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Keith Haring

Andy Warhol

Bordowitz

Navarro

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David Bowie (ook breder dan alleen muziek)

Queen

Prince

Disco

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Disco

Vogue

Drag

Orientalisme

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Hair

Tv-series with queer characters

Riggs

saturday night fever

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Kiss me kate

Censored

The drag

The captive

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Underground scene

Mapplethorpe

Opie

Kwong

Fury

Biren

Blitz spirit

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https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/bc4fa3c026e24ed0bd724fe588bf1aa7

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Harness the power of maps to tell stories that matter. ArcGIS StoryMaps has everything you need to create remarkable stories that give your maps meaning.

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https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Newspaper+and+Periodical+Clippings+%281950-2000%29+&f%5Bdta_all_subject_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Drag+queens&per_page=100

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Crossdressers, Drag kings, Drag queens, Eroticism, Gender affirming surgery, Gender identity, Medicalisation, Passing (Gender), Scientific literature, Sex cinemas, Transsexual people, Transvestites

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Fotograaf die veel foto's heeft gemaakt met betrekking tot de queer scene

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https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/culture/articles/a32145/what-is-vogueing-the-dance-that-solange-knowles-uses-in/

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Solange Knowles has dropped two epic new music videos to accompany her songs Cranes In The Sky and Don't Touch My Hair. And while we are overcome by THE FASHION, THE WOMEN, THE BOYS, THAT AMAZING SPACE AGE HOUSE SUSPENDED ON A CLIFF EDGE (please say we can AirBnB this?!), and obviously the MESSAGE. We are also in total awe of the DANCING.

The way Solange moves in these videos is everything and some of her choreography - specifically the idea of telling a story through a kind of 'free movement' may take some inspiration from the history of voguing, albeit in a less direct way than we have seen from other artists such as FKA twigs.

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If you're thinking, "Voguing? What, that Madonna song?" Girl, no. Let us school you.

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Vogueing was a powerful dance movement that originated in 70s and 80s New York among the predominantly black gay community in Harlem.

At that time there was an epidemic of queer kids of colour being chucked out of home or ostracized by their families.

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They congregated on the streets of Harlem, where they found a new kind of family and were taken in by 'Drag mothers' who presided over unofficial homes for these kids. These houses were named after the 'queen' in charge.

At the House of Extravaganza or the House of LaBeija for example, young gay men (mainly) felt free to be themselves and subvert ideas of masculinity and femininity that had previously served to oppress them. Celebrating being gay became a kind of performance of identity. You could be a drag queen, or you could be a 'real' boy - each a gendered performance as camp as the other.

These houses held 'balls' (which were a pastiche of high society gatherings held on no budget in community halls), in which members of each house would compete in a fearsome catwalk battle that was judged on costume (always home made), look and dance ability in such categories as 'realness' - the ability to pass as straight, 'butch' and 'runway' (the best catwalk).

It was during these dance offs that 'vogueing' was born. It was a non-violent battle of elegance and femininity named after a certain fashion magazine as it mirrored the poses held by models.

It was all about arm and hand movements, with dancers often playing out elaborate scenes such as applying makeup or taking phonecalls while dancing down the catwalk.

Madonna culturally appropriated the dance in her video of the same name, though as an advocate for gay rights it was a celebrated appropriation. Her video also featured Willi Ninja, the most amazing vogue dancer of all time, and Mother of The House Of Ninja.

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Voguing is making a comeback and was even seen at the Dolce & Gabanna S/S17 show in Milan

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

For a real taste of Drag Ball culture watch the documentary Paris Is Burning, then watch Season 7 of Ru Paul's Drag Race on Netflix. Don't even think about going to a trendy Vogueing night in Dalston before you have.

Consider yourself schooled.

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Solange Knowles has dropped two epic new music videos to accompany her songs Cranes In The Sky and Don't Touch My Hair. And while we are overcome by THE FASHION, THE WOMEN, THE BOYS, THAT AMAZING SPACE AGE HOUSE SUSPENDED ON A CLIFF EDGE (please say we can AirBnB this?!), and obviously the MESSAGE.

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https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2017/mar/28/david-gwinnutt-queer-art-underground-1980s-london-national-portrait-gallery

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From Derek Jarman and Gilbert and George to Maggi Hambling and Cerith Wyn Evans, David Gwinnutt photographed a generation of young gay artists as they transformed film, fashion and painting

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Blitz spirit: the queer art underground of 1980s London - in pictures

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From Derek Jarman and Gilbert and George to Maggi Hambling and Cerith Wyn Evans, David Gwinnutt photographed a generation of young gay artists as they transformed film, fashion and painting

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https://www.scribd.com/book/388548620/The-Queer-Encyclopedia-of-Music-Dance-and-Musical-Theater

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The Queer Encyclopedia of Music, Dance, and Musical Theater

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Aficionados of music, dance, opera, and musical theater will relish this volume featuring over 200 articles showcasing composers, singers, musicians, dancers, and choreographers across eras and styles. Read about Hildegard of Bingen, whose Symphonia expressed both spiritual and physical desire for the Virgin Mary, and George Frideric Handel, who not only created roles for castrati but was behind the Venetian opera's preoccupations with gender ambiguity.

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https://www.advocate.com/photography/2019/6/07/22-photos-lgbtq-writers-artists-activists-80s-and-90s#media-gallery-media-10

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22 Photos of LGBTQ Writers, Artists, & Activists of the '80s and '90s

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This exhibition of photographs contained 53 vintage prints from Robert Giard's extensive series of over 600 prints created from 1985 to 2002.

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https://www.stratfordeast.com/news/here-and-queer-a-brief-history-lesson-in-queer-theatre

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Here and Queer: A Brief History Lesson in Queer Theatre

After endless weeks of January it's finally February and whilst our friends across the pond celebrate Black History Month, here in the UK it's LGBTQ+ History Month. We champion LGBTQ+ artists all-year round, but we wanted to use this opportunity to take you on a whistle-stop tour of Queer theatre history in the UK and shine a light on the giants upon whose shoulders we stand.

But, what do we mean by 'Queer'? Well, once a derogatory slur, it's now an umbrella term reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community and - for the purposes of this blog - means someone who is not heterosexual and/or does not conform to the established ideas of sexuality and gender. It's also important to say that Queer artists have existed throughout history and, as a society, we're still very much at the beginning of bringing these stories into the mainstream. Moreover, there is not one singular 'Queer' experience or narrative. There are certainly commonalities in experiences, but we do a disservice to the complexity of LGBTQ+ stories by conflating everything. Part of the beauty of the Queer community lies in its diversity and its rejection of heteronormativity. 'Queer theatre' doesn't have to be defined being a 'play' or 'musical'. Queerness exists in all mediums: in drag, dance, burlesque, circus, cabaret etc., and we are seeing these lines blurred more and more often with new shows incorporating aspects of all disciplines. So, where do we begin?

It's often forgotten that up until 1968, British theatre was at the mercy of censorship. All plays intended for public performance had to be approved and licensed by the Lord Chamberlain's Office, which was a legal requirement under the Licensing Act of 1737 and the Theatres Act of 1843. Essentially, this was to prevent anything indecent, offensive or blasphemous taking place in theatres; censorship was particularly strict on homosexuality.

Whilst openly or overt Queer work was banned from our stages, it doesn't mean it wasn't there. Elements of Queerness can be seen in the works of Shakespeare ( A Midsummer Night's Dream / Twelfth Night) as well as in the actual performances of his plays with men cross-dressing (as women were banned from performing until the 1660s). Check out Goran Stanivukovic's book Queer Shakespeare, Desire and Sexuality for more on this. The act of cross-dressing in theatre has been popular since the Medieval period and is a particularly important part of one of Britain's most-treasured traditions - panto!

Queer activities were merely pushed underground particularly during the Georgian era with the proliferation of Molly Houses in the 18th and 19th centuries. The clampdown on 'morality' came during the Victorian era, which ushered in an openly hostile environment towards 'deviants', perhaps most evident in the treatment of writer Oscar Wilde.

The aggression towards Queerness pervaded throughout society in the first half of the 20th century yet, in spite of this, Queer nightlife flourished in London with well-known Queer-friendly bars and cabarets including The Cave of the Golden Calf and The Shim Sham Club. Frequented by artists, writers and musicians, The Shim Sham Club was also a reputed safe space for Queer Black and Jewish patrons.Check out this great article on Bohemian London to learn more.

During this time, there was also an increased persecution of Queer people in the United States, yet, like in the UK, the arts were a centre of resistance, particularly in the successful plays The Drag by Mae West and The Captive by Édouard Bourdet, the latter being one of the first plays to deal with lesbianism. It's also interesting that some of the most famous and respected playwrights and performers of the '30s - '50s were Queer (whether publicly 'out' or not), including John Gielgud, Noel Coward, Ivor Novello, and Terrence Rattigan to name but a few. It's as if Queer people were only acceptable within certain parameters, set and defined by straight people.

Attitudes towards homosexuality showed signs of change when the Wolfenden Report was published in 1957, which recommended for the decriminalisation of homosexuality. However, it was still impossible to show same sex relationships on stage. Despite this, Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop Company staged Shelagh Delaney's A Taste of Honey here at Stratford East in 1958. Ground-breaking in many ways, Delaney's play evaded censorship and featured Geof, a gay student (played by Murray Melvin) who lives with protagonist Jo and helps her through her illegitimate pregnancy. This marked a change in depicting gay people with sensitivity rather than as a joke or miscreant.

When homosexuality was decriminalised in England and Wales in 1967 (and 1981 in Scotland, 1982 in Northern Ireland), Queer artists were no longer under the threat of legal persecution. Whether the public actually wanted to see Queer work was another question. As a result, Queer artists were confined to the fringes - both of society and the theatre landscape. 1967 was also the year that influential Queer playwright Joe Orton was murdered by his partner. His black comedies and satires would go on to inspire countless artists (check out Loot and Entertaining Mr Sloane).

The 1970s saw the emergence of Gay Sweatshop Theatre Company, whose aim was to counteract the prevailing perception in mainstream theatre of what homosexuals were like. Performing at theatres, festivals and working men's clubs across the country, their sell-out first season took place at InterAction's Almost-Free Theatre in Soho and included plays Thinking Straight by Lawrence Collinson and Ships by Alan Wakeman.Read more about Gay Sweatshop's fascinating history here.

Artists Jane Boston, Tash Fairbanks and Debs Threthewey created the band Devil's Dykes, later Bright Girls. They were part of the company that formed Theatre Against Sexism and then in 1979 the feminist theatre company Siren. Venues such as The Drill Hall (now RADA Studio) were dedicated to platforming gay, lesbian and bisexual work. Other key shows of the '70s include Martin Sherman's play Bent and Richard O'Brien's musical The Rocky Horror Show, which began life at the Royal Court Upstairs in 1973 before going on to become one of the most influential cult classics of all time.

As we enter the 1980s, moral reformer Mary Whitehouse attempted to prosecute director Michael Bogdanov for his production of The Romans in Britain by Howard Brenton at the National Theatre for procuring an act of gross indecency as defined by the Sexual Offences Act 1956. The prosecution lost, but there were further attempts at censorship throughout the decade. Queer work and writers persisted regardless with plays such as Sarah Daniels' Ripen Our Darkness, Julian Mitchell's Another Country, Hugh Whitemore's Breaking the Code, Kevin Elyot's Coming Clean and Harvey Fierstein's acclaimed Torch Song Trilogy.

The first play produced in Britain to address the AIDS crisis was Louise Parker Kelley's Anti Body in 1983, years before any film or TV series. A wealth of work came in the following two decades that defined the gay experience of HIV and AIDS with artists such as Neil Bartlett and plays including Robert Chelsey's Night Sweat, Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart (the first play about AIDS in the West End), Janet Hood and Bill Russell's Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens as well as Tony Kushner's monumental Angels in America.

In 1988, Jackie Kay's Twice Over was Gay Sweatshop's first play by a Black playwright and helped raise the profile of the women's company within Gay Sweatshop. Kay's other influential work includes Chiaroscuro (recently revived by Bush Theatre). 1988 also saw Gay Sweatshop's widely celebrated play This Island's Mine by Philip Osment.

Perhaps partly down to the likes of Danny La Rue in the '70s, we also began to see the transition of Drag from the nightclubs to the theatres in the '80s with Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman's La Cage Aux Folles playing the London Palladium in 1986.

The '90s saw a stream of important Queer works such as Phyllis Nagy's Weldon Rising, Kevin Elyot's My Night With Reg, Jonathan Larson's Rent, Diana Son's Stop Kiss, Jonathan Harvey's Beautiful Thing and John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation to name but a few. It was also the decade of the 'in yer face' movement with dramatists such as Mark Ravenhill and his play Shopping and Fucking. The Drill Hall continued to be a centre for LGBTQ+ shows, including work from performance artists Djola Bernard Branner, Brian Freeman and Eric Gupton, otherwise known as Pomo Afro Homos (Postmodern African American Homosexuals) - their show Fierce Love played at the venue in 1992.

The turn of the century saw a continuation of gay plays as well as new venues specifically dedicating their programming to Queer work, including Above The Stag (founded in 2008). Key shows included Alan Bennett's The History Boys, the Boy George musical Taboo, Jonathan Harvey and Pet Shop Boys' musical Closer to Heaven, Tarrell Alvin McCraney's Wig Out!, Joe DiPietro's Fucking Men and Nicholas de Jongh's Plague Over England. There was also the hugely successful Australian musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

In 2012, Jo Clifford became the first openly trans playwright to have a play in the West End with her adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. Prolific playwright Rikki Beadle-Blair had several plays performed here at Stratford East including Bashment in 2005, which tackled homophobia in the hip-hop scene. He would later write and direct Summer In London in 2017, which was the first full-scale show to featuring an all-trans cast on a mainstream stage in the UK. In 2015, The Lyric Hammersmith staged Laura Wade's adaptation of Sarah Waters' novel Tipping The Velvet showcasing an upfront and unapologetic celebration of sexuality.

In the last few years we've seen several Queer productions hitting the mainstream including a musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, Matthew Lopez's The Inheritance and blockbusters Kinky Boots, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Death Drop and &Juliet.

We also have performance artists and theatre makers includingTravis Alabanza, Le Gateau Chocolat, Temi Wilkey, Tabby Lamb, Scottee, Mika Onyx Johnson, Chiyo, Alexander Luttley, Daisy Hale, Debbie Hannan and Zachary Hing who are now shaping our perceptions of Queer work and making waves in mainstream venues. Plus, Queer bars like The Glory, Royal Vauxhall Tavern and Bethnal Green Working Men's Club continue to pave the way as training grounds for emerging Queer talent.

But what's next? It's obvious that major progress has been made since the days of censorship with Queer stories being told on our stages. However, the work is far from done. There is still a lack of voices from marginalized sections of the LGBT+ community, particularly trans/non-binary voices, working class voices, disabled voices and Black, Asian and Latinx voices. Our physical spaces may currently be shut, but it's never too late to start learning, reading and sharing more work by Queer artists.

By Holly Adomah Thompson and Sean Brooks

LGBTQIA+ events, shows and companies:
- Omnibus Theatre's Time London Identity, a series of free workshops to connect young people with innovative LGBTQIA+ professional artists -more info here
- Theatre Queers Meet Up, a fortnightly event hosted by Tabby Lamb for queer, trans, non-binary and GNC folx in theatre -more info here
- Panti In High Heels in Low Places by Panti Bliss is available to stream via Soho Theatre On Demand -more info here
- The Queer House, an artists agency and producing house for queer creatives -more info here
- The Drag King Cast, a new podcast from the award-winning, all women and non-binary Drag King collective Pecs Drag Kings -more info here
- Outbox Theatre, a company which collaborates with LGBTQIA+ creatives to tell stories in bold and exciting ways. Known for And The Rest Of Me Floats at Bush Theatre - more info here

LGBTQIA+ charities:
- The Black LGBTQIA+ Therapy Fund to help Black queer people receive accessible, professional help for their mental health -more info here
- Moonlight Experiences' crowdfunder to raise funds to change the perception of LGBTQIA+ culture through tourism and nightlife -more info here
- LGBT Foundation, a national charity delivering advice and support to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans communities -more info here
- MindOut, a charity seeking to improve the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTQIA+ communities -more info here
- AKT (Albert Kennedy Trust) an LGBTQIA+ youth homelessness charity working with young people aged 16-25 -more info here
- Centred, a community organisation run by diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer people to provide activites, historical content and volunteer opportunities to their community -more info here

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Here and Queer: A Brief History Lesson in Queer Theatre

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Here and Queer: A Brief History Lesson in Queer Theatre After endless weeks of January it's finally February and whilst our friends across the pond celebrate Black History Month, here in the UK it's LGBTQ+ History Month.

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https://artsandculture.google.com/story/club-kids-amp-queer-pioneers-from-ballroom-amp-disco-to-cybergoths-amp-psytrance-museum-of-youth-culture/EgUREYLZH7U13g?hl=en

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The early Disco underground parties were not a far cry from the New York Ballroom circuit at the time where black and Latino queer and transgender folks also found a safe space to be themselves and a community to thrive in. Both scenes were an escapist haven of inclusivity for those who were rejected and marginalised by mainstream society; they were places where LGBTQ folks could truly celebrate their identities and their sexuality.

One of the most famous queer pioneers of electronic dance music is the DJ Frankie Knuckles, also known as "The Godfather of House". As a teenager Knuckles was a regular at The Loft as well as being part of the Ballroom scene where he met fellow House legend DJ Larry Levan, Levan encouraged Knuckles to start DJ-ing and both played at iconic New York gay clubs such as the Continental Baths and Levan's own Paradise Garage

The popular slogan of the time 'Disco Sucks' was a homophobic slur (referencing cock sucking) aimed at Disco and its fans, by then Knuckles Levan and other DJs had held rank and created a harder style of Disco known Hi-NRG which would later develop into early House music.

By the late 70s British subculture was moving away from the streets and gig venues and into club culture with the emergence of the New Romantic scene; these pioneering Clubs Kids channelled many of the same aspirations as New York Ballroom culture creating spaces for gender fluid expression and sexual experimentation. Their androgynous high camp aesthetic and decadent debauched partying sought to push the boundaries of mainstream society even further and create a world that was truly their own.

The infamous Blitz Kids were the pinnacle of New Romantic decadence, the original Club Kids they got their name from being regulars at the Tuesday night parties at Covent Garden club Blitz which were thrown by Steve Strange and Rusty Egan of Synth-pop band Visage. The Blitz Kids included artists and performers such as Boy George, Princess Julia, Michael Clark, Little Nell and Marylin, the term 'Peacock Theory' was often used to describe their outrageous outfits and ultra-performative style.

In the years leading up to the Acid House craze it was London and Manchester LGBTQ night spots that were setting the foundations for UK rave culture to thrive. During the height of the rave phenomenon London queer parties included 'Daisy Chain' at The Fridge, 'Troll' at The Soundshaft, 'Pyramid' at Heaven and 'Queer Nation' at the Gardening Club.

"I'd run the first soulful house and garage club in the UK, High On Hope at Dingwalls. Queer Nation was just the mutated gay version. For the authentic black heritage of house (the music that sees no colour), there's no comparison or competition for QN. We came straight from the founding fathers." Patrick Lilley

The birth of Manchester's queer rave scene came from the civil unrest in 1988 responding to Thatcher's government enforcing Section 28, the first anti-gay legislation in over 100 years. Manchester saw one of the biggest demonstrations with around 20,000 LGBTQ people and allies taking to the streets, it was through this collective effort that queer folks came together in such a large scale and maintained their community by creating inclusive spaces to celebrate their identities and sexuality.

'Flesh' at The Haçienda hosted the alternative beauty pageant 'Miss Flesh' for lesbians femmes transwomen and drag queens as well as creating space for vibrant queer crowds with the slogan "thank you for not being heterosexual". The phrase "Gaychester" was often interchanged with "Madchester", a term popularised by predominantly white-hetero Acid House ravers. .

The dawn of the 90s also saw the phenomenon of UK rave culture spreading internationally and electronic dance music coming full circle back to NYC, by this time many iconic queer DJs were playing an integral role in the new global craze of rave. Tony De Vit and (Blitz Kid) Princess Julia were pioneering queer raving in the UK, De Vit founded gay club Trade and Princess Julia was a regular at the 'Daisy Chain' and 'Queer Nation'. In NYC Junior Vasquez was a resident at legendary rave spots Tunnel and Sound Factory, while Danny Tenaglia spun the decks at iconic Techno clubs Twilo and Vinyl.

New York Ballroom culture transitioned into popular culture in the early 90s through the an ever growing craze for vogue dancing; voguing had been developed in the Ballroom circuit by black and Latino transgender folks butch queens and drag queens who all lusted to walk a Ballroom floor. It was a form of competitive dancing similar to the Hip Hop dance battles of the 70s in which opponents cut each other up through throwing shapes instead of slashing with knives .

The Ballroom community was made up of different Houses that acted as surrogate homes for LGBTQ folks who had been rejected and abandoned by their families, Willi Ninja (from the House of Ninja) along with José and Louis Xtravaganza (from the House of Xtravaganza) took vogue dancing's fame to new heights through their work with Malcolm Mclaren and Madonna. Willi Ninja recorded the single 'Deep In Vogue' with Mclaren whilst José and Louis Xtravaganza choreographed Madonna's infinitely famous music video for her single 'Vogue'. This craze also found its way into rave culture through the dancing styles and shapes thrown by ravers, though this in this form it was more about losing yourself in the rhythm rather than battling it out on the dancefloor.
Ravers grooving the morning after at Fantazia NYE Party 1992/93
This craze for vouguing also found its way into rave culture through the dancing styles and shapes thrown by ravers, though in this form it was more about losing yourself in the rhythm and the euphoria of the rave rather than battling it out on the dancefloor.

Alig and his clique frequented many of major clubs that played host to the NYC rave scene including venues such as The Shelter, Tunnel and Limelight. The Shelter (also known as Club Shelter) was home to promoter and DJ collective N.A.S.A. (Nocturnal Audio + Sensory Awakening), the legendary non-alcoholic N.A.S.A. parties created an inclusive space for people of all ages with teenagers and even pre-teens making up the crowd

The New York Club Kids took the extravagance and excess of the London scene to a whole new outrageously debauched level; Michael Alig and Ernie Glam threw ragers such as the 'Disco 2000' parties at Limelight whilst transgender Club Kids Amanda Lepore and Sophia Lamar co-hosted exotic parties at The Roxy .

These Club Kids continued in the Ballroom and London tradition of fluid gender expression and experimentation pushing boundaries even further with their clubbing outfits, their Cyberpunk and Cybergoth styles took inspiration from the growing trend in 90s futurism which came from the development of virtual reality technology and the popular concept of online utopias in cyber space.

It wasn't long before the epic reputation of the NYC rave scene and the Club Kid futurism aesthetic began to take hold in popular culture. The 1995 films Kids and Hackers epitomised this transition with a scene from Kids recreating one of the legendary N.A.S.A. parties and the styling for Hackers emulating the Cyberpunk and Cybergoth looks of Club Kid ravers.

This 90s futurism went hand in hand with the emergence of Trance and Psytrance which sought to create utopian sounds taking the euphoria of House and Techno to another level. A dream of utopian spaces and euphoric experiences where is everyone accepted for who they are is yet another version of the inclusive ideals created by the LGBTQ originators of electronic dance music.

The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

Stories from Museum of Youth Culture

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Club Kids & Queer Pioneers - from Ballroom & Disco to Cybergoths & Psytrance - Google Arts & Culture

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The early Disco underground parties were not a far cry from the New York Ballroom circuit at the time where black and Latino queer and transgender folks also found a safe space to be themselves and a community to thrive in.

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https://one.usc.edu/publication/cruising-archive-queer-art-and-culture-los-angeles-1945-1980

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David Evans Frantz and Mia Locks
With contributions by Ann Cvetkovich, Zemula Barr, Vaginal Davis, Jennifer Doyle, Judith "Jack" Halberstam, Onya Hogan-Finlay, Catherine Lord, Richard Meyer, Ulrike Müller, and Dean Spade

This catalogue accompanies the exhibition Cruising the Archive: Queer Art and Culture in Los Angeles, 1945-, part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A., 1945-1980. Cruising the Archive explores the relationship between artistic practices and LGBTQ histories through artworks, objects, and archival documents culled from the collections at ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries. By presenting works of art alongside archival materials from the social and historical context of their production, Cruising the Archive examines the divergent, ambiguous, and sometimes humorous ways in which queer artists and activists in Los Angeles have contributed to the aesthetic and political field of cultural production.

The publication includes essays by Ann Cvetkovich, Vaginal Davis, Jennifer Doyle, Judith "Jack" Halberstam, Catherine Lord, Richard Meyer, Ulrike Müller, and Dean Spade, as well as information on artworks and archival materials included in the exhibition, reprints from early queer publications from Los Angeles including ONE Magazine, an introduction by co-curators David Evans Frantz and Mia Locks, and a map of historical sites referenced in the publication compiled by Zemula Barr. Additionally, artist Onya Hogan-Finlay has produced a limited edition poster that functions as a book jacket, featuring a photograph of the friends of ONE Archives.

Softbound, full color, 208 pages
Published by ONE Archives, 2011
Edited by David Evans Frantz and Mia Locks
OUT OF STOCK

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Cruising the Archive: Queer Art and Culture in Los Angeles, 1945-1980

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"fid":"1351","view_mode":"full","fields":{"format":"full","alignment":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Cover: Cruising the Archive: Queer Art and Culture in Los Angeles, 1945-1980","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"full","alignment":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Cover: Cruising the Archive: Queer Art and Culture in Los Angeles, 1945-1980","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"attributes":{"alt":"Cover: Cruising the Archive: Queer Art and Culture in Los Angeles, 1945-1980","style":"height: 257px; width: 200px;","class":"media-element file-full","data-delta":"1"}}]] David Evans Frantz and Mia Locks With contributions by Ann Cvetkovich, Zemula Barr, Vaginal Davis, Jennifer Doyle, Judith "Jack" Halberstam, Onya Hogan-Finlay, Catherine Lord, Richard Meyer, Ulrike Müller, and Dean Spade This catalogue accompanies the exhibition Cruising the Archive: Queer Art and Culture in Los Angeles, 1945 -, part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A., 1945-1980.

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https://lwlies.com/articles/let-the-sunshine-in-the-queer-legacy-of-milos-formans-hair/

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Let The Sunshine In: The queer legacy of Miloš Forman's Hair

About Little White Lies

Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we've been described as being "at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement." Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.

Editorial

Design

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Let The Sunshine In: The queer legacy of Miloš Forman's Hair

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Let The Sunshine In: The queer legacy of Miloš Forman's Hair Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we've been described as being "at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement."

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https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.artforum.com/uploads/guide.003/id21434/press_release.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwitquGMhcb6AhVPNOwKHYW2AWsQFnoECBAQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1wy0rGAX2kYZZvMg-Kt6T7

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https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://arthistoryteachingresources.org/lessons/queer-art-1960s-to-the-present/&ved=2ahUKEwitquGMhcb6AhVPNOwKHYW2AWsQFnoECAoQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1DgDovcWbZmi5OA0LDG1nK

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https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/coming-out

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Gay and lesbian life went public in the 70s. Speaking up and standing out, gay men and women took to the streets proudly demanding to be seen, heard and accepted. These chapters draw from stories and records in the Library’s collection to explore how the gay and lesbian rights movement emerged in…

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https://mixdownmag.com.au/features/the-70s-queer-disco-scene-embracing-self-expression-and-empowerment-of-the-marginalised/

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https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gequ.12260

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https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/catalog?f%5Bcollection_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Newspaper+and+Periodical+Clippings+%281950-2000%29+&f%5Binstitution_name_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Independent+Voices

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Artists Slaving Under Tyranny (ASLUT), Crazy Nanny's, Defending Our Rights in the Streets Super Queers United Against Savage Homosexuals (DORIS SQUASH), Grand Homosexual Organization to Stop Televangelists (GHOST), Homosexual Ideological Mobilization Against the Military (HI MOM), Lesbians and Bisexuals in Action (LABIA), Miguel Gutierrez, Queer Nation, Queer Planet, Queer State, Queers Undertaking Exquisite and Symbolic Transformation (QUEST), Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries (STAR), Suburban Homosexual Outreach Program (SHOP), United Colors of Queer Nation, Welcome Wagon

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dramatic_television_series_with_LGBT_characters:_1960s%E2%80%932000s

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List of dramatic television series with LGBT characters: 1960s–2000s - Wikipedia

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This is a list of dramatic television series (including web television and miniseries) that premiered in the 1960s–2000s which feature lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender characters. Non-binary, pansexual, asexual, and graysexual characters are also included. The orientation can be portrayed on-…

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https://historyrocks.library.villanova.edu/index.php/music-history/ziggy-lgbt

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David Bowie came out as gay during an interview for Melody Maker in 1972. Despite this claim, Bowie had a wife and a son named Zowie. However, many of his songs and performances alluded to gay culture, and he often participated in cross-dressing for photo shoots and concerts. Later, in 1974, Bowie instead claimed he was bisexual, and in the 1980's he told an interviewer that he had been a "closet heterosexual" the whole time.

From the offset, Bowie's sexuality was seen with skepticism not only by critics, but by the whole public. However, the ambiguity attached to his sexuality served to make him only more alluring and desirable. In turn, sexual ambiguity and deviance itself become more desirable to the general public, which greatly aided gay activists in their fight for equality, whether Bowie intended to advance their cause or not.

The Stonewall Riots in 1969 kick-started the gay rights movement, and helped unite the gay community. This new sense of purpose and unity manifested itself in gay rights organizations like the Gay Liberation Front, and magazines like The Advocate and Drag. These magazines discussed David Bowie and his performances, which gives an insight into the relationship between Bowie and gay community members.

Leaders of gay rights organizations approached Bowie to propose the idea of being their spokesman, but David refused. He did not want to be the leader of a cause, and instead only wanted to express his individuality through sexual deviance.

"Queen Bitch" 1972, David Bowie

In the video above, David Bowie performs the song "Queen Bitch" while dressed as Ziggy Stardust. Although the song was not on his Ziggy Stardust album, he often performed it during his Ziggy Stardust tour. "Queen Bitch" and "Lady Stardust", a song from the Ziggy album, show how Bowie flaunts his gayness. In the lyrics of these songs and others, Bowie leans heavily on gay stereotypes to portray the characters and events he describes. In Queen Bitch, Bowie talks about a cross-dresser, and refers to him as "she":

She's an old-time ambassador
Of sweet talking, night walking games
And she's known in the darkest clubs
For pushing ahead of the dames

David discusses the stereotypical aspects of gay culture in the song by mentioning clubs and a drag queen who is trying to take home a man. Although the lyrics did not give a new perspective on gay culture, or break any common stereotypes about gay men, Bowie sang about gay stereotypes at a time when it was considered taboo. This in itself helped the gay community to find acceptance in mainstream culture, and gave Bowie a strong gay fan base.

The photo above belongs to Brandon Carson, no changes have been made. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode

Ziggy Stardust, in being an alien, helped fans to accept this alternative vision of homosexuality. Creating space creatures let people defined the unknown, and common knowledge about homosexuality was extremely lacking at the time. Additionally, people were more open to Ziggy's sexual deviance, because they were already open to celebrating his deviance as an alien. By packaging Ziggy's bisexuality with being an extraterrestrial, the concepts of being extraordinary and other-worldly that were associated with space creatures were superimposed onto ideas of sexual deviance, which advanced the acceptance and attractiveness of it. In this photo of Ziggy Stardust, it is easy to notice how the flaming red hair, high cheek bones, forehead circle, and multi-colored eyes add to Ziggy's character as an extraordinary outsider, since this was not a very common look.

A letter from a member of Bowie's gay fan group, named Simon, gives a rare look at the type of emotional connection that Bowie could have on gay men. In his letter, Simon tells Bowie "I just want to be with you, I want to kiss you", he thinks that they have a "telepathic link" and that he is "the only person who understands" Bowie. The depth of the emotional connection that Simon feels for Bowie is incredibly pronounced, which lends itself to the social context of the time for gay men. Simon does not hesitate to express his homosexuality in his letter to Bowie, during a time when most people would react with disgust at such a confession. Simon not only trusts Bowie, but his fantasy about understanding Bowie mirrors Simon's own reliance on Bowie as the only person who can understand his own situation as a gay man. The sentiments of Simon about Bowie are likely reflected on many other gay fans of Bowie who idolize him and draw support from Bowie's stardom. Simon does not mention Ziggy Stardust at all, which suggests that the specificity of relating to David Bowie or Ziggy Stardust is relatively unimportant for Simon and other gay fans to find a sense of solidarity with David Bowie, despite the controversy over authenticity and gay opacity.

The article above is taken from Drag, a magazine created by Lee G. Brewster.

Gay magazines picked up on the sentiment of gay community members. In 1973, Drag Magazine featured David Bowie in its news section, focused on his performance in New York, where the gay rights movement originated with the Stonewall Riots. The magazine discusses Bowie in extremely favorable terms, as the "first bisexual superstar" who got a "standing ovation at his American premier concert" in Carnegie Hall. The article fails to mention, however, that many of Bowie's other concerts in America had very low ticket sales, and that he often played at venues that were only half-filled, if that. Drag promotes an idea that David Bowie is very much in America's limelight during his first tour, when this was not exactly the case. This idea could very likely give its gay readers the idea that Bowie could be their representative in pop culture.

Interestingly, the magazine includes both favorable and critical views of Bowie in its article. The article quoted a critic saying: "Call it freak rock, transvestite rock, or decadent rock, the ugliest and latest giggle on the pop music scene." Including the quote was probably not a way of agreeing with his sentiments, however. Instead, the magazine gives its readers a chance to find solidarity with Bowie, because they often deal with the same type of treatment from society in being ostracized. Drag attempts to rally its gay readers around Bowie, creating a favorable communal attitude towards him. However, the magazine also notes that David is "married to a woman with a son named Zowie" and he "responds to the question as to whether he's homosexual by replying 'I just like beautiful people.'" Bowie's sexual ambiguity pervades even gay magazines such as Drag, and yet he is still a topic of discussion for its journalists and readers in an admirable light. Despite his mainly heteronormative lifestyle, simply the suggestion of identifying with the gay community seems to have been enough for them to rally around Bowie. No mention of Ziggy Stardust can be found in the article, suggesting that the character is not necessary for the magazine and its gay readers to relate to David Bowie.

Even though Ziggy was arguably more authentically aligned with gays because of his solidly deviant sexual preferences, gay fans didn't identify with Ziggy over David Bowie. Instead, Bowie himself and his flirtation with the idea of gayness, his sexual ambiguity, and his embrace of the outsider culture was enough for gay fans. He made sexual deviance popular which encouraged a strong gay fandom. People became more open to homosexuality in general because of the influence that David Bowie had on American culture and his popularization of sexual deviance. Through the essence of Bowie, gay fans and queer people across America could become a stronger community to further their interests for social acceptance and equality.

The gay community in the US

What: The relationship between David Bowie and queer men through the Ziggy Stardust persona and album

Why: To understand how Bowie appealed to the gay community and furthered the gay rights movement

David Bowie preforming as Ziggy Stardust, by Rik Walton

The plaque reads:

"David Bowie Suit, 1972"

"David Bowie wore this suit onstage during his tour to support The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars."

By Hunter Desportes

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Ziggy Stardust vs. David Bowie: How the LGBT Community can relate

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David Bowie came out as gay during an interview for Melody Maker in 1972. Despite this claim, Bowie had a wife and a son named Zowie. However, many of his songs and performances alluded to gay culture, and he often participated in cross-dressing for photo shoots and concerts.

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https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/01/10/david-bowie-death-anniversary-coming-out-bisexual-queer-moments/

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PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news

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Friday, January 10, marks three years since the tragic death of icon David Bowie.

He died back in 2016, a tragic day for everyone but particularly for people from the LGBT+ community. Bowie has been talked about often as a queer icon, coming out early in the '70s as both gay and bisexual and giving us the space to be out, loud, and proud.

He would later declare himself a 'closet heterosexual' in a 1983 interview with Rolling Stone and would go on to marry two cisgender women in Angie Barnett and model Iman, but the impact and influence Bowie had on both gender, sexuality and - perhaps more importantly - expression still stand true today.

In honour of the anniversary of his death, here are ten unashamedly queer moments from David Bowie:

1. John, I'm Only Dancing.

A quintessential bi anthem, this song is a single released by Bowie in 1979. The lyrics say it all, really:
Well, Annie's pretty neat She always eats her meat Joey's almost strong Bet your life he's putting us on Oh lordy, oh lordy You know I need some loving Move me, touch me John, I'm only dancing She turns me on But I'm only dancing She turns me on Don't get me wrong I'm only dancing
Clearly David Bowie is sexually attracted and enticed by both Annie and Joey. He then ends up dancing, presumably, with Annie and is telling jealous John not to worry because dancing is just dancing. How could this be anything less than a bisexual anthem?

2. Ziggy Stardust.

Queer icon Ziggy Stardust is what is most often equated with David Bowie. Ziggy is Bowie's alter ego, created in 1971, and was featured in one of Bowie's most famous albums: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Everything about the character, from the way he dressed to the way he acted on stage, was a step forward for queer representation and influenced many of our queer icons today. He redefined sexuality. Bowie once said, "Offstage, I'm a robot; onstage I achieve emotion."

3. Dating Dutch transgender actor Romy Haag.

In 1976, Bowie moved to Berlin to be with his lover and muse, Romy Haag. She was a famous transgender woman and cabaret performer. Haag influenced Bowie's 'Boys Keep Swinging' video, where Bowie appears as a chorus of drag queens.

4. Making bisexuality a 'thing'.

David Bowie's coming out as 'gay' in 1972 was iconic, namely because celebrities weren't doing that at the time. It was the year of the first Gay Pride march and homosexuality had been legal for barely a minute. He changed his tune in 1976, when he told Playboy magazine that he was bisexual , not gay, which likely made sense to the public as he was still married to his first wife Angie Bowie.

After Bowie's death, many hailed him as a bisexual icon and as one of first people to show them that you could be bisexual. For the first time, it was possible for people to be bisexual in public - and only because of Bowie. He made it a 'thing' like few others in the mainstream had before, and thank God he did.

5. "You've got your mother in a whirl, she's not sure if you're a boy or girl."

From the beginning of 'Rebel Rebel', Bowie is giving us a nod to drag queens and androgynous fashion. Bowie's style throughout his career can be summed up by this line, dressing in eccentric and alternative clothes that subvert gender stereotypes and changed the course of queer culture forever. Not only that, it's an amazing song too.

6. When David Bowie wore a mime costume to a club in 1968.

Bowie was no stranger to experimentation - of makeup and costume of course. He went on a night out one glorious May day in 1968 to Covent Garden's Middle Earth Club with "mime" makeup on. But, what is this if not a modern precursor to the drag makeup we are seeing today? Drag queens have a long history dating back centuries but Bowie openness and queer makeup style definitely had a hand to play.

7. When David Bowie draped an arm around Mick Ronson in the summer of 1972 during Top of the Pops.

David Bowie casually put his arm around his guitarist's shoulders during the BBC's most influential music show. It caused chaos. As HuffPost writes, "It was rather a dangerously queer to do."

At the time, Bowie was already rocking out as Ziggy Stardust but it wasn't this alter ego that caught people's attention. By putting his arm around Ronson, he "established himself as a rebel." This was a moment that made people see gender and sexuality differently, benefiting the queer movement to this day.

8. "Make the best of every moment. We're not evolving. We're not going anywhere."

In a 2004 article that he wrote for Esquire , Bowie gave a list of what he'd learned. This was one of the things he said he'd learned over the years and, while perhaps unintended, it is a great queer moment from the iconic singer. This quote is telling us to live our best queer lives at every given opportunity, just as he often did.

9. Tapered trousers, patterned suits, shoulder pads and silk printed polos.

Bowie's fashion choices shaped the latter half of the 20th century, especially when it came to queer styles and outfits. He pioneered things like tapered trousers, patterned suits, flares, shoulder pads, floral coats, skin-tight clothes and silk-printed polos.

The style of these clothes are things we see emerging and re-emerging throughout the years, particularly on the LGBT+ icons that we have now. A prime example is Harry Styles - just looking at the outfits he wears on tour, in public, and on the cover of magazines there is undoubtedly a Bowie influence in there.

10. When David Bowie performed 'mock fellatio' on stage.

Bowie was known for being completely open about his sexual exploits and experiences. So, it comes as no surprise that he commonly would mimic sexual acts while on stage, including performing "mock fellatio on stage with guitarist Mick Ronson". Yes, that's the same Mick Ronson that caused an outrage in the nation after Top of the Pops.

Darryl Bullock says of the stage performances , "This did not go unnoticed," and is one of the reasons Bowie is considered to be "directly responsible for the proliferation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans musicians we have today."

11. David Bowie came out as gay.

Obviously, the queerest thing you can do is officially as gay, which is what Bowie did in 1972. He told Melody Maker , "I'm gay, and I always have been, even when I was David Jones."

People saw him "as a pop-culture pathbreaker, making it easier for others to come out." Critic Andrew Kopkind said he was "an authentic gay superstar, authentically a superstar and authentically gay at the same time - for the first time in our culture since Oscar Wilde."

There is much debate about whether Bowie was gay or bisexual or queer or straight but a label is unimportant in comparison to the amazing strides he made towards queerness and representation for the LGBT+ community.

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Sex, sequins and rock and roll: 11 unashamedly queer moments from David Bowie

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Friday, January 10, marks three years since the tragic death of icon David Bowie. He died back in 2016, a tragic day for everyone but particularly for people from the LGBT+ community. Bowie has been talked about often as a queer icon, coming out early in the '70s as both gay and bisexual and giving us the space to be out, loud, and proud.

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https://www.out.com/music/2016/4/22/queer-legacy-prince

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Prince spent his career celebrating gender fluidity and defying categories of straight and gay.

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https://blog.phillipscollection.org/2022/06/10/exploring-a-history-of-lgbtq-identity-through-art-history/

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🏳️‍🌈#HappyPride! The Phillips Collection is proud to partner with @samesexinthecity to celebrate, honor, and examine Queer art during #Pride and beyond. Explore a history of LGBTQ identity through art history by pairing artists with this facet of their identity.
What is queer art history? There is no particular style, type, medium, or even definition. Instead, we use it to explore art that speaks to the depths of queer life and experience, culture, and norms. The gift of queerness to art is its refusal to be defined. This resistance to dominant culture, and the way that the codes and cultures of queerness provide creative language and resources for artists, is why queer art is so important for art history and museum collections today. To search for queer art and artists in art history means that we question the divide between "high" and "low" art, between truth and gossip, and between public faces and private lives. In doing this, we are expanding the stories that are housed in our museums and shared with the public.

The Phillips is an institution that has celebrated its untraditional collecting strategies and relationships with artists. Like many other museums in the United States, our permanent collection today features a variety of artists who both identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer; we also feature artists who thought of their identities in different and complex ways. We have artworks that seem to draw upon queer desire, such as Minor White's from 1947. Charles DeMuth is known just as much for his still lives and nature scenes (as represented in our collection) as he is for his works depicting sailors or homoerotic settings. There are artists such as Joan Snyder, who expressed her desire not to be defined just as a lesbian or lesbian artist alone, yet who has spoken very clearly about the importance of same-sex desire in her life and artwork. Some contemporary artists such as John Edmonds hope to use their artworks as an " archive and excavation of queer black history ." The Phillips is just at the beginning of its journey to piece together the possible hidden histories of our collection, and we are excited to see what queer history and artists can be excavated!

This entry was posted in Experiment Station. Bookmark the permalink.

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Exploring a History of LGBTQ Identity through Art History - The Experiment Station

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🏳️‍🌈#HappyPride! The Phillips Collection is proud to partner with @samesexinthecity to celebrate, honor, and examine Queer art during #Pride and beyond. Explore a history of LGBTQ identity through art history by pairing artists with this facet of their identity. What is queer art history? There is no particular style, type, medium, or even definition.

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https://gaydesertguide.com/events/downtown-80s-queer-art-crawl-keith-haring-more/
https://one.usc.edu/publication/cruising-archive-queer-art-and-culture-los-angeles-1945-1980

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Downtown 80's Queer Art Crawl, Keith Haring & more

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Gay Desert Guide's Fun & Games Dept. and TheMenEvent.com present Downtown 80's Queer Art Crawl, Keith Haring & More

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https://blog.songtrust.com/how-the-lgbtq-community-has-influenced-the-music-industry

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The past twelve months since Pride Month 2020 have been unprecedented. The world has experienced enough to fill a lifetime, and the queer community has been impacted in countless ways. With the pandemic continuing, along with demonstrations for Black, Brown, Asian and Pacific Islanders, and Indigenous communities, this year has been an opportunity for LGBTQ+ people to understand the diversity and breadth of their community. We have seen the nuanced ways that queer people exist in and are impacted by the world.

2021 is on track to have one of the highest volumes of anti-LGBTQ+ national and state legislation. Amendments to the Affordable Care Act defined "sex" as one's gender assigned at birth. This made transgender and nonbinary folks vulnerable to discrimination, preventing people from seeking care that they need. Furthermore, state legislation against the LGBTQ+ community is at a record high, with bills including anti-trans sports bans, banning the discussion of LGBTQ+ people, sexuality, or gender in classrooms, and prohibiting transgender folks from having access to their gender's bathrooms. Unfortunately, none of these legislative proposals are new to the LGBTQ+ community. For those that are not affected directly, they are a reminder of the work yet to be done. For those that are, they are life-altering and life-denying.

At Songtrust, we want to celebrate the intersectionality of the LGBTQ+ community and highlight some songwriters and artists throughout history that have expanded visibility inside of and outside of the queer community.

A Brief History of LGBTQ+ people in Music

Below, we have selected three genres of music where queer artists found space to express their identity. This is in no way a comprehensive list of queer musicians, nor does it highlight every queer artist in each respective genre.

The Blues (late 19th and early 20th centuries)

The blues started in the 1870's in the American Deep South. Its roots stem from the musical and cultural traditions established by enslaved people. Despite the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery as it manifested in America from the 16th to mid-19th century, Black Americans continued to face economic and social oppression throughout the country. The emotional strife experienced inspired some of the themes of early blues music.

Many people may know about the blues being inherently linked to the Black experience, but it is also a genre that held space for many queer people, specifically queer women. 2021 saw many people rushing to their televisions to watch Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, a film starring Viola Davis that tells the story of exactly this - a queer Black experience. The songs "Empress of the Blues'' by Bessie Smith, "Prove It On Me Blues," by Ma Rainey, and "B.D. Woman's Blues," (B.D. being a slang term for gay women) by Lucille Bogan explicitly reference same-sex desire. Alongside these expression's of overt queerness, many artists like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mamie Smith, and Sippie Wallace challenged the traditional ideas of femininity held in early 20th-entury America.

As the 20th Century progressed, the jazz and blues communities continued to provide space for some artists to express queerness. This can be seen with artists, composers, and producers like Billy Strayhorn, Francis Faye, Janis Joplin, and Jackie Shane.

Electronic, House, and Disco (1970's and 1980's to now)

The 1970s and the 1980s often come to mind first when discussing the emergence of of LGBTQ+ identities in music: pop and rock music had become more mainstream, the "sexual revolution" had begun in the late 1960s, and disco culture of the 1970s and 1980s was directly associated with pioneering Black and queer musicians. Gender and sexual fluidity were more visible than ever before, which allowed artists like Freddie Mercury, Grace Jones, and David Bowie to exist in the ways they did. For people like David Bowie and Prince, it was the ambiguity of their sexuality that made the community surrounding their music a safe space for queer people.

However, these big names in pop and glam Rock are only the tip of the iceberg. An even larger queer community existed in disco, electronic, and dance music. It was the music played at underground queer clubs in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. The queer, drag ballroom "house" culture of the 1980s, chronicled in the 2005 documentary Paris is Burning, was soundtracked by disco, dance, and funk tracks.

The influence on more recent queer artists is not lost today. Artists like SOPHIE, who we tragically lost this year, melded dance-y synth distortion with pop melodies to create something entirely SOPHIE's own. Honey Dijon, a transgender artist from Chicago, has been a north star for anyone in the house or electronic scenes. In an interview with Ssense she said, "This is a 30-year-old subculture that's now above ground, and I try to convey that music from where I come from-queer Black culture. This music was started by queer people of color." And since the late 1990s, "Queen of Bounce" Big Freedia has been growing in popularity and influence, collaborating with artists like Beyonce and Drake, and touring with huge acts across genres, like The Postal Service and Kesha. (Big Freedia, whose legal name is Freddie Ross Jr., identifies as a gay man, but in interviews has indicated she prefers "she/her" pronouns.)

Punk (1960's - 1990's)

Punk music came to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s as a genre of music that inherently prides itself on questioning and rejecting social norms. For this reason, queer people have flocked to punk scenes since punk existed as it provided a place to safely to explore and express their sexualities.

The 1970s and 1980s saw artists like pioneering trans rocker Jayne County, who wrote the song "Man Enough To Be A Woman." Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks, who is bisexual, wrote their hit "Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" about a friend turned crush.

The 1990s and early 2000s saw the rise of the Riot Grrrl movement, which set out to normalize women's anger and celebrate their sexuality. Queercore bands like Team Dresch reclaimed queer language with songs like "Fageterian and Dyke." Sleater Kinney's "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone" recontextualizes a confidence usually associated with men in rock music. Bikini Kill's song, "Rebel Girl" is an unconditional love song to any woman living their truth, screaming "in her kiss, I taste the revolution."

At the same time a movement called Sista Grrrl Riots, founded by Tamar-kali Brown, Maya Glick, Simi Stone, and Honeychild Coleman, was created for Black and other BIPOC women who felt excluded by the largely white Riot Grrrl scene. Their goal was to provide a safe space for Black and Brown women to create music and revolution with their own truths and experiences, and to lend visibility to BIPOC women in the punk movement. To this day, the Afropunk movement, known well for its annual music festival, tries to further this mission.

Artist Spotlights

Prove It On Me Blues by Ma Rainey

Ma Rainey is one of the world's most famous blues musician and someone people like to say was "allegedly queer".

I don't know. Seems obvious to me.

Chosen Family by Rina Sawayama and Elton John

The concept of chosen family encompasses any queer space and community that I have been a part of it. It is the truth that family, in fact, can be a choice and, for some queer people, must be a choice. It is something queer folks have celebrated forever and something that is present in all of these above discussions. Rina Sawayama and Elton John gave us an anthem encapsulating this this year.

It's Okay To Cry by SOPHIE

It's Okay To Cry is an outlier for SOPHIE seeing as SOPHIE's music usually uses more synth, distortion, and industrial sounds. However, this song and video is significant because it accompanied SOPHIE coming out as transgender, and it is the first time SOPHIE's voice and image are used in one of SOPHIE's songs and videos.

Honey Dijon at Boiler Room at Berlin

A DJ set by the one and only Honey Dijon, a transgender DJ and electronic musician hailing from Chicago and currently based in New York City and Berlin.

Fagetarian and Dyke by Team Dresch

Team Dresch, 90's queercore legends, mix angry, distorted, loudness with beautiful, measured melodies to really give you everything you need at once for your pride month celebrations.

Boot by Tamar-Kali

Tamar-Kali is a Brooklyn-based artist and revolutionary. She is one of the founders of the Sista Grrrl Riot movement.

Particle Mace by Aye Nako

Aye Nako is a punk band from Brooklyn, New York, a staple of the DIY scene there. The band and fanbase are incredibly intersectional and generally just one big safe space. Oh, to be at Market Hotel again, moshing as the J goes by the window. One day soon.

Conclusion

This list of genres, artists, and songs just scrapes the surface when it comes to holistically representing queer people in music. The truth is that queer people are so integrated into the music industry, that it would be near impossible to acknowledge everyone. The internet has helped create a platform for so many queer voices in music. So much of the work done by the artists listed above is to thank for how far we've come. We hope you enjoyed this brief history and list of queer influence throughout the history of music, and encourage you dive into these genres and find something new.

In addition to these amazing artists and songs above, make sure to follow and listen to our 'Love is Love' playlist on Spotify, and learn more about some of our fellow LGBTQ+ Songtrust clients, such as Davis Mallory and Claud.

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Music History | How LGBTQ+ Community Has Influenced The Music Industry

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The music industry evolves through the influence of artists that break the status quo and push listeners to challenge what they've been taught. Learn more about how the LGBTQ+ community is influencing the music industry, one song at a time.

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https://arthistoryteachingresources.org/lessons/queer-art-1960s-to-the-present/

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https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/freddie-mercury-came-out-as-gay-in-lyrics-to-hit-queen-song-bohemian-rhapsody-a3098701.html

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reddie Mercury revealed his sexuality in the lyrics to hit Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody, it has been claimed.

The legendary songwriter confessed he was gay through the band's 1975 single, which went on to become one of the most popular songs of all time, according to his biographer Lesley-Ann Jones.

Songwriter Sir Tim Rice has said he agrees with the theory, revealed on the eve of the song's 40th anniversary in the Mail on Sunday.

He told the newspaper that the line "Mama, I just killed a man" refers to Mercury killing off the old version of himself, while the phrase "Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead", expands on this metaphor to emphasise that his heterosexual image is now past tense.

He said: "Every time I hear the song I think of him trying to shake off one Freddie and embracing another - even all these years.

"Do I think he managed it? I think he was in the process of managing it rather well."

Mercury's sexuality has long been the subject of debate, as some commentators claim that he hid it from the public, while others suggest he openly admitted having gay relationships.

He died at his home in Kensington on November 24, 1991, from bronchial pneumonia caused by the HIV/AIDs virus, which he was reportedly first diagnosed with in 1987.

Queen topped the UK singles chart for nine weeks with Bohemian Rhapsody in 1975. More than 2.5million copies of the single have been sold since it was first released.

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Freddie Mercury 'came out in lyrics to Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody'

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reddie Mercury revealed his sexuality in the lyrics to hit Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody, it has been claimed. The legendary songwriter confessed he was gay through the band's 1975 single, which went on to become one of the most popular songs of all time, according to his biographer Lesley-Ann Jones.

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They are shoe shoes
Vanaf 0:51 tot 1:19

https://youtu.be/c70ko07julc

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https://www.vpro.nl/programmas/de-roze-revolutie/lees/tijdlijn-lhbtqia-beweging.html

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Omar Diab, met medewerking van Michiel van Erp en de redactie van De roze revolutie

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Deze tijdlijn biedt je de belangrijkste momenten in de geschiedenis van de LHBTQIA+-beweging, vanaf de tijdperk na de tweede wereldoorlog tot heden.