Browse Exhibits (254 total)
The Gay Academic Union: The Proceedings of Its First National Conference in New York City, 1973, by John D'Emilio
OutHistory presents the proceedings of the November 25, 1973 Gay Academic Union Conference, with a new introduction by John D'Emilio, who was also a GAU founder. "The Universities and the Gay Experience," this 105-page document, includes keynote addresses by Barbara Gittings and Martin Duberman. Published on OutHistory on April 22, 2016.
The Gorilla Was Gay: Remembering Ronald Tavel's "Gorilla Queen," March 1967, by David Kerry Heefner
David Kerry Heefner's reflections on a much loved off-off-Broadway play of the 1960s. Published originally on OutHistory in 2013.
The Hidden Queer History Behind “A League of Their Own,” 1940-2018, by Frankie de la Cretaz
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League did everything it could to keep lesbians off the diamond. Seventy-five years later, its gay stars finally opened up. Published originally on OutHistory in April 2020.
The High Risk Project Society: Intracommunity Support in Transgender Vancouver, 1992-2001, by Phoenix Walker
An exhibit on the High Risk Project Society, which supported trans people in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The History of the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, San Francisco, California, 1971-2004, by Nathan Purkiss
This is a short history of the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Democratic Club, published originally on OutHistory in 2013. This history explains how the club got started in San Francisco, California as the first registered LGBT Democratic Club in the nation. The history recounts the decades-long struggle of the LGBT community to influence public policy at the local, state and national level by making inroads within the Democratic Party in one of the nation's most important Democratic strongholds. Unless otherwise noted, all source material for this history came from the Alice Reports newsletter, interviews with longtime Alice members, and the Gay Vote Newsletters of the Harvey Milk Democratic Club. The 1971 section on Jim Foster establishing Alice is sourced from Out for Good: The Struggle to Build a Gay Rights Movement in America by Dudley Clendinen and Adam Nagourney.
The Homosexual at Williams College, 1971-2021, by Daniel R. Pinello
On the fiftieth anniversary of Daniel R. Pinello's coming out in an essay on the front page of the Williams College student newspaper, OutHistory republished, with the author's permission, Pinello's work.
The International Lesbian and Gay Association’s Suspension from the United Nations, 1993-1994, by Tyler Carson
This exhibit introduces the events leading up to the 1994 suspension of the International Gay and Lesbian Association’s consultative status with the United Nations after it was learned that its membership roster included pro-pedophilia groups such as the North American Man/Boy Love Association. Published originally on OutHistory in 2025.
The Lafayette College Queer Archives Project Digital Humanities Site, by Mary A. Armstrong
A discussion of the LGBTQ+ digital humanities site “The Queer Archives Project” at Lafayette College (Easton, PA), with links to oral history interviews and examples of archival artifacts. © Mary A. Armstrong. All rights reserved. Published originally by OutHistory in 2023.
The Lesbian Herstory Archives Button Collection, by Kam Yan (Teresa) Lee
A selection of fifty-eight buttons from the Lesbian Herstory Archives in New York City. Published originally on OutHistory in 2009.
The Lesbian in Literature, 600 B.C.-1981, by Barbara Grier
A searchable edition of Barbara Grier's 1981 bibliography The Lesbian in Literature. Republished on OutHistory in 2008 with the permission of Barbara Grier.
The Lesbian Mothers National Defense Fund, 1970-2000
An overview of the history of a lesbian parenting advocacy group founded in Seattle. Published originally on OutHistory in 2013.
The Lesbian Switchboard of New York City, 1972-1997, by Hannah Leffingwell
This exhibit focuses on the Lesbian Switchboard of New York City, a grassroots informational referral and peer counseling hotline staffed by lesbian volunteers from 1972 to 1997. The exhibit highlights the role of the Switchboard in local women’s movement organizing, lesbian consciousness-raising, and anti-violence activism. Published originally on OutHistory in February 2026.
The Marlin Beach Affair: From Homosexual "Presence" to Gay "Community," by Fred Fejes
The 1976 controversy over the Marlin Beach, a beachfront hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that openly sought a gay clientele, demonstrates the social, political, and media dynamics that shaped the emergence of that community. Published originally on OutHistory in 2020 and updated in 2023.
The Midwest's "Queer Mecca": 40 Years of GLBTQ History in Bloomington, Indiana, 1969-2009, by Susan Stryker's Students
This exhibit explores the LGBTQ history of Bloomington, Indiana, especially related to Indiana University. Published originally on OutHistory in 2010. Updated in 2025.
The Queer History of Women's Suffrage: Scholarship and Censorship in 2025, by Wendy Rouse
This exhibit features Wendy Rouse's "The Very Queer History of the Suffrage Movement," which the National Park Service published in 2020 but altered and then deleted in 2025. The exhibit includes an introduction by Rouse and copies of both the original 2020 essay and the altered 2025 version.
The Standard Model of the Social-Historical Universe, by Jonathan Ned Katz
Two versions of a theoretical essay by OutHistory's founder. See also: Envisioning the World We Make, 2016-2021, by Jonathan Ned Katz
The Subject Speaks: An Interview with Jimmy Paul, by Svetlana Kitto
The subject of a famous Nan Goldin photograph, Jimmy Paul, speaks about his life, and about encountering an inaccurate caption on that photograph in a major queer history art show. Published originally on OutHistory in 2015.
Timeline: Abraham Lincoln, Sexuality, and Intimacy, 1809-1865, by Jonathan Ned Katz
A chronology and bibliography addressing President Abraham Lincoln's intimate relationships with men and women. Published originally in 2015; updated in 2024.
Timeline: Activism and Organizing, 1836-2016
OutHistory presents a timeline tracing the actions of LGBTQ activists throughout history. This chronology includes many different types of protest acts, from publishing poetry to rioting, expanding our notions of what should be considered activism over time. Understanding this history of social change activity is important as we act to make changes in today's world. First published on OutHistory July 28, 2016. Last edited October 4, 2016.