This is a collection of 22 LGBTQ+ stories published between 1841-1923, covering a wide span of authors, genres, and literary traditions. Some stories are coded and euphemistic, often framing their central relationships as friendships or familial bonds. Others are surprisingly brazen and bold for their time, courting controversy for their refusal to obscure the sexuality of their characters. Some tales come from canonical, widely known authors (Whitman, Chopin, Wilde, Cather), while others emerge from obscurer and less recognized writers (Thanet, Cooke, Bunner). Some are tragic and self- critical, clearly the byproducts of when they were written. Others are lightly comedic or triumphant, bucking the conventions of the time. Throughout each story, however, persists a desire to represent the seemingly unrepresentable, finding expression for the “love that dare not speak its name.” — Summary by ChuckW
Read by Librivox volunteers. Total running time: 18:15:34
Vintage articles from Photoplay and Modern Screen magazines published during the 1950s featuring stories about Rock Hudson, Montgomery Clift, Anthony Perkins, James Dean, Tab Hunter, Sal Mineo, and George Nader (with a quick nod to Marlon Brando) illustrating how closeted lgbtq+ actors were written about in fan magazines. Though the truth about their private lives was never specifically stated and the articles were largely puff-pieces designed to deceive the public and keep the actors bankable, it’s of interest to note that many of the headlines alluded to the gossip and whispers that were pervasive at the time, dangling hints about what was really going on behind the scenes.
[ID: first five images are the same still from brokeback mountain, in which ennis stands next to jack, who is reclined, on the hill. the next five images are of ang lee in a chair against a black background. captions in all images are of ang lee speaking.
Captions: Ennis, I wanted him to be clenched, and I wanted his mouth to be a clenched fist, and I wanted the words to be punching their way out from within, and just any form of expression had to be painful. Heath played a character that was very few words. That’s the impression people get. That’s why he’s a good actor. He has the most lines in the movie, but he just say it like a man with few words.
Located in the Tenderloin District, Why Not? was San Francisco’s first leather bar and served a clientele fresh from the rough, hierarchical, all-male world of the military. Although it closed six months after it opened — owner Tony Taverossi propositioned a member of the vice squad — its success inspired a new generation of rough trade bars, many of which opened up in the industrial confines of the South of Market district.
Gender Troublemakers Jeanne B/ Mirha-Soleil Ross and Xanthra Phillipa, 1993, Canada
What happens when two Transdykes get sick of non-transsexual’s uninformed representation of their sexualities and their lives? They grab their 8 millimeter home video camera, their last 200 bucks, and come up with an uncompromising in-your-face flick about their shitty relationships with gay men and their unabashed attraction to other transsexual women. (watch here 18+)
