs when that equality is under threat.
By learning from the past, we can better navigate present challenges and imagine new possibilities for the future.
For everyone.