Discussion: We Are More Than Our Traumas: History Beyond Stonewall and AIDS

Discussion posts aren’t exactly a regular feature on this blog, to be sure, not least because we generally find ourselves wondering what exactly we can discuss. But today, we do actually have a topic for you.

And it relates to history.

I (Charlotte) made a tweet about 9 days back (here) asking people to read a nonfiction book about LGBT history sometime this month. Really, the reasoning behind it is what spawned this post.

So read on, and let us know what you think!

Every time that June rolls around, our twitter timelines* are filled with a multitude of tweets along the lines of “don’t forget Marsha P. Johnson or Sylvia Rivera” and if we’re lucky, they’ll also include Stormé DeLarverie. And it is most definitely important to remember them, of course, but this is often accompanied by false information too (like claiming that Marsha threw the first brick at Stonewall, a fact she actually refuted).

*Caveat being, we might just not be following the right people.

And then comes silence.

It makes sense that, during Pride Month, we come together and remember Stonewall, because the riots there were what kicked off the parades as we know them. The parades commemorate that (or used to more, I guess, before they were commercialised). But in remembering Stonewall, it is surely not fair that we set aside every other part of our history. After all, we are more than Stonewall and the AIDS crisis alone (even if these are the parts of history most recent to us, and those which have the most books written about them).

Gay people have literally always existed, despite what homophobes would want you to believe, and even though our history is chiefly unrecorded, it is out there for us to learn. We have been here since humans learned to love. There was an army in the fourth century BC made up entirely of gay couples; a comedy novel was written in the first century about two gay men & their relationship struggles; there were countless emperors and kings and princes who were gay… We have had a lot of time to live and create stories. 

And, of course, none of this is to say forget the recent events, but is it not participating in some sort of erasure of our own past to not put it on ourselves to do the research? I mean, it’s not like we can trust the straights a lot of the time, even now. And by focusing solely on the traumas, even when it is showing our strength in coming through them, are we not somehow playing into straight people’s narrative that to be gay is to be a tragedy?

In any case, it’s not the twentieth century anymore, it’s not the time when every white anthropologist bent over themself to explain each cultural phenomenon they found by some convoluted heterosexual values. We have books now, mostly written by members of our community & if nothing else, we owe it to them as well to honor their work in unearthing our history and actually read the books. Sure, they might not be available on display at your local library, but with a few minutes of searching, you will find things to read and learn from.

So let us give you a little taste of what we have learned by delving into some nonfiction!

• In the UK, you can trace the modern gay identity back to forming alongside the molly houses of the eighteenth century, which were places of refuge for men who had sex with men, and this was the first time homosexuality might be seen as something to have in common with others (previously, it had been lumped in as a facet of sodomy and was some nebulous sin that, interestingly, anyone could commit). To quote Alan Bray, “this meant more than friendship, although no doubt that was important; what it gave the individual was the support of an aggressive and resilient culture”. (Homosexuality in Renaissance England, Alan Bray)
• This is probably obvious, but following on from this, discussions of our modern words for describing sexuality and gender have little place in the past. But it is incredibly fascinating to analyse the understanding of homosexuality in the past and how that differs from our own understanding. (Homosexuality in Renaissance England, Alan Bray)
• Gay marriage isn’t actually a modern invention. We have records of same-sex unions from the ancient times, and although they were never outright called a marriage, they followed a pattern very similar to a heterosexual wedding, including a mass at a church, a promise made by the pair in front of an altar and witnesses, and a feast afterwards. (Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell)
• Another popular way of legally binding oneself to their gay partner was through a “collateral adoption”. It ensured, among other things, that a person has a claim on their loved one’s fortune after their death, without the adoptee changing their name or status. In fact, as Boswell tells us, “‘adopt a brother’ was a specific imperial [Roman] expression for establishing a relationship with a homosexual lover”. (Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell)

As we said before, none of this is to say that it is not important we remember Stonewall and AIDS. After all, we are but a generation removed from them, if that. More we are asking that we do not remember solely these. This Pride, perhaps we should try to each learn something we did not know about LGBT history before, be that recent history or further in the past. And hey, we made a handy rec list last year to start you off on just that!

So what are your thoughts?

Since you’re here, please consider doing any number of the following to support Black Lives Matter, and the protests regarding police brutality in the USA.

Donate to bail funds and supplies for protestors, gofundmes of victims of police violence, mutual aid organisations and Black-owned businesses impacted by the violence.

You can donate even if you have no funds by watching videos where all ad revenue will go towards the BLM movement.

Sign petitions.

Get in contact with mayors and district attorneys, and maintain pressure on them.

Educate yourself further through the resources found on the carrd and others.

Pride was initiated following riots against police violence and raids, and those at Stonewall Inn were led by trans and lesbian women of colour, many of whom were Black. We owe them our support.

• 

•