Browse Items · OutHistory

Bars and the Queer Economy, 2017, by Jeffrey Escoffier and Christopher Mitchel

Writing about queer bars and drag culture in the 1972 classic Mother Camp, Esther Newton observed that queer communities had “an economics but no economy.” In this exhibit, Jeffrey Escoffier and Christopher Mitchell address the economics of gay bars…
Esther Eng (1914-1970): Filmmaker, Restaurateur, Gender Rebel, by Christianne A. Gadd

Esther Eng made a name for herself as the world's first female Chinese American filmmaker, a successful restaurateur, and—rejecting social expectations—a woman who felt little need to hide her romantic and sexual relationships with other women.…
Horacio N. Roque Ramírez (1969-2015): Presente!, by Nan Alamilla Boyd

Following the death of historian Horacio N. Roque Ramírez in December 2015, OutHistory published a memorial by Nan Alamilla Boyd.
Scared and Confused to Gay and Elected, 1949-2015, by Gary Miller

A memoir detailing the struggles of Gary Miller's childhood and youth in San Diego and Kansas City before turning to his subsequent political and community service in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Roseville, CA. Published originally on…
Man-i-fest: FTM Mentorship in San Francisco, 1976 -2009, by Megan M. Rohrer

Man-i-fest follows the letters of Lou Sullivan to David, highlighting the topics and mentors that shaped the FTM community in San Francisco from 1976 to 2009. The central items in the exhibit appeared in Gateway: the newsletter of Golden Gate…
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…
Teaching "Straight" Gay and Lesbian History (2007), by Nancy C. Unger

This essay, which reflects on teaching gay and lesbian history at San Francisco State University and Santa Clara University, was first published in The Journal of American History 93, no. 4 (March 2007): 1192-1199. Copyright Organization of American…
Polk Street History Project, 1950s-2010s, by Joey Plaster

Polk Street’s history through the lens of neighborhood change in the early twenty-first century. Polk Street was San Francisco’s premier gay male center in the 1960s and 1970s. First published on OutHistory in 2012.
Queer Youth: On Campus and in the Media, by Sharon Ullman and Her Students

This exhibit focuses on LGBTQ+ activism on college and high school campuses and representations of queer youth in the media. The project was researched by Bryn Mawr and Haverford students for a class on the history of sexuality in America, taught by…